Volvo Dealers - Page 2

airforced · Nov 20th, 2018, 20:38

I certainly hope not as I moved to Volvo after running Mercs since 2010 but I became fed up with my local dealer who took over the franchise from an excellent firm a couple of years or so ago. They are absolutely useless. There is good and bad everywhere and until you have exerienced the good and the bad it is difficult to form an opinion.

I will be using a more local Volvo dealer for service and repairs even though the more distant dealer I bought from deserve credit for their efficiency and communictions

KerPLoD · Nov 20th, 2018, 21:12

My experiences are limited, at 23, but the vast majority of dealerships I've had anything to do with are lacking in almost all departments, seemingly only concerned with taking a customer's money.

My first full-time job was working for a local franchise on the service desk. The franchise included Volvo, and if you want to see the worst of Volvo service, check out the progress thread on my 240 in my signature.

The service was atrocious across the board, be it sales, service or parts. The parts department were downright rude, whether you were a fellow employee or a customer, the service department was completely hit and miss with prices and quotes being imagined on the spot in many cases, while the sales team were, well let's just say they weren't the most motivated bunch, since most of their deals and commissions were (allegedly) taken/poached by the family that owned the franchise. There was one occasion where a 2003 S80 was sold by my boss with 3 months warranty and 4 months MOT, only for the rear brake discs and handbrake shoes to need replacing for that MOT, paid for by the customer. Thing is we knew they needed replacing.

After leaving there, I went to work for Ford as a valeter. The sales manager was a piece of work (to the valeters at least) but he was able to put on a front, meanwhile whenever I would catch the sales team with customers, you could just see the nervousness a mile off - it was all a box-ticking exercise - have I told the customer this? Have I offered them that? So plastic and pre rehearsed, but they didn't seem to have a choice.

More recently, my Dad was looking for a new car, and we wanted a Suzuki Swift. I must admit, the salesman at the nearest Suzuki dealer was very friendly, and seemed very genuine. Not pushy at all like most I've met. It was a real shame they didn't have the right car we wanted. It was even more of a shame that a nearby Ford dealer did, because the salesman was disinterested, pushy and quite short with us at times. The car in question wasn't available for a test drive yet he was still attempting to push us into putting down a deposit, claiming that the car could well have been sold by the next week.

It wasn't, we bought it. It's just a shame that he got the deal, because all it will do is reinforce his belief in his rather lacking sales technique. He didn't sell it though, the car sold itself.

Apologies for the wall of text, congratulations if you made it to the end. In short, to hell with main dealers. Or maybe I'm just too cynical.

Wizzpop · Nov 20th, 2018, 23:00

Just to follow up, that's one reason I have had a Volvo for the last 18 years. Previousy I had Peugeots. I went to change my car which had been regularly serviced by the main dealer. The sales guy at the dealers was very pushy (are you going to buy today). In the end my wife threw a bit of a strop at him and we left. Drove past our local Volvo dealer, having never even considered them, and stopped by. The salesman was really helpful, went off, then came back with a set of keys, said take it out for a drive, if you like it then we can discuss. If you don't then that's fine.
Needless to say we liked it, they followed up with a S40 2.0T which was excellent for what we wanted. The subsequent support and servicing was good and the attitude of all the staff was good. Yes I am still one of their customers. Even today a neighbour took their, new to them, V60 in for service, and was pleasantly surprised at the reception she had. Those dealers who don't have that culture lose out in the end.

KerPLoD · Nov 21st, 2018, 08:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wizzpop

Just to follow up, that's one reason I have had a Volvo for the last 18 years. Previousy I had Peugeots. I went to change my car which had been regularly serviced by the main dealer. The sales guy at the dealers was very pushy (are you going to buy today). In the end my wife threw a bit of a strop at him and we left. Drove past our local Volvo dealer, having never even considered them, and stopped by. The salesman was really helpful, went off, then came back with a set of keys, said take it out for a drive, if you like it then we can discuss. If you don't then that's fine.
Needless to say we liked it, they followed up with a S40 2.0T which was excellent for what we wanted. The subsequent support and servicing was good and the attitude of all the staff was good. Yes I am still one of their customers. Even today a neighbour took their, new to them, V60 in for service, and was pleasantly surprised at the reception she had. Those dealers who don't have that culture lose out in the end.

Funnily enough, the branch I worked for used to be Peugeot. And that's when I learned that the last good Peugeots were made two decades ago.

Robbie34 · Nov 21st, 2018, 10:31

I have been with Southport Honda for the past fifteen years and I have had exemplary service from them. They have been owned by Cox Motor Group for the past six years who have been even better than Lookers who were the previous owners. Unfortunately, Cox don't hold a Volvo franchise.

ExCee70 · Nov 21st, 2018, 14:31

I can echo the above experiences where I have had appalling service and then exemplary service from Volvo dealers.

