White Dove - Cardiff.

[David 8]

A shaky start on their "service" work, best of luck for next time .....you'll need it !!

[MikeWales]

A shaky start on their "service" work, best of luck for next time .....you'll need it !!

Yes, and guess what? I'm still waiting for my touch up paint. (See previous posts!)

Only 10 months now and 3 phone calls. I think I'll give up.

Good thing I live nowhere near Cardiff as I wont be tempted to get Gladys serviced there!

[David 8]

IIRC I'm still waiting for some wheel nut covers, it'll be 7 years in Febuary !!!

[Llanigraham]

Mike, you know where a couple of us Yetiists suggest!

[Peter-B]

A shaky start on their "service" work, best of luck for next time .....you'll need it !!

Until they really upset me I've no reason to bad mouth them at this early stage. Like I say I've experienced FAR worse customer service from other supposedly more reputable dealers in the area.

[adamc260]

Until they really upset me I've no reason to bad mouth them at this early stage. Like I say I've experienced FAR worse customer service from other supposedly more reputable dealers in the area.

Sales side of it they were lovely to me... it's when the issues with the car started happening communication stopped, they became very unhelpful and rude and despite mountains of evidence to show the car was defective they pleaded ignorance and said 'No the car is fine'. 6 months of hell later they finally accepted it back after I went down the legal/fos route. Skoda finance weren't much better either, they closed my case after 1 phone call to the dealer principle, they soon re-opened it after a phone call from me

[MikeWales]

Mike, you know where a couple of us Yetiists suggest!

Thanks Graham, I know. I will be going there when my service is due.

Just wish I could get the touch up paint I am owed - for nothing

[stever750]

Reputation is a funny thing as good rep is never talked about and people only really take the opportunity to moan about things because it suits them better.

If you read the other dealer threads, you'll see this is not the case (Capitol Skoda Newport)

[Llanigraham]

And Sinclair Skoda in Swansea. Plenty of good reviews of them.

[Jimbo1927]

I have just picked up my new Fabia VRS. I have to say the service that I received was second to none. I was kept informed throughout the whole process. The car is out of the world. I went for the "super gard" package on my car and it is spotless and has remained so even with the recent rain. I have been really impressed with the service that I have received from Whitedove. I would highly recommend buying a car from these guys.

[Anzio]

I've had four cars from WD three Seat's and the Yeti, I buy all my spares from there (except oil and tyres)There has been a big difference with them in the last couple of years, and I would now say they are very good. There used to be a guy in the service dept who was so rude and ignorant he wouldn't have got a job as a pig. All is now manners and courtesy,and lots of free coffee. I can't comment on servicing as I do my own, but the spare parts people are excellent.

[David 8]

I was told the other day that they lost Mitsubishi recently, so perhaps they can now concentrate on just the two brands rather than stretching three in the tiny plot they have

[Welsh_kai_boy]

Not sure if they lost it or they made a business decision to drop it. Let's just says that me and WD have an understanding after three VRs's off of them. Yes I have had issues but the service has improved greatly over the last 6 years. Edward is more involved now and the service team is stable (Kath runs a good ship now).

I still get nervous leaving my car there but the last couple of visits have been pain free and long may it continue.

The sales guy and business manager who were involved with my sale were spot on but both have left now.

[MikeWales]

There may be light at the end of the tunnel for White Dove. That is in the shape of salesman Neil Vaughan who dealt with an enquiry that I spoke to him about last week.

He was excellent, phoned me back when he said he would and sorted everything out the next day.

So I am very happy Thanks Neil.

Hopefully everyone will ask for you now - hope you are on commission!

[adamal]

Just thought I'd mention good service from the parts department. The guy, Stuart I think, was helpful and knowledgeable, and as it was a low value item he didn't insist on up front payment. Certainly better than I remember it a few years ago.

Adam

[ssppeeddyy2]

I had good experience with White Dove as well. I read horror stories about them, but it seems like they getting better.

