Lookers Guildford - rough start - poor dealer experience

[Amonkeyhint]

I thought I’d share a pretty terrible buying experience from a main dealer.

My search started back in January, I had an LDV maxus van that we converted ourselves and had for a few years and with some persuasion decided I wanted a T6 California. We spent a few weeks looking on the T6 forum and this forum making sure the base van was spec‘d appropriately for a budget of about £56k.

My options wish list included:
- T6 Ocean (19 plate minimum),
- 199 engine
- Grey
- LED Lights (front and rear)
- Heated windscreen
- ACC
- 4motion
- Alcantara seats

Turns out my spec was pretty much impossible to find, so I had to make sacrifices by removing 4motion, and the heated windscreen which doesn’t seem to be a common option - I use it in winter as my daily driver and found the heated windscreen on the RR to be fantastic.

I eventually found the right vechicle with most of the options I wanted, 19 plate, 199, grey, LED lights, ACC & Alcantara for the top end of the budget.

I had to travel around 200 miles to the dealer (who I’ll leave nameless) via multiple trains, and found my new van in the showroom. Handover was fairly rushed, but mostly because of some train disruption meant I was late and I had to leave fairly promptly to avoid the rush hour traffic.

I had a very quick look at the van, which looked ok apart from I noticed the gas stove looked a bit dirty, as I was in a rush, I didn’t mention anything. I couldn’t look at the outside of the vehicle really because it was inside the show room in a fairly tight space.

After about 15 minutes of setting off from the showroom, the tyre warning light came on. I pulled into the services for a quick look at the van and took some pictures, but I noticed on closer inspection of the kitchen area that it was filthy. The stove, cupboards, fridge had not been cleaned at all. The bin in the driver pocket was full of rubbish (wrappers, empty mars bar wrapper), I also noticed a load of women hair clips stashed in the phone cubby hole. Shortly afterwards, the dealer called me to ask me how my drive home was going so I complained about the issues (dirty kitchen, tyre warning). He explained that the tyre warning can come on if the tyres are cold and quickly expand if not used for a while but apologised and offered to sort a valet from my local VW centre and a free tank of diesel for my inconvenience.



Once home, we found further issues:
- The fresh water and waste water tanks were half full of water - easy job to empty and run steriliser through but not what I expected
- Interior carpets were soaked, although I’ve not had it happen again after leaving the night heater on for a few days nor have I found the source yet
- I found a large scratch and dent along the lower side of the van - it looked like it had been filled in badly to mask the damage

- All 4 tyres were over inflated by 10psi (they were 55psi), and one of them had a bulge in the tire wall.

Luckily, I took photos throughout all of this, and eventually managed to convince the dealer to pay for the following:
- Full vehicle detail about £200
- 1 x new tyre £160
- Body repair and respray £900

Totally shocking service for a van costing nearly £60k, and for a van with less than 4000 miles on the clock. I’ve finally just had the damage repaired and money reimbursed for the valet and tyre so at least I can now start enjoying it!

 

[Nick&Sara]

I thought I’d share a pretty terrible buying experience from a main dealer.

My search started back in January, I had an LDV maxus van that we converted ourselves and had for a few years and with some persuasion decided I wanted a T6 California. We spent a few weeks looking on the T6 forum and this forum making sure the base van was spec‘d appropriately for a budget of about £56k.

My options wish list included:
- T6 Ocean (19 plate minimum),
- 199 engine
- Grey
- LED Lights (front and rear)
- Heated windscreen
- ACC
- 4motion
- Alcantara seats

Turns out my spec was pretty much impossible to find, so I had to make sacrifices by removing 4motion, and the heated windscreen which doesn’t seem to be a common option - I use it in winter as my daily driver and found the heated windscreen on the RR to be fantastic.

I eventually found the right vechicle with most of the options I wanted, 19 plate, 199, grey, LED lights, ACC & Alcantara for the top end of the budget.

I had to travel around 200 miles to the dealer (who I’ll leave nameless) via multiple trains, and found my new van in the showroom. Handover was fairly rushed, but mostly because of some train disruption meant I was late and I had to leave fairly promptly to avoid the rush hour traffic.

