poor after sales service from Irish Dealers

Honda08

have a small issue that needs looking at on the car, (under warranty) rang around a few main dealers, and was told it would be a week before they could look at it; then I rang a main dealer in the north, and was told, no problem we can have a look at that for you , how does tomorrow suit?

now thats service for you.:D

unfortunately the irish dealers still have not learned the basics of customer service.

R.O.R

Honda08 wrote: »

have a small issue that needs looking at on the car, (under warranty) rang around a few main dealers, and was told it would be a week before they could look at it; then I rang a main dealer in the north, and was told, no problem we can have a look at that for you , how does tomorrow suit?

now thats service for you.:D

unfortunately the irish dealers still have not learned the basics of customer service.

Or Irish dealers are just busier than UK dealers at this time of year. I'm sure driving from Cork to Belfast to have a small issue looked at is much better than waiting a week for a local dealer to fit you in :rolleyes:

Stevie Dakota

Here we go again!

Honda08

R.O.R wrote: »

Or Irish dealers are just busier than UK dealers at this time of year. I'm sure driving from Cork to Belfast to have a small issue looked at is much better than waiting a week for a local dealer to fit you in :rolleyes:

im not driving from cork to the north, am going from dub. after buying a new car from an irish dealer, if i called and asked for a service, i wouldnt be waiting for a week but when they hear warranty, they put it on long finger.

R.O.R

Honda08 wrote: »

im not driving from cork to the north, am going from dub. after buying a new car from an irish dealer, if i called and asked for a service, i wouldnt be waiting for a week but when they hear warranty, they put it on long finger.

Really? Did you try to book a service, or is this just what you think without proof to back it up? It isn't unknown for Main Dealers to be booking for 2 weeks time.

Honda08

R.O.R wrote: »

Really? Did you try to book a service, or is this just what you think without proof to back it up? It isn't unknown for Main Dealers to be booking for 2 weeks time.

as stated before and backed up by real world experience, pricing for work ,service,
is vastly cheaper.up north .and I have also found after sales and warranty queries vastly better up north.. difference between day and night really, also they work on saturdays too.

cantdecide

Recession cost control = customer waits and pays heavily

R.O.R

Honda08 wrote: »

as stated before and backed up by real world experience, pricing for work ,service,
is vastly cheaper.up north .and I have also found after sales and warranty queries vastly better up north.. difference between day and night really, also they work on saturdays too.

But in this instance, did you try and book service or are you just having a moan that your local dealer is currently busy and can't see you for a week, whereas the fantastic dealers in the North will do the warranty work at the snap of your fingers?

This isn't about pricing, that's for a seperate topic. I won't question whether sales or warranty queries are better up north - I don't deal with NI, but have no trouble getting the answers I need here (I know the right people to speak to).

Some service centres in ROI work Saturdays. Some work 07.00 to 19.00.

We sometimes can't get cars in to Main dealers for service or warranty work for up to 2 weeks. It depends on manufacturer and location in the country. Most of the time it's within a week, but there are occasions it's not.

This is real world experience, on a much larger scale than your one car.

Honda08

R.O.R wrote: »

But in this instance, did you try and book service or are you just having a moan that your local dealer is currently busy and can't see you for a week, whereas the fantastic dealers in the North will do the warranty work at the snap of your fingers?

This isn't about pricing, that's for a seperate topic. I won't question whether sales or warranty queries are better up north - I don't deal with NI, but have no trouble getting the answers I need here (I know the right people to speak to).

Some service centres in ROI work Saturdays. Some work 07.00 to 19.00.

We sometimes can't get cars in to Main dealers for service or warranty work for up to 2 weeks. It depends on manufacturer and location in the country. Most of the time it's within a week, but there are occasions it's not.

This is real world experience, on a much larger scale than your one car.

if i pay for a new car, i expect to get good service end of.. if i dont then i wont buy there again. looks like my next new car is coming from the uk or north as they look after their customers better, and are more professional.

the mess that the irish motor industry is now in is mainly of their own making!

ScouseMouse

Honda08 wrote: »

if i pay for a new car, i expect to get good service end of.. if i dont then i wont buy there again. looks like my next new car is coming from the uk or north as they look after their customers better, and are more professional.

the mess that the irish motor industry is now in is mainly of their own making!

With an attitude of "I bought my car in this country so I want a service now", the garage is probably better off without you.