Cut long story short, my car had some sort of electrical glitch and I couldn't start it in the morning because battery was flat. Called Skoda assistance. Guy came, said that the battery is not dead just flat and i should get it to the garage for overnight charging and diagnostic, he also said that he would recommend topping up the oil that it seems quite low. So I said fine thank you, i'll phone to Newport (garage where I bought car from and always had good experience with them) to get myself booked in immediately. Assistance guy said because of level of the oil it may be better idea to book it to closest garage.

So I phone White Dove, that i will drop the car off in about 20minutes. They were very pleasant and there was no problem what so ever basically not giving them any notice. I was told that they will give me ring next day to let me know what is happening.

Next day technician phoned to let me know that they didn't find really any problem with the car, charged battery, topped up oil and that I can pick up the car any time. And that there is going to be charge £40 for diagnostics. I said that I am not very happy with that because It's half a year old car, fully in warranty, with free servicing and that i didn't do anything to the car to cause the problem. He said that he will write it down to see what they can do about it.

When I collected car there was no mention about charging me for diagnostics. Paid for oil and that was it.

They also washed my car.

4stars out of 5.....1 down because of the cheeky technician trying to charge me money

[Torchythomas]

I went to White Dove in October and test drove a vRS estate a couple of times. I was looking to buy a demonstrator. The salesman said I'll have a chat with the boss and get back to you with our best price. After chasing this salesman on numerous occasions, still after their best price, I gave up and bought my vRS Estate from Sinclair Skoda (Swansea).

Perhaps because I turned up in jeans and t shirt they didn't think I was serious about buying a car.

I'll be taking my car back to Sinclair's for servicing even though it's an extra 40 miles.

[Claireysmurf]

My father bought a Fabia SE new from WD last March and loved the salesman (Richard) and recently was really impressed with its first service there a few weeks ago.

 

On the other hand I have never gelled with them and found it impossible to buy a car from them. They felt like a non sales department doing everything they could to deter me. So, even though they are a 25 minute walk from my house, I have bought 3 Skodas in 2 years from Capital/Mon Motors

[pkr]

Will never deal with this dealership again. This is a lengthy one but I'll try to keep it brief. Dropped car in two weeks ago today sat 7th. I wasn't booked in on the system although I checked twice that week and was told I was all booked in and a courtesy car is booked, I was OK to drop the car off so they could start looking at it on the Tuesday (due to bank hol.Mon.) luckily they had a courtesy car there for me. At this point I was being made to feel like it was my fault I wasn't on the system until a chap came out and recognised me from when I'd been down originally to book it in and show them my wheels for them to take photos to send to skoda. That was my first doubt of white dove!

The car (13' cthe fabia estate) was in for a reverse judder when reverse is selected,which can be felt through your bottom and steering wheel quite uncomfortably,although it was not every time,say every three out of five reverses and that was up hill,down hill or on the flat. There was a slight flutter / judder in first but that was very rare. I and others suspected spark plugs and notified white dove this throughout the whole process. The other issue was corroded centre caps and spider corrosion on the two right handed wheels. I drove up to Lincoln Dennis Horton from south Wales to get this car being told all four wheels were perfect and no corrosion was present! Upon arrival,the front right had a stone chip with a tale coming off it and a tale on another part of that wheel and the back right had three parts starting to spider. Not wanting to drive eight hours for no reason with two toddlers I was assured by Dennis Horton that if my local dealer queries doing the wheels under warranty they will back me up.

Had a phone call from white dove on the Wednesday saying we're not doing the wheels because the one wheel has a chip in it (present when I collected from Dennis Horton) and the other has outer rim damage (I choose to hit the curb on a roundabout instead of a Peugeot partner black taxi that cut me up) so they wouldn't do them. I had taken the car down there four weeks prior too dropping it off for them to take photos to send off to skoda for their view and was told to bring it in to have the wheels changed! White dove said the warranty guide states if damage is present then the wheels can't be replaced although there is corrosion unrelated to the damage! I questioned if that's what skoda UK has said or their own warranty department and he said their own warranty department, so I asked him to send the photos on for skoda to check. Then he said he couldn't get the car to judder in reverse. I talked through what he had to do and he said he'll have another go.

