Gordon Lamb Ltd - Chesterfield..

[DGW]

Gordon Lamb Skoda

6 Lockford Lane

Chesterfield

S41 7HS

Tel 01246 221155

Fax 01246 271903

Services: New, Used, Repair

[Andy vRS]

Gordon lamb are winding down the Skoda franchise. They are primarily Mitsubishi. When dealing with the service department I found them to be unhelpful and unknowledgeable and also they bull ****. I asked if Fabia vRS had any problems with anti roll bar bushes. I was told no - they hadn't heard or come across any problems. When they carried work out on my car they fitted front suspension struts incorrectly and left a foreign bolt amongst the components causing further damage. I consistently went back to have the same things rectified and they claimed that couldn't find anything. So I took it to clock who discovered ill fitted parts and random bits found where they shouldn't be.

***********************************************

Andy

Edited 12 February, 2009 by DGW
Comment on other dealers is inappropriate.

[DGW]

Originally posted by chesoctavia - 30-09-2003, 11:33

I have been a Gordon Lamb customer for over a year with two services and one small repair. Excellent service, much better than a certain VW dealer in the Doncaster area I used for my last car!

[DGW]

Originally posted by skomaz - 30-09-2003, 13:17

Yep would recommend them. Had our Fabia two and a half years now and they've generally been friendly and helpful

[DGW]

Originally posted by Ic3man - Mon Oct 4, 2004

Bought a pre-modded Octavia Vrs demonstrator from here. Was given plenty of time to look around the forecourt before I was approached by Adrian (as it turns out he was a Mitsubishi salesman of the same franchise). He was great form the start although because his concern were mitsubishi's he was lacking in the more technical knowledge of the car, so anything he was unsure of he did his best to find out. He certainly had his hands full because I had taken my four year old son and wife with me to look around. I was asked if I would like to book a test drive (which I did for the next day). I was sold on the car as soon as I pressed on the loud pedal but I tried my best to seem uninterested which I don't think worked because I couldn't hide my grin. I was even taken into the staff cantein to view the write up of in 'The Sun' to read the interview with the guy who desgned the Octy by Mark (I think thats his name). Adrian wasn't pushy at all and the whole buying experience was relaxed, even when the inevitable haggling began. I got the price I wanted for my old car (Mazda 323F) which was well above the price he had been offered by the auction house. He also flattered the car I had rather than degrade it to bring down the value, which impressed me as I would have taken great offence had my old 'beloved' been abused. He expertly kept my son occupied while we chatted about the car, financing issues etc

Aftersales

Unfortunately a mix up through lack of internal communication resulted in me not getting the alarm fitted that I wanted and a guess had to be made as to whether I wanted a different alarm that would be worked from the skoda keyfob. They assumed I would, which was the wrong decision. This was put right with one call to Adrian and I'm due to have the correct alarm fitted this wednesday (6th October). I am also still awaiting an ammended warranty cover note explaining that the modified Skoda that I have purchased will still be covered by the warrenty Skoda provide. I'm sure that this will arive in the post (as advised) because the car manual (of which there was a shortage) duly arrived 2 days after asking for it.

All in all a very good purchase from a very good salesman which, if the customer service continues through to aftersales, I'll be most impressed with.

**Note**

Gordon Lambs of Chesterfield are due (next autumn I think) to lose the sales side of the Skoda franchise but will continue to hold a parts and servicing franchise on behalf of Skoda.

[DGW]

Originally posted by Kaiserb_uk - Sat Nov 6, 2004

A friend (who works for Honda) recommended the Fabia as he knew I was looking at (2nd hand) Golf TDIs, within a week Steve from Gordon Lambs was on the phone asking if I wanted a test drive.

Can't praise him enough, the guy's a star. Got me my brand new vRS in black within my deadline (changing jobs and losing a company car) and made the whole process as enjoyable and exciting as it should be. It did make it a bit hard to haggle though when I couldn't wait to sign on the dotted!

Within a week, had the engine management light come on (put the foot down a bit hard when I should have been running it in) - arrived unannounced at the dealers first thing next morning, they checked it over there and then, problem solved, no problems since.

Would (will?) probably go all the way back (currently relocating down south) in 3 years to get a new one.

[DGW]

Originally posted by VRSvirgin - Wed 29 Dec, 2004

Bought Black Furby VRS in October 2004, very happy with car itself and sales process. Had only paint and cruise as extras and the dealership managed to get within £250 of an internet price i'd been quoted, so was happy to pay the extra for the 'Dealer' relationship.