BUT, if you ring the garage anonymously, asking for a standard service and they say fine, how about tomorrow?, then you do have something to complain about.....

Try it and see, then complain. (if needed)

R.O.R

Honda08 wrote: »

if i pay for a new car, i expect to get good service end of.. if i dont then i wont buy there again. looks like my next new car is coming from the uk or north as they look after their customers better, and are more professional.

the mess that the irish motor industry is now in is mainly of their own making!

Fine - if you aren't prepared to wait, the M1 is a lovely road.

I did price comparisons on buying a brand new Honda 2.2CDTi ES Manual from the North as opposed to buying it here, in November 09. At that time with the exchange rate at 0.90869 I'd save €775.72 buying in NI. With our VAT rate decrease that would actually increase to €871.25.

Todays exchange rate is 0.86712 so it's currently cheaper by €337.13 to buy here.


Funny how the grass is always greener on the other side because someone down the pub told you...........:rolleyes:

_Kaiser_

I have to agree.. having gotten my Passat serviced up north the last 2 times (in a main VW dealer too), I find the experience to be more professional, faster and a LOT lighter on my pocket.

As I said to a main dealer in Dublin, when you can be up north these days in under an hour, he should really be looking at his prices if he wants to keep the business (€95 ex-vat per hour labour charges vs £40 up north!)

EDIT: To use an example from last year...

06 Passat 2.0 TDI DSG
100k km.. Timing belt, water pump + full scheduled service...
dealer here: €1100 (ish) + charge for hire car
dealer up north: €700 total + free courtesy car


120k km.. Tranmission fluid + full scheduled service...
dealers here: EXTREMELY hard to get a fixed price out of, all "depending on what's needed" but anywhere up to €700+
Up north: €447.00 + free Mercedes E320 for the day

Well worth the trip IMO

Honda08

superscouse wrote: »

asking for a standard service and they say fine, how about tomorrow?, then you do have something to complain about.....

Try it and see, then complain. (if needed)

thats why i posted here.

ScouseMouse

I dont understand. Did you ask them for a service and could they do it quicker than your warranty work?

If yes - Bollix to that, go north
If no - well theres a queue, get into or go up north.

jayotala

You're complaining because the garage's you rang are booked up and unable to take your vehicle in for a whole week. Wow. That is worth complaining about.

Now that I think about it, I had to que in a shop for over 5 minutes because there were other people in front of me. I mean what is this country coming to.

Maruney

R.O.R wrote: »

But in this instance, did you try and book service or are you just having a moan that your local dealer is currently busy and can't see you for a week, whereas the fantastic dealers in the North will do the warranty work at the snap of your fingers?

This isn't about pricing, that's for a seperate topic. I won't question whether sales or warranty queries are better up north - I don't deal with NI, but have no trouble getting the answers I need here (I know the right people to speak to).

Some service centres in ROI work Saturdays. Some work 07.00 to 19.00.

We sometimes can't get cars in to Main dealers for service or warranty work for up to 2 weeks. It depends on manufacturer and location in the country. Most of the time it's within a week, but there are occasions it's not.

This is real world experience, on a much larger scale than your one car.

Im not sure how you defend this unprofessional industry, they are in trouble and I can tell you half a dozen people with genuine interest in purchasing waiting on call backs from salesmen that never happended

I did this through Ford, have a Focus still under warranty that needs a replacement stalk (wipers mist setting not working) and air con circ. switch is blown. They told me at least 10 days to get it looked at.
I rang back the next day (NOT MENTIONING WARRANTY) saying I needed the wiper control unit fixed or replaced and was asked can I drop it in before 4.00 tomorrow.

The facts are there when you look into it or listen to people, motor industry in Ireland is very unprofessional when it comes to aftersales or queries.

Im stuck with Alfa Romeo dealers, they are improving but still way off.

Drummerboy08

I'm getting bored of this argument now.

Rulmeq

At the risk of going against the general consensus, I had warranty work carried out last week. I rang the garage up, they told me to drop in the car the same day, and I had it back by lunch time.

I guess it's just down to individual garages.

Stevie Dakota

Maybe the trick is if you have a warranty issue just say the car needs a service, or needs to be looked at, be vague and just get booked in.

JHMEG

Some dealers are bad, end of story. On the flip side some are also excellent. It's worth asking around for other peoples experiences.

If I phone a dealer I use the line "look, I have your money in my pocket and I want to know what you're going to do to get it out". If I get a "no you don't" type answer I move on.