Was called on Thursday to say skoda rejected the wheel claim so I said I'll get in touch with Dennis Horton. Was also told the judder had been found by only when reversing up hill and that was normal due to load on the engine! I then stated again could it be the spark plugs? No Mr Parker it is not the spark plugs because the computer didn't tell us there was anything wrong with them!!! That summed it all up. I said but you can at least check can't you? There's no point because the computer hasn't found any faults was his reply. I told them I was calling skoda customer care as I wasn't happy with what I was hearing.

I called customer care,explained everything and they said we can't over rule any decision mind?! I said I'm ringing you for help so that's not giving me any confidence! She said she'll get in touch with both dealerships and try to resolve the issue. I also spoke to Dennis Horton and they confirmed if asked, they'll state the corrosion started before I collected the car.

On the Friday customer care didn't speak to anyone they just left messages,I spoke to both dealers that said no messages were left,what's their number, we'll call them! I also had a call later in the day off white dove asking if I was bringing the car back as they needed the courtesy car. I said find me another dsg car that judders in reverse to prove mine is normal and I'll bring it back,until then I'm keeping your courtesy car,to which he said,I'll speak to you Monday and hung up!

I rang customer care Monday because they hadn't called me and they put the case up a level so I had to explain it all again to another person. I then had a text saying I now had a case manager called Ali that will be dealing with me and he'll call on Wednesday! White dove called and said they still haven't spoke to customer care and can't find the judder again? I said I'll pick the car up when I'm happy everything has been done to resolve my issues. They stated the wheels will not be getting done by them unless told to do so by skoda but the centre caps have been changed at least.

I called Ali Tuesday as I had enough of waiting. I had to explain it all to him again as he wasn't clued up in the slightest. He said he'll do his best etc. White dove then rang me demanding their car back because they've done all they can. After speaking with Ali again I had no confidence in anything getting sorted with my car being at white dove any longer so I collected it first thing Wednesday morning.

I got in the car greeted to seat covers everywhere, paper floor mats times two in drivers side and a steering wheel protector still on which all annoyed me slightly. I also knew the first reverse was going to be an interesting one..... it was,because it juddered like a bi&%h, I called the service advisor to come and sit in and experience it, which he did and told him to go get the chap that I had been dealing with. He sat in and it wasn't as bad although it was present. He couldn't of given a rats a%?e about it. He just shrugged and said,well you know...and kind of said in a very roundabout way, as you've still got warranty left just monitor it and kind of hope it gets worse so it's easier to know what it is! He also stated the rear tyres were noisy due to baldness on the inside edges (I swapped them front to back not long ago) but I thought how does he know they're noisy? I went back in to write on the job card that the judder was still there and left asap, as I took time out of work to go down and as i was there was a crisis going on back at work that I was trying to sort out at the same time in the garage whilst trying to sort the car out.

I drove less than hundred yards and remembered I hadn't checked the mileage to what it was when I dropped it off. On checking there were nearly nine miles more! That's how he knew the tyres were noisy! Whilst on the motorway on the way back it was stop start due to accidents and the car started to experience judder in first more than before and now also in second! Was it that I was more paranoid about it I felt it more. I called white dove back to notify them of their incompetence to do anything and question the mileage. He said they didn't find any other judder after looking very hard to find any so sorry about that and he'll look into the mileage. When I questioned again why didn't they at least check the spark plugs he kept saying because the computer didn't see anything wrong with them! I spoke to him later that day because he had a call off customer care to say they were right not too change the wheels, thanks for that I thought! I questioned the mileage again to which he said,oh yeah,it went on two four mile road trips to lubricate everything up! I ended the phone call shortly after I said a few things to him.