However very unhappy about the service side. Car developed a fault with the Elec Windows. Took car in Mid november, when i picked it up, was told.. " yes there is a fault but we can't fix it now, it will have to be rebooked in "(bearing in mind i'd had to take time off from work to drop it off and pick it up, i wasn't pleased about this).. I booked it in for late november (almost 2 weeks wait) and had a courtesy car - Fabio 1.2. It took 2 days and when it came back, the passenger lock hadn't been reconnected - therefore couldn't open passenger door. I took the car back, after some appauling telephone calls and they fixed it there and then, only to drive away now with a central locking fault. I took the car back the following weekend and it then has had all locks replaced.

While I am not griping about the initial fault, i understand new cars may have some initial issues. It is the two occaisions i drove away after the car had been checked, with new faults that the service centre had caused. There is currently a letter on the Skoda reception detailing the problems that they have had with staffing, but i still expect them to at least check all the components they have been working on are still functioning, after working in the area..

Needless to say, they won't be getting any of my services and i won't be going back to them for any other issues.

Shame, as the sales service was great, so much better than my previous experiences with a Fiat dealer in London

[DGW]

Originally posted by Ic3man - Thu Mar 24, 2005

After covering 12,000 miles my front tyres were in need of changing so after recieving quotes of around £150-200 per tyre for continental sport contacts I asked Gordon lambs what there price would be. £110+vat was the price I was quoted! I asked them to double check as this was alot cheaper than the other quotes I had recieved and they confirmed that was indeed the correct price. Unfortunately they had none in stock while some warranty work was being carried out so I asked them to order me two and call me when they arrived.

THREE WEEKS later I received a call and again asked for confirmation of the price so I booked my car in to have them fitted. Upon arriving I quiried the price once more and they then informed me the tyres were infact going to cost £360! To say I was a little upset is an understatement!

I could understand that the sales woman was new but ffs four times I had asked them to confirm the price and I had also waited 3 weeks for the tyres to arrive only to be informed that a mistake had been made once I was at the dealer without so much as an appology from them. The parts sales manager (Russel) offered to sell them to me at cost which was apparently £136 per tyre. I find that hard to believe as I have since enquired on the net and the cheapest I have found the tyres to be are £91! I just hope they get there act together otherwise I will be taking my car elsewhere for more major work such as servicing because if they can't get a simp0le thing like tyres right what hope (and faith) do I have with them fettling with my engine!

[DGW]

Originally posted by Andy vRS - Wed Jun 29, 2005

I went to Gordon Lamb Skoda to buy a Fabia vRS. I was told no we don't do discount and we are getting rid of the Skoda franchise anyway, so we can't order cars from factory. So i went to Clock and dealt with Steve who used to be a Gordon Lamb [who is back at Lambs now as a Renault salesman !!]. He was great and sorted me out with a new black Fabia with cruise for £11700 including the cherished transfer. When the car arrived [pre-delivery] - i checked the car out, and noticed it had tyres on with no rim protector. Very unusual for low profiles. So i requested that Steve change them with the showroom car. He said he would see what he could do. I then had to chase him a few days later and he said there were no vRS's to swap tyres with - but i can collect my car tomorrow.

So the following day i went down - and there it was, the same vRS in the showroom as when i bought mine !!! Not happy about that, but everything else seemed okay and i went on my way.

Within 2 weeks my exhaust was knocking. I had a look and noticed a braket had broken - so i took it into Clock and they were cool about it and put a new exhaust on under waranty.

Then my suspension started knocking, so i booked it in with Lambs, with a car. They established it was the anti roll bar bushes and the link rods. But they needed to order the part and i came back 2 weeks later. But i had had problems with 1 tyre wall. It looked to be almost to the metal [5000 miles on the clock] so i reported it as a problem with the suspension. The idiot of a service advisor said it had nothing to do with the components that were broken, and commented on how strange it was. So little comfort there. I spoke to Skoda and they said it is a performance car and unlucky. So lambs screwed me there. Now 3 months since i picked the car up and 6500 miles on the exhaust knocks [again] and the cruise has given up ! So i called lambs and the same ***** was on the the phone - such a hard person to speak to - no comment either when i said "i have spent all this money on a new car and all i am getting is a lot of shrugged shoulders !!!!"

Lamb's are the worst i have ever experience of any dealer ever.

Post moderated by DGW.