Purchased an ex-demo from Doves in Preston and it was appalling from the time I collected the car. Won't go into the details but have vowed never to deal with a Doves garage again.

Moved then to Rybrook in Warrington who were great on the servicing of my car. No issues until I persuaded my girlfriend to buy a Volvo and she went shopping for a new top of the range XC60. She wanted a very highly spec'd car and they were nothing but apathetic in their approach to her and after multiple calls to the dealer she gave up and bought an ex-demo from Stoneacre in Chesterfield.

Stoneacre were very good and she was delighted with her car but they are too far from home to be used for servicing so we both now use Holdcroft Volvo in Stoke-on-Trent.

Holdcroft have been great so far and nothing seems to be too much trouble. For both parts and servicing they give discounts for VOC membership but we have yet to deal with them for a new car. Only time will tell how good they are on that one but I have a warm fuzzy feeling that they will be just as good.

So there you go. Yet another example of not all dealers being the same. It is sadly pot luck which one is close enough for you to deal with.

Robbie34 · Nov 23rd, 2018, 12:09

The saga continues.
Early yesterday evening I received a 'phone call from the sales person who had been assigned the sale of my car. She was unable to do the "handover" as it was her day off. Would one day next week be convenient? I agreed Monday and then had to haggle over a convenient time.
In order to keep the price below £40,000 I had also ordered a reversible cargo compartment mat and a protective steel safety grill steel as dealer fit options. She did not know if these were in the car. She promised to check and would ring me back. "I am here until seven and will get back to you," she promised. Seven came and went with no call from her.
The previous poster has identified the dealer.

Robbie34 · Nov 23rd, 2018, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExCee70

Stoneacre were very good and she was delighted with her car but they are too far from home to be used for servicing so we both now use Holdcroft Volvo in Stoke-on-Trent.

Holdcroft have been great so far and nothing seems to be too much trouble. For both parts and servicing they give discounts for VOC membership but we have yet to deal with them for a new car. Only time will tell how good they are on that one but I have a warm fuzzy feeling that they will be just as good.

So there you go. Yet another example of not all dealers being the same. It is sadly pot luck which one is close enough for you to deal with.

Holdcroft have an excellent reputation as Honda dealers.

Zebster · Nov 23rd, 2018, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbie34

Holdcroft have an excellent reputation as Honda dealers.

That depends on which Honda web forum you read! I'm a former long-term Honda owner and dealer reviews are heavily moderated on both the HondaKarma and TypeAccord forums (although HK is recently under new management) because they are affiliated to Holdcroft Honda, while the independent Civinfo forum features a lot of negative comments about Holdcroft.

AndyJudge · Nov 23rd, 2018, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by airforced

I certainly hope not as I moved to Volvo after running Mercs since 2010 but I became fed up with my local dealer who took over the franchise from an excellent firm a couple of years or so ago. They are absolutely useless. There is good and bad everywhere and until you have exerienced the good and the bad it is difficult to form an opinion.

I will be using a more local Volvo dealer for service and repairs even though the more distant dealer I bought from deserve credit for their efficiency and communictions

A number of us from the NE prefer to travel to visit a dealer than use the local chain.

Nov 20th, 2018, 20:38	#11
airforced Member Last Online: Oct 7th, 2021 19:40 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: North Yorkshire Coast	I certainly hope not as I moved to Volvo after running Mercs since 2010 but I became fed up with my local dealer who took over the franchise from an excellent firm a couple of years or so ago. They are absolutely useless. There is good and bad everywhere and until you have exerienced the good and the bad it is difficult to form an opinion. I will be using a more local Volvo dealer for service and repairs even though the more distant dealer I bought from deserve credit for their efficiency and communictions __________________ MY18 S90 D4 Momentum Mussel Blue + Park Pilot Assist

