Ford and Hyundai Main Dealers

Kashkai

I went out with the wife last Saturday to check out, and buy one of three cars that we had shortlisted, i.e.
Hyundai Santa Fe (New Model)
Ford S-Max
Ford Galaxy (New Model)

We went to five Ford dealerships and four Hyundai garages to check out the cars and to have a test drive. Now bearing in mind that we were planning to buy the car on Saturday (which I told all the salespeople), we couldn't get one drive of any of the above cars at any of the garages. We were told that:
(a) they were too busy to let us take a test drive
(b) their trade plates didn't cover them for test drives on Saturdays
(c) they didn't want to get the demo models dirty (Saturday was a beautiful sunny day in Dublin!!)

I was told I could come back next week for a test drive. I told them that as I work long hours, and I have three young kids, it wasn't possible for us to visit garages during the week. When I asked why they were so unhelpful, their responses ranged from "nothing I can do about it" to turning their back and walking away. I went out to my car and took out a copy of the golden pages to phone the remaining Ford and Hyundai garages in Dublin. I got the same guff off them, i.e. I could view the cars but I couldn't drive them.

At this stage I was really pissed off at having wasted so much time when my wife suggested that we visit Airside Renault to view the Grand Scenic (which had been her first choice all along - I just wanted a new model as the Scenic is out since 2004). This place was a major breath of fresh air as a nice friendly and helpful salesman came over to us (as opposed to us chasing the Ford and Hyundai salesmen) and asked us if he could help us. We told him we were looking for a seven seater so he showed us the Grand Scenic and the Espace. He showed us the various features of the two cars. We then drove both on a decent five mile test drive and we were very impressed with the Grand Scenic. On return to the garage, we were offered coffee while he checked my car so he could give us a trade in price.

He gave us a good trade in price for my car and then I mentioned that I might be changing the wife's Clio in a couple of months. He then showed me a Renault Megane that had been pre-registered by Renault in 2005 but was never driven (there's 8 kilometres on the clock!!). This car was a sport model with alloys, air-con, sports seats etc. I told him that if he gave us a good price we would do the deal on both cars there and then. In the end we got a brand new Grand Scenic Dynamique and a lovely 05 Megane (with just delivery mileage) for both our cars and €16k in cash.

So to all Ford and Hyundai garages out there, you just missed out on not one but two car sales for your lousy, unhelpful, arrogant and ignorant attitude towards potential customers.

As for Renault in Airside, our experience of your great sales staff has been told to friends and relatives and at least three of them are on the way up to you to see if they can do a deal.

BrianD3

TBH I'm not surprised about the poor service you received from Ford. But it is quite surprising that Hyundai were just as bad.

I know of a few other people who have been tempted into Renaults due to the far better experience they've had in Renault dealers compared to Ford and VW dealers. VW seem to be particularly bad - rude, snobby, unhelpful sales staff who give the impression that they're doing you a favour by allowing you set foot inside their fancy showroom :rolleyes:

IME Renault garages are pretty good - both from a sales and after sales/servicing perspective

Darando

Recently got a 2nd hand car off a main hyundai dealer down in Portlaoise, Lismard Autoworld they are called. www.lismard.ie - very nice people. And its only about 45 mins down the motorway (dublin-portlaoise). Im guessing by the name you might be in kildare- even nearer if so.

If you willing to drive down it might be worth a shot for a hyundai. (the place is also alfa/peugeot/citreon/fiat garage)

Could always ring ahead too.

ninty9er

I've noticed that this seems to be a problem particular to the popular brands in city areas as they have so much demand and not enough salespeople at the weekend. My uncle is a Toyota dealer and I have often waited for an hour to talk to him mid week in the morning as the place is never empty.

I must say he takes the time to deal with customers but this can be frustrating to the queue that's building

Hotwheels

Recently got a 2nd hand car off a main hyundai dealer down in Portlaoise, Lismard Autoworld they are called. www.lismard.ie - very nice people. And its only about 45 mins down the motorway (dublin-portlaoise).

