SMC Datchet/Windsor

[nugget]

Well had my first service here today, mixed bag:

Car washed and vacuumed, nice surprise
Wheels swapped front to back as requested
Fair bit of oil on engine cover
New cupra badge under warranty

Fault with brake lights not rectified, they still dont come on until the brakes are biting quite hard, nearly been shunted up t'arse more than once cos of this. At first servcie guy was sure no fault found, they should be like that, when I challenged him, checked with the senior technician, who agreed with him. I still wasn't happy so mentioned a couple of the guys on here had had the same problem and had the switches replaced. He disappeared for five minutes and then agreed to get the switches changed, will call me once the parts are in.... reserving judgement on this one for now...

So all in all, semms ok, couple of points are disappointing, excess oil and the brake lights, but not too bad, certainly no worse than the Fiat dealers I've experienced with my previous two cars, they were awful!

Moving to Reading soon so will be closer to Camberley so may use them next time, will wait and see what happens with the brakes.

 

[SteveO]

My cars 18 months old, in those 18months I have waited a total of 17weeks for parts which SMC Windsor haven't ordered. Thats not 17 weeks waiting for parts, its 17 weeks in total waiting for parts which I have subsequently found they haven't ordered.

I sincerely doubt I will visit this garage again. Bag of sh1te.

 

[superkully]

I bought me new Ibiza from here in March '03. The sales staff were very friendly.... That is the end of anything good I have to say about this dealership.

My family and I have had Rovers forever, so we know how cars can be and how to live with them, but the dealerships are always grand and always sort out the few things some Brummie has forgotten to screw on or fitted the wrong way round.

I picked up the car and drove home happily, until I got on the M4 and noticed the high-pitched whistle from the passenger side and the creaking from the dash.

That's how eight months of being mucked about by the garage started.

+ Being called at work at dinner and told all had been fixed, coming in and finding some woman waiting for my courtesy car and nothing having been done on my car (after she'd gone off in the courtesy car).
+ Always being told work had been done when it had not.
+ Coming in when they open, to be told that 'the part hasn't arrived' thereby taking the complete piss out of me having woken up at 6am to get there.
+ Coming in when the open and being told they havn't got a courtesy car - see above point.
+ The interior being marked every single time I took it in. They also managed to put a cut in the dashboard when they took it out to sort the creaking dashboard.
+ Chatting to the girl on the desk, she tells me they've changed the nearside window seals, I say they should have changed the offside seals. She says "oh, let me check...." and pretends to look at a piece of paper that I can see is to do with a Seat Alhambra service (ffs!) and then tells me that "yes, they had changed the offside window seals"

They never sorted out the creaking, whistling and I was losing patience all the time, I lost all of that when at my 10K service I asked him why they'd charged for screenwash when I'd filled it up in the morning. He starts off saying that it must have been empty and I was mistaken. That then changed to the mechanics always change the screenwash... All that for two quid or whatever it was. I decided never to go to that pile of **** garage again when I get in the car to find grease marks on my seat and that they hadn't greased the hinges (I don't know what else they hadn't done because I then did a 1.5K trip beforee checking the oil colour).

I then went to Emmer Green who not only sorted everything the first time, they used plastic covers on the seats and didn't **** me about.

Avoid this arse wipe of a garage.

 

[Icecavern]

You actually had service off of Emmer Green??? That dealer wouldn't know a Seat if they had a car lot full of them.... Oh they do...

Pete

 

[nugget]

Well the cupra went back into SMC today to have the brake light switches replaced after I pushed for it. Brake lights are now much better.

However events while I was there left me shaking my head.

Service technician jumps in the car to drive it round to the servicing area, a hell of lot heavier with the right foot than I'd have liked, especially since I'd only just driven from Langley so debatable whether the oil was up to temp yet
No offer of showing me what he had done, or demonstration that it was fixed

Then while I was waiting, a lady came in to complain, seems the technicians had left off a pipe when they did the service. The manager seemed rather condescending, if he'd have talked to me the way he talked to her, I'd probably have kicked him hard in the head.

In a nutshell, I won't be using these guys again.

 

[Madmax]

After seriously bad service from SMC datchet I will never go there again. There lack of service and promises that are never met are absolutely unbelievable. Just the thought of their complete lack of competence winds me up. Hope you all mangae to get your stuff sorted with them!!

 

[supercuprar]

Yea i think all smc are rubbish i brought a MG from smc in uxbridge a few years ago , worst service you could possibly imagine .
I now have a LCR from smc Windsor , Needless to say they arnt very good. I will not be buying another car from any branch of SMC !

 

[Ninja]

ive not had any problems with the datchet branch when ive been.. Had my last service there and ordered a few parts in the past

 

[Foundub4]

Looking for answers

After searching for comments about my local SMC branch, it seems their are a lot of people who have had bad experiences with them.

Although I have used other garages in the past, with mixed feelings voiced from both sides, (both good and bad) it seems i've noticed that their are a number of people with negative comments but what I would really like to know is are these problems aired at the time this happens, and if so, what has been the results. I've used SMC in Kent in the past, and found them to be very helpful, and on-time when my car has gone in for repair.

So if anyone could let me know the answers to the above, i'd really appreciate it, as i'm keen to find a company that can be proactive in these kinds of situations.

 

[downrodeo]

I've only been to this branch to buy parts a few times and they've always been extremely polite and helpful.. Guess its a completely different story for service department!

 

[Barron]

smc datchet

Purchased a brand new Seat Leon nearly 3 years ago now have had problems ever since with rear windows dropping evidently Seats in Spain have come across this in half a dozen cars , there is a fix but i am still waiting ,service department have been absolutely useless in conatcting me and sorting the problem , i have registered my feelings with Seats head office but all they seem to do is refer me back to SMC , i will p[robabaly just wait now until i replace the car in a few months time.