I had a very quick look at the van, which looked ok apart from I noticed the gas stove looked a bit dirty, as I was in a rush, I didn’t mention anything. I couldn’t look at the outside of the vehicle really because it was inside the show room in a fairly tight space.

After about 15 minutes of setting off from the showroom, the tyre warning light came on. I pulled into the services for a quick look at the van and took some pictures, but I noticed on closer inspection of the kitchen area that it was filthy. The stove, cupboards, fridge had not been cleaned at all. The bin in the driver pocket was full of rubbish (wrappers, empty mars bar wrapper), I also noticed a load of women hair clips stashed in the phone cubby hole. Shortly afterwards, the dealer called me to ask me how my drive home was going so I complained about the issues (dirty kitchen, tyre warning). He explained that the tyre warning can come on if the tyres are cold and quickly expand if not used for a while but apologised and offered to sort a valet from my local VW centre and a free tank of diesel for my inconvenience.

View attachment 61124View attachment 61125View attachment 61126View attachment 61127View attachment 61128View attachment 61129

Once home, we found further issues:
- The fresh water and waste water tanks were half full of water - easy job to empty and run steriliser through but not what I expected
- Interior carpets were soaked, although I’ve not had it happen again after leaving the night heater on for a few days nor have I found the source yet
- I found a large scratch and dent along the lower side of the van - it looked like it had been filled in badly to mask the damage
View attachment 61130
- All 4 tyres were over inflated by 10psi (they were 55psi), and one of them had a bulge in the tire wall.

Luckily, I took photos throughout all of this, and eventually managed to convince the dealer to pay for the following:
- Full vehicle detail about £200
- 1 x new tyre £160
- Body repair and respray £900

Totally shocking service for a van costing nearly £60k, and for a van with less than 4000 miles on the clock. I’ve finally just had the damage repaired and money reimbursed for the valet and tyre so at least I can now start enjoying it!

Crikey I cannot believe that it was handed over like this, the fridge looks rank and the van dirty and that dent is awful. It looks like it was not given a pre delivery inspection at all, VW stipulate all of the checks and preps that are covered for approved second hand vans. Sounds like you are a forgiving type of a chap, I would have taken it back and told them to keep it. Welcome and HI.

 

[calikev]

welcome to the world of the VW dealer.

 

[Meoncoast]

I sorry for your experience, most of what was wrong with the van was there to see rushing to pick up a £60k van ! you are lucky to get off so lightly.

 

[Kernowboy]

That’s really poor; sorry you’ve had this experience. I do find it frustrating though when people raise a valid issue with a dealer but don’t put a name to them. It doesn’t help others, and doesn’t help to drive better behaviour from the dealer.

 

[Perfectos]

I wince every time I hear a story like this, so many have bad experiences with dealers.

Glad you got it sorted

 

[Amonkeyhint]

Crikey I cannot believe that it was handed over like this, the fridge looks rank and the van dirty and that dent is awful. It looks like it was not given a pre delivery inspection at all, VW stipulate all of the checks and preps that are covered for approved second hand vans. Sounds like you are a forgiving type of a chap, I would have taken it back and told them to keep it. Welcome and HI.

If the dealer had been closer to home, i’d have launched the keys at them and returned it. The problem with the distance, I’d have had to take another day off work, drive there using another 3/4 of a tank of diesel and get the train home which would have cost me another £250ish on top of the cost to travel to pick it up.

My other issue was that the other California’s were being snapped up at the time, especially the half decent spec vans and there was nothing like the spec I wanted up for sale not without spending another £4-5k

 

[Perfectos]

If the dealer had been closer to home, i’d have launched the keys at them and returned it. The problem with the distance, I’d have had to take another day off work, drive there using another 3/4 of a tank of diesel and get the train home which would have cost me another £250ish on top of the cost to travel to pick it up.

My other issue was that the other California’s were being snapped up at the time, especially the half decent spec vans and there was nothing like the spec I wanted up for sale not without spending another £4-5k

Which county was the dealer in ?
Unless you disclose the dealer it will not help others avoid the issues you e had ?

 

[AlisonF]

So sorry to hear this, yet not surprised.
Send an email to VWCS as soon as you can.
In the meantime, get out and enjoy the beautiful Cali you have bought. Have fun and post pics...

