Not Impressed

[dunkan]

Well to be honest i wish i'd not bothered driving to Nottingham from B'ham to view my 06 leon, the car had a few faults all of which were agreed to be rectified.
All has been done but 5 days after collection the rear bumper is for want of a better word crap, its deformed and does not fit and has a 10 mm gap on one side but not the other and is also rippled under where the tailgate shuts.

Took car back to dealer after they made an appointment for me to take it back to get it sorted only to be told theres nothing we can do with that, (120 mile round trip for nothing) the service manager took my mob number and said he would call me, 5 days later no call, i call them and speak to the salesman who did the deal with me and he says i'll get back to you on Monday with some answers, again he didnt call me, i called and spoke to the sales manager and outlined the saga to date, he said he would get it sorted and so as agreed i called him the following day, he wasnt able to take my call !! left my contact details but no return call, called again and again i cant talk to him, left my number again but again no call from him, ive just tried again and was told he'd just popped out but left my number again and supprise supprise no return of call.

Im really not impressed now and wished i'd never seen or heard of this dealership. This is the poorest customer service ive ever had !!

I shall be calling SEAT UK this morning, i hope they have something positive to put forward to resolve my problem.

Duncan

 

[Red ibiza]

So the dealer is???

 

[dunkan]

So the dealer is???

Spoke to a nice chap at SEAT UK this morning at approx 09:30 and he said he'd be getting intouch with the dealer but as of yet i've heard nothing, as this could possibly go legal i think i should reframe from posting the dealers details until i know more, i think this could be any dealer of any make of car so be extra carefukl before you part with your cash !

I've only ever bought 2 cars from franchised dealers and both have not been very good experiances, i'll never do it again thats for sure !

Will post more details after i've spoken to SEAT

 

[Red ibiza]

If it's the dealer I think it is then it will be very hard for you to get anywhere with them,
thay just want to sell you the car and dont care about you after care. Thats sad but true and what a let down.

 

[dunkan]

If it's the dealer I think it is then it will be very hard for you to get anywhere with them,
thay just want to sell you the car and dont care about you after care. Thats sad but true and what a let down.

Doesnt sound great and exactly how i feel is let down, i really cant believe how they survive ? dont they want you to come back and buy another car off them or tell others, hey this place is very good, really good service etc etc.

Very unimpressed at the moment

If SEAT dont come up with something then i'll give it to my Solicitor to deal with.

 

[dunkan]

I had a call from SEAT UK this morning saying they'd been in touch with the dealership and my problem will be sorted by supplying, painting and fitting a new rear bumper, the dealership are supposed to be calling me today to organise this and even better SEAT UK told me i can have this work done here in B'ham.

Fingers crossed this is the end of the matter and if so i thank SEAT UK for sorting this out, im afraid this dealership should think long and hard about customer relations as theres is the worst ive come across.

I'll update when i know more.

 

[dunkan]

What a lame duck SEAT UK are, no calls from dealership so i called SEAT UK and got a rather poor responce, they dont seem too bothered that quite a few of there dealerships arent very good !! after telling them how unimpressed i was i gave up with them.

I gave it one more go at Willoughbys and after telling the receptionist im going to be speaking to the dealer owner Stephen Willoughby followed by my solictor i got a return call from the sales manager, a new rear bumper is being ordered and will be hopefully painted and fitted in the next 2 weeks !!!!

I shall wait and see if this actually happens but hopefully it will, when its done i think i might sell the car as ive had enough of SEAT and crap service.

 

[oliverj]

I had a similar issue with the mouldings on the door of my brand new LCR. They were peeling away from the door when I collected it on the drivers side.

Willoughbys said they could sort it under warranty but couldn't guarantee it would be the same colour as the rest of the car!!!!! What are you supposed to say to that!!!!

I am starting to think that it is pot luck as to what kind of dealer you get, Derby GK were apprehensive to look into some of my warranty issues in case SEAT wouldn't authorise the work and they lost out on labour. It's such a shame.

It's not like you can refuse to pay for the vehicle intil it is sorted now as most people have to use finance to get one!

I hope your bumper gets sorted, I can't believe they even tried to hand it over to you in that condition. Where are the quality checks!?!?!? Winds me up!

 

[dunkan]

I had a similar issue with the mouldings on the door of my brand new LCR. They were peeling away from the door when I collected it on the drivers side.