[DGW]

Originally posted by sharkrider - Wed Jun 29, 2005

ok... I have bought Citroens for my last three new cars, but fell out with the dealer in Worksop (stonacre) and went here to buy a Fabia vRS. walked in and got a mistubishi salesman and not a skoda one, but the differences were amazing! I told them how it went at ciroen, and how i wanted them NOT to be like that. They were very accomodating, no pushy "sign today" crap, they were friendly helpful, and I had an enjoyable car buying experience for the first time in years!!! I don't know about servicing if They are loosing the skoda side.... I've been reccommended the garage in Sheffield, so I'm gonna go there......

[TaviaRS]

Had mine serviced there yesterday.

All done as it should have been, to an agreed price, and all finished on time. Nothing demanding admitedly, just a 120k service.

I'll use them again.

[andy2407]

Just bought a 2nd hand Octy II 2.0 TDi Elegance from this garage.

I live 1.5 hrs drive away, but I saw the car on the Skoda UK website listing of used cars.

I gave them a call, and they talked some sensible pricing over the phone - I didn't want to travel all that way based on the screen price.

Travelled down last Wednesday and the car was ready for a test drive, which confirmed it was the one I wanted.

Signed up there and then, and arranged delivery two days later for Friday.

I dealt with Charles Rick, who gave good service. I travelled down by train to pick up the car and he offered to pick me up at the station. The car had been fully serviced and valeted as agreed, and they enabled the anti-hijack feature for me (and at no charge).

They also offer a 7 day free insurance in conjunction with Norwich Union, which enabled them to get a cover note and tax the car prior to me picking it up. No committment on my part to take out NU insurance - it just gives them the opportunity to quote.

Despite previous mentions of them losing their Skoda dealership, they have remained a fully approved dealer - I understand they have transferred from another site to their current premises.

No problems so far and would highly recommend. Will post again if the situation changes, but fingers crossed it wont.

Oh - and they made me a proper brew (not that machine rubbish) and offered me Rich Tea biscuits!

[TaviaRS]

Just been and had some work done - new wheel bearings and front wishbones. Booked it in last week for today.

Got their before they opened, but there was someone there to look after me and they took it in - better than some who make you wait until their opening time. The receptionist was very helpful.

Arranged for it to be ready at about 16:30. Had a 'phone call mid afternoon to let me know it may be a bit late as one of their ramps had brokendown, so could I come in about 5ish. Nice to be kept informed, ulike certain other dealers who had me hanging around :(

Had a "proper" coffee as I got there about 16:45. At 5 the paperwork came through and I played a game of guess the bill - I was only £6 out Didn't get a prize though :(

The mechanic who'd worked on the car came through and had a chat about the work done and about the car (and how VAG-Com is better than the dealer tool ).

All in all a very pleasant experience.

I know they read this board, so I'll say a public "thank you".

[Nick_H]

The earlier posts here about GL winding down as a Skoda dealer are wrong ! I've just purchased a new Octavia from them and can assure they are still their !!

[Nick_H]

Well we picked the new motor up this morning and are delighted with it. I think however that I need to mention the service provided by Nick at Gordon Lamb in Chesterfield.

Right from the start he has kept me informed via email or telephone regarding the orders progress. This I’ve discovered is a rare thing !

The car was superbly presented when we arrived in Chesterfield. It had been raining overnight and the car had been kept in the service bay so it was nice and clean.

The spec was spot on. Nothing has been overlooked.

Nicks attitude was very professional, friendly and upfront.

Their had been a slight delay in delivery ( Skoda’s end ) and my wife was delighted when Nick nipped in the back and produced a VERY nice bouquet of flowers as an apology even though it was out of Gordon Lambs control.

All in all a very pleasurable experience. Fantastic service by Nick above and beyond anything I’ve experienced from other dealers.

Gordon Lamb, Chesterfield – 10/10 Well done.

[Krayol]

Bought my Fabia from here 2 and a bit years ago. I found Nick Lamb to be really helpful, knowledgeable, and a straightforward down to earth chap. When I finally ordered he not only gave a discount that matched online prices(!) but worked hard to get me a car quickly. No criticism of Nick.

The initial service was good and the service manager great.

As for the other staff / events since...