Honda08

R.O.R wrote: »

the M1 is a lovely road.



Funny how the grass is always greener on the other side because someone down the pub told you...........:rolleyes:

i personally have experienced service in the north and my last service was done there, and they are definately more professional also a hell of a lot cheaper, you obviously have a link to the irish motor industry.. ah god help the poor irish garage owner:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Honda08

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I'm getting bored of this argument now.

do you work in the motor trade?
another one.;)

Honda08

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I'm getting bored of this argument now.

getting bored because it is the truth?:D

Darsad

If the North is so good why dont you live and pay your taxes up there !
As I said before when the shoe was on the other foot and UK and NI citizens were buying in the south the UK dealers were not shy about telling customers ie their fellow citizens where to go with their Paddy cars.

R.O.R

Honda08 wrote: »

getting bored because it is the truth?:D

Getting bored because people have one bad experience and tar the whole industry with a very wide, sweeping brush.

Some of us have years of experience dealing with various motor dealers from a sales and service point of view. Some are cr@p, some are very good - it's unfair to lump the good ones in with the cr@p ones.

I'd be 99% sure if you found a motor enthusiast website based in any other country in the world, you'd find the same issues. Just because one person has a bad experience with one ROI dealer and and a good experience with an NI dealer, doesn't automatically mean all ROI dealers are bad and all NI dealers are good.

Maruney

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I'm getting bored of this argument now.

So why comment, the title is clear on this thread.

The OP goes up North for his servicing anyway, prior to this dissapointment in the Irish garage :rolleyes:

Drummerboy08

Honda08 wrote: »

do you work in the motor trade?
another one.;)

Honda08 wrote: »

getting bored because it is the truth?:D

Thank christ your away up the North so. I'd really hate to have you as a customer based on your comments here. I hope Honda up North have a great time dealing with you. Mind the boys in the Traffic Corps on the M1 on your way too. I'd hate to see someone getting an extra €80 and two points on his service invoice. Good luck now.

Maruney wrote: »

So why comment, the title is clear on this thread.

Because I felt like it. If you have a problem with that then report the post.

ninty9er

Depending on the manufacturer, dealers are paid monthly or quarterly for warranty work.

It's a cashflow issue. A paying customer will contribute to this week's payroll, it could be a few months before the cashflow from warranty work is seen. It's simple business logic.

Some manufacturers have even been known to allocate "warranty hours" to a dealership, I don't know if it still happens.

Honda08

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Thank christ your away up the North so. I'd really hate to have you as a customer based on your comments here. I hope Honda up North have a great time dealing with you. Mind the boys in the Traffic Corps on the M1 on your way too. I'd hate to see someone getting an extra €80 and two points on his service invoice. Good luck now.



Because I felt like it. If you have a problem with that then report the post.

:eek: very constructive.



can a mod lock this thread now as i think its run its course.

Honda08

ninty9er wrote: »

Depending on the manufacturer, dealers are paid monthly or quarterly for warranty work.

It's a cashflow issue. A paying customer will contribute to this week's payroll, it could be a few months before the cashflow from warranty work is seen. It's simple business logic.

Some manufacturers have even been known to allocate "warranty hours" to a dealership, I don't know if it still happens.

thats fine, and most likely explains it, but why does the customer have to suffer?
hasnt the customer contributed when he paid big bucks for his new car
doing business like that , pisses of your revenue stream ie customers, who most likely wont buy there again if they get crappy service, very foolish business practice.

knifey_spoonie

You know, you do seem like the type of person who likes a good moan.

You still never answered the one question that you were asked. Do you know for a fact that the said garage are fobing you off untill next week, or are you presuming that because you heard the motor industry is in trouble and believe that all workshop are without work.

I dont think you really know. The other side of the coin is what is your problem.Were you were very vague on the phone??

It may have been the case that they may have a service slot IE 1-2 hours available, but dont have an extended period of time back to back, to investigate, strip down and repair.

Maybe a mechanic is sick and they are down a man and this has caused large leed times.

The fact is you dont know why they cant look at your car for a week.

I very much doubt it is because they want to piss you off.Like you seem to think.