Willoughbys said they could sort it under warranty but couldn't guarantee it would be the same colour as the rest of the car!!!!! What are you supposed to say to that!!!!

I am starting to think that it is pot luck as to what kind of dealer you get, Derby GK were apprehensive to look into some of my warranty issues in case SEAT wouldn't authorise the work and they lost out on labour. It's such a shame.

It's not like you can refuse to pay for the vehicle intil it is sorted now as most people have to use finance to get one!

I hope your bumper gets sorted, I can't believe they even tried to hand it over to you in that condition. Where are the quality checks!?!?!? Winds me up!

Its crap isnt it. Not only are there dealers crap, SEAT UK are also crap.

Quality checks
Basicly there great before you buy the car, they cant do enough for you but the second theyve taken your money then your not very important at all.

We'll see how my bumper saga goes and hopefully very soon it'll be dealt with

 

[oliverj]

Well I have renewed faith in SEAT via Derby GKs actions - I'll let you know how I get on Thursday.

Biggest issue I have is time is running out to book Donington and I am hesitant to commit until I know whether the wheel bearings are shot or not!?!?!?! i cannot believe they insisted on me reverting the brakes and wheels back to standard before they could look into it.... give me strength!!!!

What disappoints me is that I thought SEAT had the edge over Audi and VW even sharing the same parts bin yet without the prestige, an opporunity you would think to make up with first rate sales and aftercare but the reality may be that you actually get what you pay for and SEAT have a long way to go and a lot to learn... Sad really but they are sliding down the same pole that Alfa Romeo did.....

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you on the bumper!

 

[dunkan]

I cant see what differance swapping the wheels and brakes will make to whether youve got wheel bearing problems ! couldnt you take it to any mot station to get the wheel bearings checked as its not rocket science, infact any decent garage should be able to do this no matter what wheels or brakes are fitted to your car !

All the places ive been to do not give me any confidence, the drivers door mirror came loose a couple of days ago and the SEAT approved repair center i went to hadnt got a clue how to remove the door card to get at the nut that holds the mirror to the door !!

Luckily theres a write up on here how to do it but trust me its still a ball ache to do and was quite shocked at such a crap design.

Still waiting for my bumper to be sorted and still waiting for a hint of giving a damn about letting the customer know whats going on ! i phoned Willoughbys and was told weve got youre new bumper but dont have a courtesy car, i need an automatic due to losing the use in my left arm after a motorcycle rta some years ago, god knows how long this will go on for and to be honest ive had enough as its just not good enough.

 

[oliverj]

Hey Dunkan, sorry to hear about your arm. I bet you are at your wits end over the bumper, you just don't need the hassle. What is most frustrating is that you can't escalate the problem to someone else to get it sorted.

Seat came back with a big no for my callipers. I am not giving up yet though.

Exactly!! Reverting the wheels and disks back to standard would make absolutely no difference to their investigation. I took it to my track man and he found the problem. Turns out the inside pad on the off-side rear was sticking and was virtually worn down to nothing. All sorted now with no thanks to Seat.

Were Willoughbys able to give you an idea of when they may be able to get it in - can they not give you a car off the forecourt? It is disgusting the way you have been treated. I hope it is over soon.

 

[dunkan]

Cheers Oliver, glad you found and sorted your problem out but as you say SEAT arent much help if any !!

Willoughbys lol i shall be calling them in the near future as this is really turning into a joke now and i have no faith in them what so ever.

If they wanted to get this resolved im sure it could of been done by now seeing as ive been trying since early July !

 

[traumapat]

sad to hear your woes.

my own experiences havnt been great. but thats purely from servicing.
very wrong not responding to your calls

 

[dunkan]

sad to hear your woes.

my own experiences havnt been great. but thats purely from servicing.
very wrong not responding to your calls

More of the same today, i phoned this morning and the sales manager was not there (i want his job as he's hardly ever there doing it when i phone lol) i made sure the guy on the other end new im not impressed but suprise suprise ive not been called back.

