Because after 10 days of waiting, when I finally got to the showroom, I'm told they can't fit the towbar. But they'll allow me £200 against the price, and I can get one fitted privately. And, surprise surprise, I find it'll cost well over £500.

This is after agreeing the deal with the towbar originally, and then re-confirming it when I called to place the order.

And the small matter of being told there'll be no charge for an early (like after one or two months) settlement of the finance, and they can't provide a settlement figure when asked. All they can provide is a settlement figure after nine months of the agreement running, which will hit me for another £1300.

I don't like being treated as a bloody sheep and an imbecile , so I've told them the deal's off. And will they please re-credit my Mastercard?

Bah. Subaru Legacy after all, methinks.

Oh dear. Well if you're set on a Scout, why not goto another dealer?

Steve

Phone another dealer.

I found that my local stealer knew ***all about towbars anyway so had one fitted locally by an expert with vag com.

Because after 10 days of waiting, when I finally got to the showroom, I'm told they can't fit the towbar. B

Not that they can't, just that they hadn't realised it costs so much and now they want to change the deal...

[rant mode]

I don't understand some car dealers sometimes, you'd think that they'd actually know their product but turns out they don't and don't really care about it either. Can't help feeling that the UK franchise dealership system just doesn't work in many cases...

[/rant mode]

Having said that if I were you I'd speak to another dealer, still think the Scout is a better car than the Outback!

Oh dear. Well if you're set on a Scout, why not go to another dealer?

Steve

Because this was a super-specced one, probably the only one of its spec in the country, built as a demo car. I won't be able to find another, not fully loaded and at the price originally agreed.

And, frankly, the experience has put me off altogether.

So if it's a great deal, and a great spec, and a great price - buy it, and take the circa £300 hit on the tow bar

I know it's not what was originally agreed, but that's life sometimes

Steve

So if it's a great deal, and a great spec, and a great price - buy it, and take the circa £300 hit on the tow bar

I know it's not what was originally agreed, but that's life sometimes

Steve

It wasn't just the towbar: it was the finance thing as well. And leaving it ten days until you have the punter in the showroom, instead of fessing up earlier (which I'd have regarded more kindly) is naughty.

I wanted the Legacy more than the Scout, but was a bit dubious about its being unproven. I was so angered by the Skoda dealer that I was prepared to take the chance, and have signed for the Legacy now.

We'd agreed the deal, and then I'd repeated everything from my notes, and had it reconfirmed, before giving my CC details for the deposit. The dealer was taking the ****.

So can you name and shame the dealer?

If you had it as a written order/contract then that was their look out.

Could you not have met them half way?

If you had it as a written order/contract then that was their look out.

Could you not have met them half way?

I didn't have it as a written contract. The original deal, and the subsequent confirmation, were by phone. However, I took notes of the conversations while I was talking, and have kept them, and (as you may know) that's good enough.

It wasn't just a matter of meeting them halfway on the towbar. First off, I really, really object to being screwed around. Why should I meet them halfway when (1) I was offered a price, and took it and (2) subsequently confirmed it before handing over a deposit?

Secondly, there was the minor issue of the early settlement fee on the finance.

Briefly, my wife and I have a substantial sum coming our way in the next month or so. We need a car now, now, now so the deal was to take out a finance agreement and then kill it after one, maybe two, months, which was why the early settlement fee was of crucial importance.

Originally, we were told: no penalty. In the showroom, this became: "Oh dear, the earliest time we can get is after nine months, and this will cost you £1361."

That, coupled with the towbar thing, made me walk.

As to naming and shaming, my home address postcode is SM1 and my work is TN1, and the rest is left to people's imagination.

It's odd how an experience like this can turn you off a marque.

Unless you have it in writing, then any verbal deal is worthless. Notes count for squat as they cant be proven as correct or even true events.

I'll give you a top tip on the finance - Don't tell the dealer you wish to cancel the agreement early. He will be telling you this is the case to protect his commision. He is paid an amount by the finance house when he sells you the finance, if then subsequently you settle early the finance house will claw back the commision paid to the dealer.

The will be regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, the agreement can be cancelled at anytime upon payment of outstanding amounts and a rebate of proposed interest charges claimed.

There are two basic types of hire purchase contract (at the time of writing).

Regulated: For balances under £25,000. This means that the government has set down rules to provide protection for the borrower upon early settlement. It is sold and advertised in away to protect those that might not be so well-informed.

Non-Regulated: For balances over £25,000. This means that the rules are relaxed and the borrower can find his protection limited and the costs can rise especially if the loan is paid off early as there is no protection from high settlement fees. The advertising standards are different.

BBC - h2g2 - Hire Purchase: a Layman's Guide to the Basics

If the car is new and in UK or dealer stock it can normally be 'transferred' to another dealer who can then do the deal with you.