 

[GrannyJen]

If the dealer had been closer to home, i’d have launched the keys at them and returned it. The problem with the distance, I’d have had to take another day off work, drive there using another 3/4 of a tank of diesel and get the train home which would have cost me another £250ish on top of the cost to travel to pick it up.

My other issue was that the other California’s were being snapped up at the time, especially the half decent spec vans and there was nothing like the spec I wanted up for sale not without spending another £4-5k

Your van would clean up and you will have years of joy and adventure in it. Sadly though not will not clean up is the rubbish act that some dealers inflict on people wanting to spend a lot of money on what is their pride and joy.

I am gutted for you,

We have a dealer review section, can I invite you to leave a review in there?

Welcome to our forum, our club, and I hope you find it a pleasant experience being here to offset the unpleasant experience of a shoddy VW dealer.

 

[Perfectos]

Post all the sweet wrappers back to the dealer with no stamp attached !

 

[Amonkeyhint]

I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was around naming dealers on the forum... it was Lookers VW Van Centre Guildford.

To be fair, after a bit of pressure from me and some apologies from them, they did agree to recover my expenses to getting it back into showroom condition.

 

[Kernowboy]

Yes, they put it right which is good. Unfortunately the dealer network is p*** poor; they show no respect at all for their customers, which is unforgivable. You deserve to have a seemless, happy experience when buying a vehicle, any vehicle, yet alone a lifestyle investment. It’s not good enough, and if the vehicle wasn’t so good, they wouldn’t get away with it. There are exceptions of course, but not many have consistently good feedback; it is good to see that your dealer at least put you back into an acceptable position. A cold beer on a warm evening sat outside the van with a steak on the BBQ will put it all into perspective though; you’ll just use a different dealer when you’re upgrading to a T7 .

 

[westfalia]

I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was around naming dealers on the forum... it was Lookers VW Van Centre Guildford.

To be fair, after a bit of pressure from me and some apologies from them, they did agree to recover my expenses to getting it back into showroom condition.

The guy who was involved in that sale should be fired, probably shot
but we cant go that far in this new world.
He clearly isn't bothered.

 

[subthree]

Post all the sweet wrappers back to the dealer with no stamp attached !

And the hair!!!!

 

[larrylamb]

Absolutely shocking, p*ss poor attention to detail and service. I'm glad you named them, they really don't deserve the business. Hope your experience improves dramatically.

 

[Jodalo]

I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was around naming dealers on the forum... it was Lookers VW Van Centre Guildford.

To be fair, after a bit of pressure from me and some apologies from them, they did agree to recover my expenses to getting it back into showroom condition.

It appears Lookers are on their way out. An internal £4 million fraud investigation and shares tumbling. Probably won’t be around much longer. Hardly surprising the state of the Cali on handover.

 

[Borris]

Utterly disgraceful!
As a matter of interest what was their excuse? Whatever it was they should be ashamed of themselves. They knew you were coming to collect it and clearly made no effort to even check the vehicle let alone prep it properly.

I agree with Meoncoast, the hand over is very important. Anyone buying a car must take the time to inspect it thoroughly before handing over their debit card. I must say that you seem to have been very reasonable about this whole episode. Had it been me they'd have lost the sale and from the sound of it that wouldn't have bothered them at all. However, I would also have raised hell with the MD of the Lookers group and with VW Customer Services.

Appalling!

 

[GillianC]

I too had very bad experiences with Lookers Guildford who frankly don't care a hoot. Would never go there or buy anything from them again,

 

[Amonkeyhint]

Utterly disgraceful!
As a matter of interest what was their excuse? What ever it was they should be ashamed of themselves. They knew you were coming to collect it and clearly made no effort to even check the vehicle let alone prep it properly.

I agree with Meoncoast, the hand over is very important. Anyone buying a car must take the time to inspect it thoroughly before handing over their debit card. I must say that you seem to have been very reasonable about this whole episode. Had it been me they'd have lost the sale and from the sound of it that wouldn't have bothered them at all. However, I would also have raised hell with the MD of the Lookers group and with VW Customer Services.

Appalling!