Ali then called immediately after and I kind of felt for him but at the same time I had to express my feelings too someone and he was the person I felt best too do so with. He said he'll still try to get Dennis Horton on the phone (can't see how they hadn't spoke by now) and he'll call me back the next day.

I called Ali Thursday as I hadn't heard off him all day and he then called me back. He said looking at the photos of my wheels he can see my point so he's passing it on to his technical department! The mileage on the car is normal if it needed a road test and if spark plugs were needed then I would have had to pay for them etc. I was just unhappy that a quick check of something could of been a quick simple fix. White dove also called later that day to check the current mileage so they could resubmit the photos to skoda technical? I said you told me you done this,he said we did but we have to do it again? There's two thoughts I had,one was they didn't send the photos originally and the other is they didn't write down the original mileage as they should on a warranty job card like any other. Ali had said earlier he'll call the next day (Friday/yesterday) but he didn't and I was flat out in work.

All in all a complete shambles.

[Ootohere]

Was this a Skoda Approved Used Car, or bought new or what is the story, Still in Original Manufacturers Warranty ?

All the Defects are long running ones with the Mk2 Fabia vRS.

White Spider Corrosion on Dark Chrome Alloys in places were the damage has not let moisture in.

Wheel Centres is common. has been for 6 years now.

SKODA SAYS NO.  I HAVE HAD 6 NEW WHEELS FROM THEM, THEY CAN TRY IT ON, 

THEY DO NOT LIKE AN INDEPENDENT EXPERTS REPORT THOUGH.

 

Spark Plug Sevice Interval is 40,000 miles, yet most CTHE from 2012 on have 1 spark plug (cylinder 3) at end of live in under 20,000 miles.

Even the latest Spark Plugs VW changed to.

 

All the best with them.

The car probably needs serviced properly, needs on the Diagnostics,

needs the latest Software Update and maybe even a Software Update to the DSG. 

 

?

Has your car had or needed the DSG Service Campaign work to change the Synthetic Oil to Mineral, 

and do a Software Update to the DSG (DQ200 7 Speed Twin Dry Clutch.)

http://master.skoda-auto.com/mini-apps/recall-actions

 

Please post a similar post in the Fabia MK2 Section if the Mods allow,

Prospective buyers need made aware, this type of problems even occur when people by used & at Hand Over and condition of Fabia MK2 vRS is very common.

 

PS

Skoda UK have had to pay for Replacement Spark Plugs in many many cases because it is a 

'Known Issue', known by VW, Skoda. Seat & Audi.

Fundamental Design issues with the Inlet and a spark plug being cooked, 

why the redesigned engines, components and softwear lots between 2009 & 2012, 

then 2012-2014 with the CTHE.

THEY NEVER CHANGED THE RECOMMENDED SERVICE INTERVAL ON THE PLUGS, 

OR EVEN ISSUED A TPI ON CHECKING THEM AT THE FIRST MAJOR SERVICE.

ALL 4 PLUGS, CLOSELY INSPECTED, 1 will be on its way out.

Edited 14 May, 2016 by GoneOffSKi

[Ootohere]

PS

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/240344-chrome-alloy-corrosion-offer

Just one of several similar threads in the Fabia 2 Section.

This one going back 4 years.

Maybe White Dove need to get a Area Warranty Manager to look at your wheels and give approval for replacement.

As they should know, even replaced wheels go that way.

I can give you pictures of replacement wheels that were stored and never used on a car.

ie in may spare wheel well, and they have white spider corrosion.

[pkr]

Hi George, just the man I was hoping to reply! It was bought from Dennis Horton Lincoln used last September with 11 months manufacturers warranty and and extra one month used car warranty. I was going to put it in the MK2 section but did wonder if it would get moved. Busy today and wasn't able too call but had a "one ringer" off customer care at 17:30 coincidently so when I called back they were closed! Part of me wants it at skoda until it's fixed,the other part wants me to take it into my own hands and use the knowledgeable techs I know from VW I used to work with but then there's the wheels!