Unless you have it in writing, then any verbal deal is worthless. Notes count for squat as they cant be proven as correct or even true events.

You're about as wrong as you possibly could be.

Notes that are "substantially contemporaneous" with the events they record are legally admissible in court as evidence.

This is why policemen carry notebooks, and why, in court, they ask if they may refer to them.

This is why journalists - such as myself - record everything in notebooks, date them, and keep them afterwards. If there is any dispute as to what was said, we have a record. It saved my bacon once when some clown disputed what he'd said - or rather, his PR flak disputed what he'd said - and I was able to produce my notes.

Have you any other examples of wisdom to share with us?

But come on, surely you must agree that a written quote from the dealer, for the car, any extras, and the finance deal you discussed would be more helpful in this instance, then simply verbal discussions and your notes?

Steve

But come on, surely you must agree that a written quote from the dealer, for the car, any extras, and the finance deal you discussed would be more helpful in this instance, then simply verbal discussions and your notes?

Steve

More helpful, yes, but the notes are still legally admissible. I had not got as far as signing any documentation because this was done over the phone. I went into the dealer to do the paperwork and this was sprung on me.

I sent them a polite email yesterday requesting a refund of my deposit, paid by Mastercard. I've just checked and they haven't done this. They haven't even acknowledged my email.

So I've alerted Mastercard who've blocked the payment: put it into dispute. This will cause the dealer hassle and money.

EDIT: And spoke to the dealer chain head office after having done so. Deposit re-credited. Sorted

Edited 13 February, 200917 yr by SIameseDuke
More info

Ask PF JONES how much they would charge to fit one PF Jones Witter Tow bars and Westfalia Towbars, Price Promise WE BEAT ANY PRICE. Eberspacher Main Dealer

I'm doing a self fit job but it was cheap enough to buy.

If you can afford 25k on a car what does a few hundred pounds matter? I know you'll say it's the principal of the matter but it really isn't...If you can afford such a car brand new then maybe you should get your head out of the sand and pay the extra cash, or just not have a tow bar...Heaven forbid your thinking of towing a caravan.

If you can afford 25k on a car what does a few hundred pounds matter? I know you'll say it's the principal of the matter but it really isn't...If you can afford such a car brand new then maybe you should get your head out of the sand and pay the extra cash, or just not have a tow bar...Heaven forbid your thinking of towing a caravan.

I don't like being treated as a c***: it's that simple. And if I am, like many people, I suppose I'll respond in kind.

It wasn't a matter of principle. I was just irate at the way I was being treated, and thought: "Sod this. I don't have to put up with this when there are airfields full of unsold cars out there. And I don't want to bring this car back to these people for servicing, not after this."

The Scout was the second choice anyway, really, as I was just a bit concerned about the future reliability/longevity of the Subaru diesel.

So I went back and bought the Subaru, and feel better for having done so. Thinking about it, I really don't need the extra off-road ability of the Scout.

The towbar's a necessity, yes. I have a motorcycle trailer which I use a lot for ferrying dead or dying motorcycles around (I restore bikes), and I also need it for towing a hot air balloon trailer.

Caravan? Not on your nelly. :thumbdwn:

In the 5 years I've had a Skoda i've certainly noticed a deterioration in the quality of the dealerships and can see where you are coming from exactly. I blame that dealers have been forced to adopt corporate branding at great expense to themselves. You know glass & steel dealerships, fancy furniture etc. this has seen a big move from the friendly family dealership to the bigger style of business. Fleet users may benefit but on the whole private buyers will suffer and end up having to pay for these improvements at no benefit to themselves.

It would be a shame if Skoda went the way of VW and Audi regarding the way their dealers treat their customers but it may well be heading in that direction.

I for one applaud you for sticking to your principles.

Edited 20 February, 200917 yr by loskie
typos

In the 5 years I've had a Skoda i've certainly noticed a deterioration in the quality of the dealerships

The odd thing is that the other VAG dealership I tried - Volkswagen - was equally uninterested in selling me a car. I went in, told them I was after something high-spec, possily a Passat, though on discussion I came to the conclusion that a Golf estate would do, gave them my card, picked up a sheaf of brochures, and left.

And nobody called me. Never heard a thing.

The other dealers I tried were Honda (for the Accord), Mazda (for the new 6 estate), and Subaru (for the Legacy). Honda got back to me, but by then I'd ruled out the Accord as being just too expensive for what it was. Mazda got back, but I told 'em I was still evaluating other cars, and never heard from them again.

Oh, and then there was Allams, another Skoda dealer, who maintain a presence here. Nice place, nice people, but I did ask, curiously, why they never got back in touch with me, and was told they expected me to come back the next weekend and place an order.:confused:

The only dealer that made a decent effort was the Subaru one, and they got the sale. To be quite frank, any if one of the others had pushed (Honda would have had to cut their price, but then everyone is these days) they'd have got the deal.