My wife wanted a new car last year. We saw another sales chap (used to be a mechanic, can't remember name). He was "ok" until I tried to discuss prices at which point he became increasingly angry. He repeatedly told me that the trade in was worth very little and despite showing him much higher valuations he just got angrier. After about 45 minutes with very little movement it got to the stage where he repeatedly threw the calculator over the desk towards us in a real "rage". Eventually he agreed to called Nick on the phone: who insisted that he offered us the discount that we were asking for!! (In the end we got a stunning price on a Vauxhall and top trade in value, but the Gordon Lamb sale was really lost because my wife refused to buy from the sales guy under any circumstances)

As for the last (20K) service, it was dreadful. The service manager was away I think and it was disorganised.

The courtesy car was terrible - full of rubbish, very dirty, and barely enough fuel to get to the garage 2 miles away! I politely complained but they showed no signs of caring at all.

When I picked up the car I noticed that there were several things "wrong". I got them to look at it and my complaints about it not sounding right, fans being noisier, panels not refitted properly etc were largely dismissed.

A few miles up the road I stopped and checked few things. Amongst other things I checked the oil. It was 1/3 up from empty and was as black as it was when I took it in (thick black "plenty of use diesel oil" coloured!). I had checked the oil a couple of days before - the level was identical. They were closed and so I rang the next day to be told that "diesel oil always goes black quickly" and "there's no way that it could have been missed". I had no means of proof and they accepted no responsibility so I

took it elsewhere to have it changed again 500 miles later.

Someone did ring to get feedback (which I gave honestly and politely) and never heard a word back.

I would definitely not use their servicing again and would only buy from Nick. A great shame.

Edited 12 February, 2009 by Krayol

[andy2407]

Dealership is relocating as of 9th March 2009

New details submitted for update in OP

Gordon Lamb Skoda

6 Lockoford Lane

Sheffield Road

Whittington Moor

Chesterfield

S41 7HZ

Tel 01246 221155

Fax 01246 271903

New and Used Skoda vehicles from Gordon Lamb

[email protected]

Details updated. TY. DGW

Edited 8 March, 2009 by DGW
Mod's note added.

[gregoir]

Bought an Octavia in 2009. Happy with the deal ,from Peter Hyman, and they were very happy to give test drives. Even a final one in my 0 miles car with sport suspension.

Service department were on the ball when I asked for anti hijacking and DRL to be turned on.

Recent noise from turbo has meant a bit tooing and froing to get repair approval. Loan cars seem thin on the ground as I'd to wait for a long time for the work to be completed. Loan car was a clean and brand new Fabia. Servicing was average with no complaints.

[enfieldcr]

I bought my new Yeti from Gordon Lamb in Chesterfield. I live about 100 miles away and used this dealer as I managed to track down that they had a suitable car in stock. All negotiation was done over the phone with Andy Pienaar, the salesman I dealt with. I was very pleased with the deal struck (both price and part exchange on my Fabia vRS) and the service I received. The car was ready for collection as agreed and was prepped very well and after a week I have no issues to report. Andy has been a delight to deal with - very helpful and not at all pushy about all the extras that you normally get bombarded with.

I cannot comment on the service team as I will be using a more local dealer for this but as a company to buy from I was very happy indeed doing business with them.

[portland2000]

Another relocate:

 

1 Discovery Way, Station Rd,
Chesterfield S41 9EG.

Sales: 0843 3201 327

 

Have had 2 encounters with sales area, first one was on way back from a short holiday before latest offspring arrived, and we'd popped into the dealer in Mansfield and did a wee detour to have a look at a couple of Octys listed on the website. Nipped in to find a bunch of secret agent style cutouts, piddly buffet and the like and asked to see the 2 Octys.

 

"I'm sorry, we're having a closed VIP event today"

 

    "OK, a quick look is fine"

 

"We're appointment only I'm afraid"

 

   "But there are no customers here and you have salespeople standing around."

 

"Strictly appointment only to.."

 

Didn't hear the rest as I walked out.

 

 

Next occasion was a couple of months later now with another small person in tow, following up on another car on Skoda site, as the listing info seemed contradictory (Mk3 reg, but power and some spec mk2.) Called the day before we were looking to test drive. Was promised someone would call back, but no-one did, so as it's not as far as some of the cars we looked at, went along anyway.

 

There wasn't a VIP event on, but I was told they usually work on appointments. I explained I called and was promised a callback which I didn't recieve and a test drive ensued. Turned out it was an ex dem with pretty much all the bells and whistles on it, most of which we weren't interested in and weren't listed on the site. During the drive I did say that there was a lot of stuff I wasn't interested in and said my missus and I had driven nothing but hot hatches and roadsters between is for our entire driving history and heavy, expensive addons prone to breakdown weren't really our thing - we wanted a family wagon with some oomph and a good chassis. Despite this, the bloke kept on saying how great it was to have a sunroof and the uber infotainment unit. The auto wipers came on and smeared bird cack all over the screen and he said how handy they were (really? I could have wiped it off at the lights, or washed it first rather than being able to see bugger all for a few seconds.)