Second that... Found them very good....:)

Stephen

I got good service from my local Hyundai/Mitsubishi dealer in Kilkenny, where I bought my (used) coupe. They had no problems with me arranging to come in late (I don't finish work until 5.30) for a test drive (they let me off in the car by myself), and I actually completed the sale the following Saturday morning. When I was test driving the Hyundai, they had a poke about my old Fiesta for trade in value.

Had decent service from the Ford dealer where I bought the (again, used) Fiesta too, it needed a lot of warranty work (banjaxed exhaust - completely rotted through about a month after I got the car, wonky speakers, missing mud flap, etc) which really probably should have been done before they let it go, but they were direct and straightforward about getting it done quick and hassle free.

The local VW dealers though, what a shower of ****. Its like they're doing you a favour letting you look at some sh1tty 10 year old clapped out 1.4 golf petrol that now sounds like a diesel. They don't seem interested in small-time business from the likes of me, going after small used cars. They only care about the big spenders splashing out on new passats and touraegs.

knifey_spoonie

If you think the ford dealers are arrogant now wait till you come and trade in your grand senic to them, they will not want to know you.I cant rally blame them to be honest with you its a car which ranault have ruined resale values by prereging them the fact is you could probally buy a brand new senic(staright deal) for the same price as a prereged one.

Good look with the new car, i hope you dont spend to much time back at the aftersales department in airside, but hey they will give a cup of coffee while they fix the electrics of you senic so that aint to bad.

Lex Luthor

why would you buy a car on the basis of a few mins test drive especially with the money you are spending..???

Anytime I've bought a car from a dealer, I've always asked for a demo car for a day or two to get a good feel for it...

Make sure you give yourself that luxury..its a big expense

HungryJoey

Congrats on the new cars. Beautiful cars, And stuff Ford so if that is their attitude.

Hj

samo

Lex Luthor wrote:

why would you buy a car on the basis of a few mins test drive especially with the money you are spending..???

Anytime I've bought a car from a dealer, I've always asked for a demo car for a day or two to get a good feel for it...

Make sure you give yourself that luxury..its a big expense

completely agree with that - in the past have purchased 2 cars that on reflection were seriously underpowered for what I needed on the basis of a short test drive and having learnt my lesson would never buy a car without having it for a good amount of time and in different conditions such as motorway, country roads etc.

MercMad

As for Renault in Airside, our experience of your great sales staff has been told to friends and relatives and at least three of them are on the way up to you to see if they can do a deal

...........second that ! I sent a colleague up there on Thursday for a look ! He drove out a pre-reged Megane on Saturday........delighted with the service, and a free DVD player too !

It cost him €11k to move up 5 years to a car with no mileage ! Thats €2240/annum !

I think the problem with the other dealers is they knew you were enquiring about a car that they had no stock of, or couldn't get for about 3 months !Its all about what the have now ! Either your buying a used car off their forecourt or a new one from stock and you have cash, otherwise you are ignored !

Day-wanna-wonga

Darando wrote:

Im guessing by the name you might be in kildare- even nearer if so.

You can tell all that from the name "Prosperous Dave". WOW!

Darando

Day-wanna-wonga wrote:

You can tell all that from the name "Prosperous Dave". WOW!

No need for being cheeky - only trying to help the chap out. He might only be form there and not live there.

I see you added a lot to the post. Why do you even bother.

Kashkai

To clear up a few points:

1. Yes I live in County Kildare in the small village of Prosperous (hence the name) but I'm originally from the northside of Dublin

2. I drove the Grand Scenic and Megane when they were launched but did'nt buy at the time as we ended up moving house - to Prosperous, Co. Kildare

3. The Megane cost me €11k in cash with €6k for my wife's Clio. That's a 05 car with no mileage (brand knew IMO) for €17k while Carzone.ie is advertising 05 Megane's with 20k miles for €19,750.00 or €2,750 more than I paid.