Grimreaper666

Has it occurred to anybody that the garages had to let so many people go last year due to the economic downturn that it will take longer to get work done as a result in the republic? And the matter of people running up north to buy cars has decimated the market in Ireland for dealers. It's impossible for Irish dealers to compete with the north due to the overheads in the south, Irish dealers are never going to be able to compete if the tax take is so high here and that doesn't just apply to cars, it's the same with ever other business here too. While the prices are dropping the taxes are staying the same and even going up in many cases.

fabsoul

R.O.R wrote: »

Fine - if you aren't prepared to wait, the M1 is a lovely road.

I did price comparisons on buying a brand new Honda 2.2CDTi ES Manual from the North as opposed to buying it here, in November 09. At that time with the exchange rate at 0.90869 I'd save €775.72 buying in NI. With our VAT rate decrease that would actually increase to €871.25.

Todays exchange rate is 0.86712 so it's currently cheaper by €337.13 to buy here.


Funny how the grass is always greener on the other side because someone down the pub told you...........:rolleyes:

I think you are a bit off there with what you can save off buying a new honda 2.2 CDTi manual up north. Did you take the UK vat off the price. you can save 3K +. on that car.

R.O.R

fabsoul wrote: »

I think you are a bit off there with what you can save off buying a new honda 2.2 CDTi manual up north. Did you take the UK vat off the price. you can save 3K +. on that car.

Nope - just pulled figures out of me hole like I do with the hundred's of cars I buy every year :rolleyes:

Pricing is based on a written, ex. VAT quotation provided by a dealer in Belfast. ROI pricing is based on discounted pricing I am guaranteed to get from my Honda supplier.

P1ss all difference between the discounted prices. Have you got final figures on the 2 cars, or are you presuming you can save 3k because of the RRP?

In general, the discount in the UK is mainly with the manufacturer / importer and the dealer has very little margin. More discount is available, but usually only to major corporate customers.

In Ireland the dealer margin is much greater than the UK and the discount from the Manufacturer / Importer is only available from a small number of manufacturer's to major purchasers.

Working off RRP figures doesn't take any of this in to account and makes the UK look much cheaper. If people bother to analyize it with actual figures (as I did to present to the group CEO) then the differences are marginal (except Audi - could save about €5,000 on a new A4 even after recent price drop).

Darsad

Honda08 wrote: »

:eek: very constructive.



can a mod lock this thread now as i think its run its course.

Why bother starting a thread if you dont like the fact that some people
may actually have an opinion that differs from yours and to be honest looking at your posts id say your a right pain in the ass to keep happy anyways regardless of what you would be told from a dealer in the South. Looks to me like you already had your well informed opinion prior to making any phone call !

Anan1

knifey_spoonie wrote: »

You know, you do seem like the type of person who likes a good moan.

Darsad wrote: »

and to be honest looking at your posts id say your a right pain in the ass to keep happy anyways regardless of what you would be told !

Discuss the issues by all means, lads, but personal abuse will get you a week off.

Honda08

Anan1 wrote: »

Discuss the issues by all means, lads, but personal abuse will get you a week off.

yes there is no need for abuse like that, ANAN1 i take offence at the posts i think a ban is in order,

Honda08

Darsad wrote: »

Why bother starting a thread if you dont like the fact that some people
may actually have an opinion that differs from yours and to be honest looking at your posts id say your a right pain in the ass to keep happy anyways regardless of what you would be told from a dealer in the South. Looks to me like you already had your well informed opinion prior to making any phone call !

i asked for the thread to be closed as posts like yours are uncalled for..

Anan1

Honda08 wrote: »

yes there is no need for abuse like that, ANAN1 i take offence at the posts i think a ban is in order,

Honda08 wrote: »

i asked for the thread to be closed as posts like yours are uncalled for..

If you have a problem with a post then use the 'report post' button, back-seat modding is also a bannable offence.

Now can everyone ask themselves before posting here 'Am I contributing anything meaningful to the discussion?' I think there have been enough warnings at this stage.

jayotala

Honda08 wrote: »

yes there is no need for abuse like that, ANAN1 i take offence at the posts i think a ban is in order,

Hahahaha. I think there's some hurt feelings... Sounds like "I'm taking my ball and going home"... Hahahaha.

I know this is not a very good contributing comment, but to be honest I don't think the OP wanted other peoples opinions to begin with so what difference does it make. Why post on a public forum?

Anan1

jayotala wrote: »

Hahahaha. I think there's some hurt feelings... Sounds like "I'm taking my ball and going home"... Hahahaha.

Seriously, how many warnings does it take? Come back in three days.