 

When I got back, the missus had a seat and she asked how to adjust the seat he started pointing out the climate control, leather, sunroof, metallic paint (presumably girly features.) She didn't even bother having a drive and went back to wrangle offsrping while I finished up.

 

Just one of those cases of not listening and following a closing methodology - I thanked him for the time, but again said, we were looking for pretty much no options, just leather and possibly cruise con and the price was likely to be more than we wanted to pay for addons we didn't want. I even pointed out some other cars on the Skoda site which were 2-3 grand cheaper and similar ex dems without the extra kit. It came down to "well how much would you want to pay" and he still tried to keep a negotiation open until when he'd gone to "check with the boss" the missus texted to say the offspring were restless. When he came back I said I had to go and that as we'd not been called back as promised and the info on the website was wrong, it was a bit of a waste of time all round.

 

Next few days, I received three separate follow up calls, suggesting alternative cars (we'd specifically said petrol VRS estates were all we were interesed in) When each was drilled down, they turned out to be a 1.8 4*4, a diesel estate and a VRS hatch. Became very annoyed with the waste of time for cars I really wasn't bothered about and just put a number block for them on my phone.

 

 

2 separate experiences, neither of them good and we'll never be going there again- won't go into detail, but folk in our office related similar hassles. All I'd say is check out the reviewcentre comments for the garages in the area:

 

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews127028.html

[Claymore]

Absolute waste of space!

 

We run a Superb and a Citigo (the latter bought at this franchise) and both cars are serviced (were!) here so I went in to the showroom with a printed spec from the Skoda UK Configurator for the new Superb III (around £32,000) I will buy along with a detailed spec of my existing SuperbII that I would like to trade in.

 

It took the receptionist several attempts and about 15 minutes to extract an apparently unwilling 'sales' person from wherever he was hiding. After presenting him with the specs he asked if I wanted to wait while he did some work on it or if he could ring me during the afternoon. It was late morning approaching lunch time so I opted for the phone call.

 

That didn't come. After a couple of days I phoned and managed get hold of him and he apologised saying 'he hadn't forgotten me' (how would anyone know?).

 

He then gave me an absolutely appallingly insulting offer on the new car and even worse part ex value on the trade in. When I said that it was a completely unattractive proposition he said he'd talk to his manager and see if he could 'sharpen his pencil'.

 

That was a week and a half ago and not the proverbial Dickie bird heard.

 

On the servicing side it appears to me that they expend more effort and  resources into service related telesales trying to sell expensive and unnecessary work than they do actual technical staff in the workshop carrying out scheduled servicing work.

 

No sales and servicing now taken elsewhere.

[LeeBB]

Just taken delivery of my Superb from there.

Have to say the sales experience was flawless. Ryan was a great salesman and Callum backed him up in management very well.

Deal was good, and delighted with the whole process.

No need for after sales or service yet so can't comment on that.

[longedge]

This dealership changed hands last year and is now Bristol Street Motors still 1 Discovery Way as in the post above. The service pre sales and up to delivery and hand over in my experience is and always has been extremely good. Obviously they are selling and out to make as much as they can out of every deal, so it's a good idea not to be too hasty and to do your homework but all the sales staff I have dealt with during the purchase of 1 x Citigo,1 x Fabia and 2 x Yetis have been excellent. Not pushy, knowledgeable and very obliging. I've only ever had one service done there but that went well also, one of the salesmen lives near me and he picked the car up and dropped it off again.

 

My neighbour always buys privately and there's no doubt I could save myself a lot of money but I buy from the dealership with my eyes open. It suits me and as far as car dealers go I like this one .

Edited 6 March, 2017 by longedge
One part didn't quite make sense before.

[gregoir]

I sourced and bought a used Skoda from them last October. The few minor problems I noticed like a broken sun visor mirror, damaged wheelnut covers and unreadable owners manual (water damaged) were sorted.

The sales team were fine and I was not pressurised. Car parking is difficult though as they are combined with a Renault dealership.

[gregoir]

They are now known as Bristol Street Motors.

Can the heading be changed to help with searching?

Edited 8 March, 2018 by gregoir