4. I've owned 12 cars, 7 of which were Renaults and I've never, ever, had a problem with any of them. My last Renault, a 1996 Megane had 120,000 on the clock when I sold it and is still running well.

5. While 1 or 2 day test drives are all well and good, I knew what I wanted when I went looking for a car, i.e. a seven seater with as many safety features as possible for the wife and kids and a runabout for me.

I'm delighted with my purchases and have no regrets not getting down on my knees and begging Ford to sell me a car. They can stuff their cars up their own tailpipes.

Kashkai

To clear up a few points:

1. Yes I live in County Kildare in the small village of Prosperous (hence the name) but I'm originally from the northside of Dublin

2. I drove the Grand Scenic and Megane when they were launched but did'nt buy at the time as we ended up moving house - to Prosperous, Co. Kildare

3. The Megane cost me €11k in cash with €6k for my wife's Clio. That's a 05 car with no mileage (brand knew IMO) for €17k while Carzone.ie is advertising 05 Megane's with 20k miles for €19,750.00 or €2,750 more than I paid.

4. I've owned 12 cars, 7 of which were Renaults and I've never, ever, had a problem with any of them. My last Renault, a 1996 Megane had 120,000 on the clock when I sold it and is still running well.

5. While 1 or 2 day test drives are all well and good, I knew what I wanted when I went looking for a car, i.e. a seven seater with as many safety features as possible for the wife and kids and a runabout for me.

I'm delighted with my purchases and have no regrets not getting down on my knees and begging Ford to sell me a car. They can stuff their cars up their own tailpipes.

samo

Prosperous Dave wrote:

To clear up a few points:

1. Yes I live in County Kildare in the small village of Prosperous (hence the name) but I'm originally from the northside of Dublin

2. I drove the Grand Scenic and Megane when they were launched but did'nt buy at the time as we ended up moving house - to Prosperous, Co. Kildare

3. The Megane cost me €11k in cash with €6k for my wife's Clio. That's a 05 car with no mileage (brand knew IMO) for €17k while Carzone.ie is advertising 05 Megane's with 20k miles for €19,750.00 or €2,750 more than I paid.

4. I've owned 12 cars, 7 of which were Renaults and I've never, ever, had a problem with any of them. My last Renault, a 1996 Megane had 120,000 on the clock when I sold it and is still running well.

5. While 1 or 2 day test drives are all well and good, I knew what I wanted when I went looking for a car, i.e. a seven seater with as many safety features as possible for the wife and kids and a runabout for me.

I'm delighted with my purchases and have no regrets not getting down on my knees and begging Ford to sell me a car. They can stuff their cars up their own tailpipes.

Good for you!

Meant to say in my last post have also had a less than enthusiastic response from a Ford dealership recently but went out of my head as the point made about a longer test drive is one I wished I'd been savvy enough to request when a little undecided about a couple of cars in the past!

Recently went into a Ford dealership where had purchased a car before - as we had seen a car on carzone they had one which we liked. Asked if the salesmen we had dealt with before was there - no apparently he'd left and someone else would deal with us. We were left standing there for appox 10-15 mins while all the salesmen studiously looked busy playing solitaire on their computers and drinking coffee - we were the only ones in the salesroom! Walked out and went to a sister branch where the manager nearly had a heart attack at how unbelievably ignorant they had been and 25 mins later got a phonecall from manager of original branch to apologise as to how badly we'd been treated and that he would look after us if we came back.

Damage was done though and ended up buying elsewhere.

Day-wanna-wonga

Darando wrote:

No need for being cheeky - only trying to help the chap out. He might only be form there and not live there.

I see you added a lot to the post. Why do you even bother.

I wasn't messing - I thought "Prosperous" meant that he was a prosperous guy! That's why I was puzzled as to how you knew where he was from, just from that!

