Volvo Dealers
 

I'm not impressed with my nearest Volvo dealers and I wonder if all are the same.

Unfortunately, Volvo dealers are few and far between so I dob't have much choice. The first dealer I visited to buy a new V60 wasn't at all interested in selling me a new car. He urged me to sell my Honda CR-V privately and then get back to him. I ventured further afield - more than twice as far as the first dealer - and all seemed well. Good price for my Honda; gave the salesman the options I wanted on a Momentum Pro; paid £500 deposit and asked for the sales agreement. Told they don't give these but will e.mail it to me that afternoon.

The email failed to arrive and then when it did there were mistakes on what I had ordered. A correct sales agreement arrived at the third attempt. Some days later I noticed a discrepancy in the VED so sent an e.mail to the salesman. No reply forthcoming so after a few days I 'phoned to be told he had left. I asked to speak to the sales manager who was not available but did eventually contact me.

I didn't want to go over the £40,000 mark so I asked by, e.mail, if they could order some items separately, spare wheel, mats, dog guard, with no reply. No reply to 'phone call, but did eventually. The dealer wasn't willing to transfer my personal plate so I did the necessary. He had offered to supply new plates for my present car but failed to answer any mails or get back to me by 'phone. I got new plates from my Honda dealer with one 'phone call and a visit with my plates waiting for me They also swapped over the plates.

My car has arrived and I have received my retention certificate. I sent an email to the sales manger with a copy of the certificate asking if he needed a hard copy. No reply so far and I have sent him a reminder today.

I have never had any problems with my Honda dealer who has always replied to me promptly. Unfortunately, Honda no longer produces a model that I want, so I have had to change with some regret. Southport Honda have been excellent and given good service with my Accords and latterly my CR-V.

No they are not all the same. My local dealer, near Portsmouth so no help to you, is outstanding. They do believe the customer is important.

I think a lot of dealerships are like this, it seems more prevalent among the Volvo, Audi, BMW and Merc franchises. Further down the food chain seem much better.

Sounds a lot like my experience when I bought my used V60 from Cambridge Volvo this year. Colchester on the other hand was a lot more helpful and willing to contact me. Its all down to the salesperson I think, but they are influenced by their managers.

Best service I got was from the 2 Honda dealers I visited before choosing Volvo though.

No replies to my e.mails so I 'phoned this morning. Got the sales manager first time.
He had received my e.mails and didn't need the hard copy. He has passed my purchase to someone else. " Hasn't she 'phoned you?" Obviously not.
The car is ready for collection on Friday, but I may no be able to collect it then as the money from my investment account may not be in my current account by then.
I despair. Prior notification would have allowed me to get the funds in time.

I think this is the new generation of company 'ethics' for you, from Insurance Companies and Utilities to Shops and Car Dealers.

A younger generation of management focusing on the balance sheet at the expense of doing what they should be doing i.e. caring about the customer experience and, god forbid, actually making an effort to support a customer's needs even if a little bit unusual.

Is it any wonder that internet buying is so popular when most people's experience of dealing with other humans in a sales environment leaves a lot to be desired at best or at worst is downright rude.....

For these reasons I tried to buy my S90 outside of the dealer network in 2017 - it was almost possible but became too difficult to include in the VOC discount (you are a member so getting the discount I hope?), so I had to go through a dealer anyway.

when you ask if all dealers are like this the answer is of course not , they are trained to the highest standards and volvos training centre has won many awards , What you are experiencing is Lousy INDIVIDUALS working for the dealer .. You can find them in all companies despite the companies aims and goals being the highest possible .. You really must report people like this who you have come across to the very highest level straight away ...you will find next time you visit things are very different !

Clan’s correct. I had this with VW and when I contacted VW UK head office a new and more customer friendliness was experienced.

TT

It's not just Volvo dealers, a friend recently decided to change his Mercedes so went to his local dealership to try to source a pre owned petrol model, the salesman could hardly be bothered to discuss it. On a trip to Manchester for the footy he dropped in to a dealership up there (in his football scarf) and found the salesperson most helpful. Returning to home he then went a little way to the Bedford dealership where the salesman couldn't find him the car he wanted pre owned but got him a good deal on a new one exactly to spec. That's one lost sale to the local dealership.
Many years ago I did some work with the training department of VW, they would run courses for new salespeople, about 20 per course but within those 20 there were always 2 or 3 that we could tell from the start were going to be a problem, they were the wide boys full of their own self importance and full of b..s.... Thinking about it those same people are now in their late 40's and early 50's and some of them have probably become Sales Managers.. good luck if they are at your local dealership.