From XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3?

[andrewpain]

first touchscreen was the VAG one in the '14 Leon FR. Great if you're not driving.
Finding the XC60 buttons and knobs MUCH easier...maybe iDrive would have been better but I went Swede. And happy so far.
Don't miss touchscreen in the slightest.

[Arianne]

Okay folks, back to the mini-thread about the lad's search for a replacement for the Audi TT (leaving pensions behind then)...

.... and so we arrived back at Newbridge Luxury Car Village again, just outside Edinburgh and the BMW dealer (remember them from 2016 with the road testing of the BMW X3, X5 and X4?). Back in 2016 our experience was pretty good, if not outstanding. Fast forward to July 2017 and things have taken a turn for the worse.

The plan was to test drive a BMW 4 Cabriolet. Everything was booked. The dealer couldn't source the model with the 2.0 petrol but offered us a spin in a demonstrator with a 35d engine. Well, we thought at least we could experience what the drop-top would be like even if the engine bears no similarity to the one we would have wanted.

Archie (not his real name) was our man for the event. Unlike the Porsche and Mercedes dealership earlier in the day, Archie declared that our test drive would be accompanied. Our hearts sank a little.

Once in the car, Archie suggested that a test drive up and down the M9 would tell us nothing about the car and so he had an alternative route. That was encouraging, I thought.

Having spent the grand total of ten minutes driving along a straight road where the only variable was whether the series of staggered traffic lights on each cross road junction would be red or green, Archie asked if the lad had had enough and whether he wanted to turn around and head back to the dealership.

Really? You are contemplating spending north of £40k on a BMW and the Sales Representative thinks that a ten minute drive each way along a straight road at no more than 50mph is sufficient?

We told him that we needed to find a twisty minor road and the lad wanted to experience driving the car with the top down.

So, since we were stationary at the head of the queue on a red light, Archie suggested we drop the hard-top roof then and there. We asked him whether he was sure and he was confident that the BMW would continue to lower its roof even if we needed to pull away when the lights turned green....

..... it didn't! Instead, the lad pulled away and the roof stopped closing such that it was vertical in the air like a sail on a yacht. The lad had to drop the speed down to 5mph to coax the roof to continue folding back while traffic behind us was following patiently. I was sitting in the back and felt exposed and a right twot! Although Archie was still sitting in the front passenger seat, it felt to us as if he had gone missing in action - silent and no acknowledgement of the mistake he had made.

Next on Archie's list of tricks was his search for a fast, country back road. By pinching the BMW's touchscreen he would zoom in and out of the SatNav (BTW, BMW SatNav is the best in the business - it will predict an arrival time to get you across central London and you will actually get there almost at that time - it really does properly factor in traffic congestion).

Archie declared that he had located the equivalent of the Grand St Bernard Pass just outside Bathgate, West Lothian. Next left, he said. And so it was. The drivers' road of West Lothian turned out to be a footpath into some fields!

At this point I assumed my role as back-seat driver and suggested the route we had taken earlier with the Mercedes, at which point Archie raised the white flag and surrendered for the rest of the road test.

Archie's performance was equally grim when we returned to the dealership. The highlight was the cup of tea (they have those nice china cups where the small teapot sits on top of the cup and decent biscuits too).

As for the BMW 4 Cabriolet....

Well, on the positive side - it handles really well with lovely poise. The M-sport suspension was not too harsh. That 35d BMW engine is a peach. It's got four seats, albeit that the back seats have a 90deg vertical back cushion and you sit higher than the front occupants - weirdly like an MPV then! The back seats would be fine for short journeys even with adults but not with the top down as the turbulence back there is too great. Auto gearbox was lovely too,

On the other hand, not so good - it has that boring BMW interior where they are all the same but simply upscaled in size depending upon the model. The analogue dials are truly ancient. Plastics were nothing to rave about, especially in the back. It's not a great looking car to my eyes - hood up or down.

In the end, the lad and I decided that the BMW was just not for us either (so now no Porsche 718 Cayman or BMW 4 Cabriolet). But we thanked Archie, what's the point of providing honest feedback when the whole thing is so, so bad it's irredeemable. Four days later, no follow-up call or email despite the fact that we talked numbers before we left.

Anyway, that's the Eastern BMW experience for you. As I left, I asked Archie where the local Land Rover dealership was so I could take a peek at the new RR Velar. He helpfully pointed to it (Pentland Land Rover) and then said that their BMW X3 was the direct competitor for the Velar. I just nodded and wandered back to JLR's courtesy XJ parked up in the parking bay.

Honestly, how do these people sell cars and keep their jobs? Any of us on this forum could do better. Seriously, Archie was so, so poor.

Here are two shots...






Thoughts, observations and comments?

Arianne

[NigelDay]

Perhaps Archie sells mostly to business customers, or he thought the lad was not a serious customer for a £40k car. I was once treated with complete indifference in an Audi dealership. These 'Sales Executives' need a sharp lesson in customer relations. Perhaps there needs to be more mystery shoppers in this business.

[soupytwister]

Originally Posted by Arianne

Thoughts, observations and comments?

Dealers in Edinburgh are so variable is my observation! Buying an Impreza Turbo <cough> nigh on 20 years ago at Alex F Noble in Penicuik. They were delighted to let me take it out on my own for a few hours even though I turned up on spec. Not something you'd expect for a 20-something year old turning up on his own to get to do. Ditto the MGF they let me take out a few years earlier in the same manner. They got my business both times. I'll not mention that when I took delivery of the spanking brand new Impreza Turbo, I drove it down to Leith to get some different ICE put in, and got a call from the ICE installer saying "do you realise all your wheel nuts are finger tight only". Needless to say, Noble's were quick to rectify the situation and offered recompense in free servicing etc. Couldn't fault them. Mistakes happen.