PoolDude

Prosperous Dave wrote:

I went out with the wife last Saturday to check out, and buy one of three cars that we had shortlisted, i.e.
Hyundai Santa Fe (New Model)
Ford S-Max
Ford Galaxy (New Model)

We went to five Ford dealerships and four Hyundai garages to check out the cars and to have a test drive. Now bearing in mind that we were planning to buy the car on Saturday (which I told all the salespeople), we couldn't get one drive of any of the above cars at any of the garages. We were told that:
(a) they were too busy to let us take a test drive
(b) their trade plates didn't cover them for test drives on Saturdays
(c) they didn't want to get the demo models dirty (Saturday was a beautiful sunny day in Dublin!!)

I was told I could come back next week for a test drive. I told them that as I work long hours, and I have three young kids, it wasn't possible for us to visit garages during the week. When I asked why they were so unhelpful, their responses ranged from "nothing I can do about it" to turning their back and walking away. I went out to my car and took out a copy of the golden pages to phone the remaining Ford and Hyundai garages in Dublin. I got the same guff off them, i.e. I could view the cars but I couldn't drive them.

At this stage I was really pissed off at having wasted so much time when my wife suggested that we visit Airside Renault to view the Grand Scenic (which had been her first choice all along - I just wanted a new model as the Scenic is out since 2004). This place was a major breath of fresh air as a nice friendly and helpful salesman came over to us (as opposed to us chasing the Ford and Hyundai salesmen) and asked us if he could help us. We told him we were looking for a seven seater so he showed us the Grand Scenic and the Espace. He showed us the various features of the two cars. We then drove both on a decent five mile test drive and we were very impressed with the Grand Scenic. On return to the garage, we were offered coffee while he checked my car so he could give us a trade in price.

He gave us a good trade in price for my car and then I mentioned that I might be changing the wife's Clio in a couple of months. He then showed me a Renault Megane that had been pre-registered by Renault in 2005 but was never driven (there's 8 kilometres on the clock!!). This car was a sport model with alloys, air-con, sports seats etc. I told him that if he gave us a good price we would do the deal on both cars there and then. In the end we got a brand new Grand Scenic Dynamique and a lovely 05 Megane (with just delivery mileage) for both our cars and €16k in cash.

So to all Ford and Hyundai garages out there, you just missed out on not one but two car sales for your lousy, unhelpful, arrogant and ignorant attitude towards potential customers.

As for Renault in Airside, our experience of your great sales staff has been told to friends and relatives and at least three of them are on the way up to you to see if they can do a deal.

Interestingly I am looking at the exact same 3 cars - any recommendations?

unkel

Best of luck with your new cars, Dave. Hopefully they will be as good for you as your previous Renaults

MercMad wrote:

Either your buying a used car off their forecourt or a new one from stock and you have cash, otherwise you are ignored !

And Ford are probably overwhelmed with people throwing their SSIA money at them to get '07 S-Maxs. Never an excuse to be unprofessional though, let alone plain rude

Prosperous Dave wrote:

Carzone.ie is advertising 05 Megane's with 20k miles for €19,750.00

€20k for a 2 year old Megane? :eek: Or is it buy one get one free?

Edit: oops didn't notice this thread was so old!

buttonfreak

Recently had my old Mondeo in for new brake cylinders (rear). He "found" that the discs were worn too. Funny, as Fast Fit did not find them worn at all. When I cam e back he had repaired everything, but mentioned that a relay needed to be replaced as well. So a f***ing 3 euro thing is not replaced but 200 euro on discs (? how often do you need to replace those) and pads they did do.

And no courtesy car (I am dependant on the thing). But he did give me a "discount". Last time you will see me there.

(I was first going to a mor elocal dealer, but they closed for refurbishment, after they opened half a year ago, a dealer near my work said the car was too old; all their tools are for cars after 2000 (as if)). Ford Ireland should do something about them.

But here in Ireland you will see that a downfall is unavoidable and when it happens, you will see that a lot of shops and businesses will be out of it. There is no service here (have you ever got a smile from any cashier at a supermarket?) and prices to high.