Bristol & Oxford areas - favour to ask please!

[Zibbers]

Hi,

Hope I'm not breaking forum rules by doing this - apologies if so!

I'm having a dilemma - I'm on the verge of buying a mk2 vRS and I have my eye on 2 possibles. Problem is, I'm in Exeter and one is 70 miles away and the other is about 140.....that's a lot of travelling just to view a car on the off chance. If by any chance anyone lives in or near Ashton (Bristol) or Witney/Minster Lovell (nr Oxford), would they mind swinging past the garage and casting an eye over the cars to give an honest impression? Maybe take some photos of anything concerning or that may not be overly evident on the trade photos i.e. paint chips, damaged alloys, signs of rust etc.

I know it's a huge ask but I've had to sell the car to finance the purchase of the new one - but it kind of limits my travelling options!

Ashton Auto Centre, 5 Ashton Vale Road, BS3 2HA

John Haynes Cars, Bushey Ground, Minster Lovell, OX29 0SW

Both are Silver vRS (would have preferred blue but can't find one with good history, low mileage and in decent condition at the right price), both 2007 (56) plate. Both have FSH with dealer stamps and paperwork. Both had cam belt and water pump done relatively recently. One in Oxford has 77k @ £4995 and one in Bristol is on the verge of 100k @ £4300.......which brings me to my next question.......which would you opt for? Is 100k too high considering this will be a very long term investment and basically be the family transportation for several years to come? Or is the lower price worth the increased mileage i.e. realistic difference between 77k and 100k is negligible in terms of engine life?

Really stumped here and any help anyone can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks folks.

Cheers

Zac

[SPUD122]

Hi,

 

I live in Minster Lovell and will try and take a look on Saturday.

 

I don't know that dealer,but know the site. I think it may be a recent (ish) change of owner ship, as I viewed a Silver Vrs myself there about 2 1/2 years ago before I bought mine.

 

Will let you know I find and get some photo's if they let me.

 

cheers

 

Stewart

[devonutopia]

Best I can offer is having full vcds down the road in Exmouth.

[Zibbers]

Thanks Stewart, would really appreciate that if you get the chance......although, having spoken to the dealer on the phone on Sunday and followed it up with an email requesting more information (as he suggested I do), I've literally just received this reply from him:

"I'm sorry but I really don't wish to progress your enquiry any further, good luck with your search for a perfect car

John Haynes"

Seriously?! How to build customer confidence - if this is what he's like over a polite request for some additional photos of the paint chips he mentioned, some other close up interior detail and for the name of the Skoda garage that supposedly carried out the regular vehicle servicing - imagine what he'd be like regarding a fault or warranty issue! I appreciate he may find a buyer without needing to go that extra mile but my request is hardly outside the realms of reasonable customer service. All I want is to avoid wasting a 300 mile round trip to see something that doesn't live up to its advert. Got to say, I am fuming - who the hell does he think he is? My money not good enough for you Mr Haynes?! The nerve of some people - all I'm trying to do is buy a decent motor that won't fail me at the first hurdle - I've got a young family and not enough expendable income to take risks. Gutted and raging now - that will be a very curt phone call in the morning. /rant over........sorry/

Thanks Jason - I noticed on other posts you were local. Do you run a garage or is it just your hobby? I'm a bit ignorant about VCDS if I'm honest - I know it's VAG diagnostics but what kind of issues or problems can something like that highlight? I'm guessing potential turbo leaks, misfires etc?

There is a blue Octavia vRS for sale at the Merc Exchange Garage on the Sidmouth Rd - 06 plate, 77k and appears in reasonable condition but the only service history is the last 2 service stamps in an RAC service book plus a couple of previous MOT certs and very few receipts. No original service history book. I managed to trace the car back to the original dealership and they have a record of its first service in 2007 but nothing after that. They did agree to cam belt/water pump replacement, full service and MOT, repair chip on windscreen and repair to passenger inside door handle(loose). £4,700 - within price but seriously concerned about the lack of history and paperwork. What are your thoughts - avoid like the clap?!