Nov 20th, 2018, 21:12	#12
KerPLoD 240 Owner, VOC Member Last Online: Feb 24th, 2023 15:13 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Saxmundham, Suffolk	My experiences are limited, at 23, but the vast majority of dealerships I've had anything to do with are lacking in almost all departments, seemingly only concerned with taking a customer's money. My first full-time job was working for a local franchise on the service desk. The franchise included Volvo, and if you want to see the worst of Volvo service, check out the progress thread on my 240 in my signature. The service was atrocious across the board, be it sales, service or parts. The parts department were downright rude, whether you were a fellow employee or a customer, the service department was completely hit and miss with prices and quotes being imagined on the spot in many cases, while the sales team were, well let's just say they weren't the most motivated bunch, since most of their deals and commissions were (allegedly) taken/poached by the family that owned the franchise. There was one occasion where a 2003 S80 was sold by my boss with 3 months warranty and 4 months MOT, only for the rear brake discs and handbrake shoes to need replacing for that MOT, paid for by the customer. Thing is we knew they needed replacing. After leaving there, I went to work for Ford as a valeter. The sales manager was a piece of work (to the valeters at least) but he was able to put on a front, meanwhile whenever I would catch the sales team with customers, you could just see the nervousness a mile off - it was all a box-ticking exercise - have I told the customer this? Have I offered them that? So plastic and pre rehearsed, but they didn't seem to have a choice. More recently, my Dad was looking for a new car, and we wanted a Suzuki Swift. I must admit, the salesman at the nearest Suzuki dealer was very friendly, and seemed very genuine. Not pushy at all like most I've met. It was a real shame they didn't have the right car we wanted. It was even more of a shame that a nearby Ford dealer did, because the salesman was disinterested, pushy and quite short with us at times. The car in question wasn't available for a test drive yet he was still attempting to push us into putting down a deposit, claiming that the car could well have been sold by the next week. It wasn't, we bought it. It's just a shame that he got the deal, because all it will do is reinforce his belief in his rather lacking sales technique. He didn't sell it though, the car sold itself. Apologies for the wall of text, congratulations if you made it to the end. In short, to hell with main dealers. Or maybe I'm just too cynical. __________________ 1992 Volvo 240, Silver, B200F, 191k Restored 2002 Vauxhall Corsa 2010 Vauxhall Combo Check out the restoration of my 240 here...

Nov 20th, 2018, 23:00	#13
Wizzpop Master Member Last Online: Yesterday 09:46 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Portsmouth	Just to follow up, that's one reason I have had a Volvo for the last 18 years. Previousy I had Peugeots. I went to change my car which had been regularly serviced by the main dealer. The sales guy at the dealers was very pushy (are you going to buy today). In the end my wife threw a bit of a strop at him and we left. Drove past our local Volvo dealer, having never even considered them, and stopped by. The salesman was really helpful, went off, then came back with a set of keys, said take it out for a drive, if you like it then we can discuss. If you don't then that's fine. Needless to say we liked it, they followed up with a S40 2.0T which was excellent for what we wanted. The subsequent support and servicing was good and the attitude of all the staff was good. Yes I am still one of their customers. Even today a neighbour took their, new to them, V60 in for service, and was pleasantly surprised at the reception she had. Those dealers who don't have that culture lose out in the end. __________________ 2019 V60 Momentum Pro T5 Denim Blue, blond interior, electric deployed towbar. 1957 Morgan Plus 4

Nov 21st, 2018, 14:31	#16
ExCee70 VOC Member Last Online: Mar 26th, 2024 15:22 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Winsford, Cheshire	I can echo the above experiences where I have had appalling service and then exemplary service from Volvo dealers. Purchased an ex-demo from Doves in Preston and it was appalling from the time I collected the car. Won't go into the details but have vowed never to deal with a Doves garage again. Moved then to Rybrook in Warrington who were great on the servicing of my car. No issues until I persuaded my girlfriend to buy a Volvo and she went shopping for a new top of the range XC60. She wanted a very highly spec'd car and they were nothing but apathetic in their approach to her and after multiple calls to the dealer she gave up and bought an ex-demo from Stoneacre in Chesterfield. Stoneacre were very good and she was delighted with her car but they are too far from home to be used for servicing so we both now use Holdcroft Volvo in Stoke-on-Trent. Holdcroft have been great so far and nothing seems to be too much trouble. For both parts and servicing they give discounts for VOC membership but we have yet to deal with them for a new car. Only time will tell how good they are on that one but I have a warm fuzzy feeling that they will be just as good. So there you go. Yet another example of not all dealers being the same. It is sadly pot luck which one is close enough for you to deal with. __________________ 1967 123GT running resto 2012 XC70 SE Lux D5 with Polestar

Nov 21st, 2018, 10:31	#15
Robbie34 Junior Member Last Online: Apr 2nd, 2023 12:48 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Prescot	I have been with Southport Honda for the past fifteen years and I have had exemplary service from them. They have been owned by Cox Motor Group for the past six years who have been even better than Lookers who were the previous owners. Unfortunately, Cox don't hold a Volvo franchise.

Nov 23rd, 2018, 12:09	#17
Robbie34 Junior Member Last Online: Apr 2nd, 2023 12:48 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Prescot	The saga continues. Early yesterday evening I received a 'phone call from the sales person who had been assigned the sale of my car. She was unable to do the "handover" as it was her day off. Would one day next week be convenient? I agreed Monday and then had to haggle over a convenient time. In order to keep the price below £40,000 I had also ordered a reversible cargo compartment mat and a protective steel safety grill steel as dealer fit options. She did not know if these were in the car. She promised to check and would ring me back. "I am here until seven and will get back to you," she promised. Seven came and went with no call from her. The previous poster has identified the dealer.

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