The condition of the vehicle was blamed on the valeter (with no answer to whether the dealership had checked the vehicle before handover). I think lookers had rushed as they were trying to get the van over the line before the end of the month to hit their sales targets, they also blamed the tyre pressures on the same individuals. I got no explanation for the scratch on the vehicle with my gut feeling that they had attempted to mask the damage in the hope I didn't challenge it. The scratch you can see above was after the vehicle detail seemed to remove some of their polish/masking making it appear worse that it was once I got the vehicle home

I guess, my naivety got the better of me during handover, I've had a few new cars on PCP previously, including a RR evoque, for which the treatment from the dealership staff has always been exceptional - I half expected a vaguely similar experience and hadn't expected the vehicle of such value, age and mileage to be in such a condition - I won't be making that mistake again.

 

[Nick.C]

I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was around naming dealers on the forum... it was Lookers VW Van Centre Guildford.

To be fair, after a bit of pressure from me and some apologies from them, they did agree to recover my expenses to getting it back into showroom condition.

We brought our nearly new van from them a year ago. The vans are used by their staff for 6 months before being sold on. We had a really good experience with them and touch wood no problems so far. The state they let your vehicle go is shockingly awful, but I guess at least they have made good in the end.

 

[Borris]

The condition of the vehicle was blamed on the valeter (with no answer to whether the dealership had checked the vehicle before handover). I think lookers had rushed as they were trying to get the van over the line before the end of the month to hit their sales targets, they also blamed the tyre pressures on the same individuals. I got no explanation for the scratch on the vehicle with my gut feeling that they had attempted to mask the damage in the hope I didn't challenge it. The scratch you can see above was after the vehicle detail seemed to remove some of their polish/masking making it appear worse that it was once I got the vehicle home

I guess, my naivety got the better of me during handover, I've had a few new cars on PCP previously, including a RR evoque, for which the treatment from the dealership staff has always been exceptional - I half expected a vaguely similar experience and hadn't expected the vehicle of such value, age and mileage to be in such a condition - I won't be making that mistake again.

Please don't blame yourself. I really feel for you. Anyone collecting a nearly new vehicle from a main dealership has a right to expect it to be in tip top condition especially considering what these things cost. Although even if it had only cost 10k the expectation should be exactly the same.

I'm afraid that when I read your post and saw what they had presented you with, it made my blood boil. There is absolutely no excuse for such abysmal service and blaming it on the valeter is nothing short of a cop out. He or she had never seen your van and anyway it's the salesman's job to hand over the vehicle to the customer so it's therefore down to him/her to ensure it's in the right condition. I'm assuming that no such check was made. If it was and they decided to present it to you anyway then that makes the whole thing ten times worse. Frankly, if they think that sort of thing is acceptable then I hope they lose the franchise and the sooner the better.

I'm glad that you have since got it sorted out and I hope that the experience hasn't spoilt you appreciation of your new van.

 

[blakeley]

This is just to break you in ready for servicing when your pride and joy will be given back to you with damaged trim, grubby fingermarks on the headlining and the odd scratch on the bodywork.

You are lucky in that you are close to Breeze Poole though

 

[Perfectos]

The condition of the vehicle was blamed on the valeter (with no answer to whether the dealership had checked the vehicle before handover). I think lookers had rushed as they were trying to get the van over the line before the end of the month to hit their sales targets, they also blamed the tyre pressures on the same individuals. I got no explanation for the scratch on the vehicle with my gut feeling that they had attempted to mask the damage in the hope I didn't challenge it. The scratch you can see above was after the vehicle detail seemed to remove some of their polish/masking making it appear worse that it was once I got the vehicle home

I guess, my naivety got the better of me during handover, I've had a few new cars on PCP previously, including a RR evoque, for which the treatment from the dealership staff has always been exceptional - I half expected a vaguely similar experience and hadn't expected the vehicle of such value, age and mileage to be in such a condition - I won't be making that mistake again.

Stevie Wonder valeting ?

 

[Wongo]

I can tell you for sure if a VW dealer in Germany had done this, the VW sign would be removed by Wolfburg the day after.
VWCV Milton Keynes don’t do VW any favours permitting these ‘standards’.