 

[traumapat]

having an older car thats been out of warranty for years has its benefits.

the local garage 300yds up the road loves the car and they get the general stuff. anything else jabbasport get. both do quality work for a fair price.

brilliant rapport with both garages and i never get the aggravation and nonsense the dealers throw.

best of luck with it. id chill for a moment though. if seat have ordered a new bumper it wont arrive straight away. garage may just be avoiding you. id contact seat by letter explaining the contact problems and that could they provide in writing their offer replacing the bumper. and to contact you directly or have the garage do it when its ready for fitting.

youve every right to be annoyed but it`ll get done eventually. enjoy your car mate

 

[oliverj]

Cheers Oliver, glad you found and sorted your problem out but as you say SEAT arent much help if any !!

Willoughbys lol i shall be calling them in the near future as this is really turning into a joke now and i have no faith in them what so ever.

If they wanted to get this resolved im sure it could of been done by now seeing as ive been trying since early July !

Hi Dunkan,

I am still chasing SEAT re the flaking lacquer on the callipers. They have said no as it is a cosmetic issue but i am not accepting that.

Have you been able to get hold of the sales manager? What is his name as I am on quite good terms with Howard and Mark in new and used sales. I might be able to get them to pressue a call for you if it helps? Let me know.

One day it will all be sorted and you can look back on this chaos and laugh!

 

[oliverj]

having an older car thats been out of warranty for years has its benefits.

the local garage 300yds up the road loves the car and they get the general stuff. anything else jabbasport get. both do quality work for a fair price.

brilliant rapport with both garages and i never get the aggravation and nonsense the dealers throw.

best of luck with it. id chill for a moment though. if seat have ordered a new bumper it wont arrive straight away. garage may just be avoiding you. id contact seat by letter explaining the contact problems and that could they provide in writing their offer replacing the bumper. and to contact you directly or have the garage do it when its ready for fitting.

youve every right to be annoyed but it`ll get done eventually. enjoy your car mate

You are lucky to have found good garages you trust! My trustworthy bloke lives a 200 mile round trip away but it is worth it to know that it is being done properly.

There should be a poll on this site where we can rate local dealerships and those that don't make the grade donlt get any custom. Name and shame I say!!!!

 

[dunkan]

Hi Dunkan,

I am still chasing SEAT re the flaking lacquer on the callipers. They have said no as it is a cosmetic issue but i am not accepting that.

Have you been able to get hold of the sales manager? What is his name as I am on quite good terms with Howard and Mark in new and used sales. I might be able to get them to pressue a call for you if it helps? Let me know.

One day it will all be sorted and you can look back on this chaos and laugh!

I've just got my warrenty booklit from Seat and laughed my head off, i called this morning to offer a simple and cheaper way to do this for them but found that there were no managers there that could take my call and none called me back !!
From the receptionist upwards it seems almost like there going out of there way to be unhelpfull which is really p****ing me off.

I have a solution which is courier the bumper to a bodyshop i use here in B'ham and send me a cheque for £100 to go towards painting and fitting which i guess would be around £250 ish.

I was told they have the new bumper there so thats not an issue now if in fact its there, i also checked at a local Seat dealer last week and there were several rear bumpers in stock and he said 3-4 days max for it to arrive.

I've not met Howard but Mark sold me the car and to be honest he did his job other than make sure the bumper got sorted but guess thats somebody else's problem.
I should have walked away from the car and got my deposit back for failing to forfill the written agreement we had but alas i didnt.

How well do you know these guys ?

Cheers dunk

good luck with your claim and i hope you get somewhere, my discs are a disgrace which i'd read about but guess this is all part of the Seat experiance lol time for another smoke and laugh at myself for not buying a Skoda

 

[oliverj]

Hi Dunk,

I have just received a letter through from Seat about extending my warranty before the car hits the mighty age of 3!!! Jokers. If I hadn't of had such difficulty getting anything done under warranty I may have considered it but if anything I am offended!!!

Willoughbys don't have a body shop so I am not sure who they would use to sort your bumper. I use the bodyshops at BMW and Ferrari - they are expensive but you get a decent courtesy car and the job has always been first rate. My misfortunes have given them plenty of business over the years

It makes me laugh - you offer Seat a compromise and they still can't help. I offered to fir the new callipers if they stand the parts cost and they said they couldn't even do that!

Could you source it from a dealer local to you or do you have to sort it through Willoughbys?

Howard sold me both of my Leons, he has always looked after me but has little influence on getting warranty issues sorted. Mark sold a Leon to my friend but I suppose it all comes down to the aftersales service and we both no what that is like!

I reckon you are right - Skoda would bend over backwards to keep us happy. Maybe we will bump into each other on the lexus owners forum one day