Murray Volvo - let us take the 2017 XC90 out for a while, but only got it for around an hour after I'd asked if could have it for the whole afternoon. Not a biggie i guess as was booked out by a couple of others that day. Only went elsewhere in the end as the numbers worked out better with another dealer and they had one on factory order i could re-spec. Staff at Murray were certainly accommodating, keen to help, always followed up with calls asking how things were, and were very welcoming the few times i visited the showroom.

My hyundai hack work runaround I bought last year - turned up at Hyundai dealer in Edinburgh after having called them - was told there was no chance of a test drive there & then, and I'd have to put my name on a waiting list for the weekend as that's "when we do test drives". The implied message I got was that I would only be entitled to a test drive if I was looking to purchase the car. FFS. No interest at all in talking numbers, doing a deal, or anything. The "sales manager" passed me to the "junior sales executive" (barely out of nappies and whose shiny suit was 2 sizes too big) who was instructed to let me sit in the car and be guided on the features as presumably the sales manager couldn't be arsed given i'd not "committed" to purchasing one. I was allowed to sit in it in the showroom, and then left on my own to inspect it and said "junior sales executive" wasn't very strong on the social interaction aspects. I went elsewhere to lease finance one the next day. Sale lost. It felt like I should be privileged I would be offered a test drive at all. They truly were old school car dealers. Very poor. No disrespect to other Hyundai owners implied, but there were about 100 on the forecourt, it's not exactly a £250,000 car, it's a commodity, and they're presumably insured in case someone drives off in one and doesn't come back.....perhaps that's how things rock 'n roll at the cheaper end of the market and people like to be treated with the disdain of old school 1970's style sales techniques

Who wants an accompanied test drive anyway!! My sister was buying a new VW Polo about 10 years ago. I went along with her. Dealer point blank refused to let us out in it on our own and he insisted he came along too for what was literally a drive from Seafield to Portobello and back. Needless to say, no business went their way either....

[GJB]

Back in 2003 went to Inchcape in Norwich looking at buying an XC90 was dealt with by a girl who's only words were ''a year'' and when I asked about a test drive (with the demo car in show room) was told that it was not possible, Inchcape eventually lost the Volvo dealership.
Phoned Volvo UK and was put in touch with M R Kings at Halesworth who could not have been more accommodating and purchased a new XC90 delivered in 8 months.
Possibly got the bums rush from Inchcape as I was not in a suit and tie.
It is really a case of lack of regard for possible customers and lack of training of staff, management is the major problem with the Manager hidden in his glass box in the corner and is very unwilling to come out and face the world.

[andrewpain]

Originally Posted by GJB

Back in 2003 went to Inchcape in Norwich looking at buying an XC90 was dealt with by a girl who's only words were ''a year'' and when I asked about a test drive (with the demo car in show room) was told that it was not possible, Inchcape eventually lost the Volvo dealership.
Phoned Volvo UK and was put in touch with M R Kings at Halesworth who could not have been more accommodating and purchased a new XC90 delivered in 8 months.
Possibly got the bums rush from Inchcape as I was not in a suit and tie.
It is really a case of lack of regard for possible customers and lack of training of staff, management is the major problem with the Manager hidden in his glass box in the corner and is very unwilling to come out and face the world.

treatment by sales staff makes a HUGE difference, doesn't it?
People at Marshalls Volvo Cambridge could NOT have been more accommodating, helpful, informative or friendly. Of course I bought from them rather than the dealer half an hour away (Vs. an hour minimum...).

[Ninja59]

All down to dealer I had a 6 (the one I ironically eventually bought) for a weekend after a short test drive. One of the best experiences I have had at a dealer. Really is down to dealer policies and sales guys more than anything.

Glad you liked the 35d engine (N57), although most of the 4 series interior is lifted straight from the 3 series. For me personally BMW interiors without exhaustive expensive options only come alive at 5 and above....but then the base price of the car starts getting pricey. Ignore BMW list prices they are just nonsense usually.

The other problem is most people do not test drive cars these days, the only interest is the badge and monthly leasing costs...

[MikeIOW]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

For me personally BMW interiors without exhaustive expensive options only come alive at 5 and above....but then the base price of the car starts getting pricey.

Over 15 years ago, that was what put me off BMW and onto a Saab Aero: the Beemer had an options *book* - for what I wanted, I think it added over 40% to the price - ....the Saab came pretty well fully loaded!
That led me to 13 years and over 300K miles in 3x Saabs, and now 3 years and 45K miles into Volvo...
Now I'm perhaps not a typical buyer....but I believe if I was actively looking to change (& I suspect I will run with ours another year or two), I would be pretty impressed with the new XC60. Saab and Volvo have the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in....& a style that's Scandinavian cool!

[Turnwood]

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

....& a style that's Scandinavian cool!

Notwithstanding the apparent quality of Volvo's new cars (I love the new XC60), it is the badge that would lead me to buy another one as my next motor. Like Saab, they present an image of someone who is successful, astute and considered in a way that the German brands do not. It is a sad world we live in when the car someone drives should matter as much as it does, but in business first impressions are everything and the Volvo brand delivers in my view.

[tostex]

It's just a car, don't read too much into it.

But I see what you mean, sometimes cars can mean something else. I would never buy a Porsche because I live in a small town and everyone would know that I bought a Porsche.