[pkr]

Spoke to Oliver Horton of Dennis Horton earlier after a quick non helpful chat with customer care. Oliver was more than helpful and is now on the case with the wheel situation which is good to know. Customer care not so helpful. The representative couldn't do much more for me do I requested his manager to call and send everything they have done / stated so far in writing so I can get my solicitor to read over it, in order to reply with a statement back. The new representative did call to say she'll get up-to speed and call Thursday lunch time with an update. I think I might book it into my local dealer where I used to work for them to have a look at the reverse judder issue and try my luck on the wheels there, you never know! What I would say though is skoda customer care do suffer with a I don't care attitude that most companies operate these days and I wonder why when there's so much choice out there for the consumer. When I worked in the motor trade and every other job I've had,I felt the need to give outstanding customer service for many reasons but obviously that doesn't portray for everyone, just a minor few.

[Ootohere]

I hope you do not mind but i mentioned these posts in another thread.

Just so that when Dealership Employees and Principal Dealers and Employees at Skoda UK HQ Milton Keynes can see the other issue often poo pooed.

Maybe even the New Skoda UK Brand Director. DUNCAN MOVASSAGHI.

 

The Elephant in the Room that the VW Group including Skoda make out is overblown and 'Do not Listen to the Internet' 

Or do not listen to Briskoda'.

Maybe Skoda UK should have listened more than 5 years back, sorted snagging problems and informed Franchised Dealerships 

of the issues, snagging faults and how to catch faults early while the Manufacturers Warranty was valid.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/358101-vrs-mk-ii-14-litre-twincharger-oil-consumption-issues/page-4

 

Fundamental Design, Manufacturing, Component Selection & Quality control issues, 

2009-2012, then with the CTHE still 2012-2014.

Dealing with Spark Plug checks and Service Intervals at least could have saved 100's of the Engines 

VWG had to replace, and even replaced engines that needed replacing.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/294051-cave-cthe-14tsi-just-reply-please-if-you-have-had-an-engine-replaced

http://revotechnik.com/support/technical/14tsi-twincharger-engine-issues

Edited 18 May, 2016 by GoneOffSKi

[pkr]

No problem what so ever George,I've not said anything that's not already known etc. I also totally agree that manufacturers should be taking note to online / social media views which I think is slowly happening but maybe not quicker or thoroughly enough. Skoda customer care did acknowledge briskoda but also stated anything on here cannot be used as / for evidence! Which I found pretty frustrating.

A positive update today was Oliver offered a refurb on the wheel that was "damaged" when I collected the vehicle. This opens a few more options / predicaments. The cost to refurb the dark chrome gigaro I'm being told by a sprayer could amount to £180 but he's not sure if the slight chipping can be repaired on its own although I think that would be a tricky job. I'm contacting the wheel specialist tomorrow for a definitive answer. I think the price quoted would mean it's going to be cheaper too have a replacement wheel sent, they are only £140 on Horton's so would make things a lot easier. My worry is if they do just a local repair on the chip skoda still won't change the whole wheel due to corrosion as its been repaired. I'll let Oliver know the price then go from there.

I called customer care to notify them of this offer but to also notify them that once I cleaned the wheels today and dried them I noticed........ white tales appearing on the two wheels with no damage on the left hand side of the car around the centre cap rim and wheel bolt holes. Annoyingly is that when it was at white dove Cardiff for soon that time with very clean wheels (had car valeted before I took it in) they didn't notice the defect when replacing all four centre caps, another negative for white dove Cardiff. Customer care said my representative would call back but they didn't.

I'm wondering if a call to the white dove dealer principle is on order but then I don't really want it going back there and that's what he'll most probably offer do they can redeem themselves!