[devonutopia]

Thanks Jason - I noticed on other posts you were local. Do you run a garage or is it just your hobby? I'm a bit ignorant about VCDS if I'm honest - I know it's VAG diagnostics but what kind of issues or problems can something like that highlight? I'm guessing potential turbo leaks, misfires etc?

 

No - I'm an accountant!  I have VCDS for my own car's needs and to offer out to others.   This can include scanning a potential new car for issues, if the seller permits it.

[Zibbers]

Brilliant cover - accountant by day, motor mechanic by night!

Ok, that sounds very useful - Ill certainly bare it in mind. Thanks. Only problem is, can't find any mk2 vRS with low mileage nearby - except the one I mentioned earlier. And I doubt the garage would let us plug a laptop in and mess with the ECU!

Going back to my rant above - sod the phone call, I emailed him this instead:

"Mr Haynes,

I have to say I am incensed at your curt and rude response. I appreciate you may well be able to sell this car without needing to lift a finger - but considering I was in the process of planning a trip to your site this weekend in the hope of striking a deal, I don't think it unreasonable to ask a few questions and to request a few additional photos prior to committing to travelling. As far as I'm aware, we all live within the boundary of the United Kingdom and we all use pound sterling as our currency - so what makes my money any different?

Contrary to your belief, I am not looking for a 'perfect car' - I am looking for a reliable car with a good clean and traceable history....same as anybody would who intends to spend close to £5k. Not unreasonable in the slightest.

What is unreasonable though, is your patronising tone - during our discussion on Sunday, you barely allowed me to get a word in and when I did, you didn't like what I had to say - your tone clearly gave that away. Perhaps I should have listened to my instincts then but instead I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt - more fool me.

You are clearly a dealer who cares little about customer satisfaction or confidence and if this is your response to a simple request for more information, I wonder how you would treat customers who return to you with a more serious issue? Your refusal to provide some simple details would suggest to me that this car is perhaps not everything you advertise it to be. Once again, I fall foul of yet another time wasting Swiss Tony - if you're not sure, Google it. You guys love to lay on the spiel but can't stand it when someone with a bit of knowledge asks you questions that make you uncomfortable.

Might I suggest you search your company name too from time to time - you'll be finding plenty of motoring forum posts from me extolling your salesmanship and people skills.

Hope you experience similar dismissal from someone in the future - perhaps then you'll understand why it's so infuriating."

I'm really incensed by his response (as you may have guessed!) - he's completely wound me up!! Spent ages trying to find decent motors to look at and that one really had my hopes up. Gutted.

[Zibbers]

Hi Jason,

I've just checked out your website and read up a bit more about your VCDS service. So if I wanted you to take a look at an 05 Octavia vrs just outside Birmingham (approx 308 mile round trip!), would you be up for it at the going rate of 30ppm? Would work out around £90, call it £100 to be fair? May not be necessary if it sells or I find something I don't like, but am curious to know how far you'd be willing to travel should the/my need arise!

....and having looked at your paintwork restoration, I may well consider having that done too if the cost isn't unreasonable? Very impressed with some of the finishes you achieved, especially where the swirling was showing through. Would be nice to have my new motor given a facelift when I first get it. /shiny/

Cheers,

Zac

[devonutopia]

Hi Zac

 

For someone I trust I don't mind loaning out my laptop for people to use.

 

It would be a waste of £100 paying me to go to Birmingham to do a VCDS scan.  I'd do it FOC if I could get up there, but that's not possible easily.  If you check the VCDS section on this forum you will find a huge list of people - Could be someone near you (or near the car in this case).  I will have VCDS with me in the Tamworth area over the weekend of June 21/22 if any good to you though.

 

Feel free to get in touch re the other thing should you wish.

[Zibbers]

Thanks for being honest about it. That's fair enough, completely understand. Could always give me a crash course in how to use it and I'll leave my 9 month old with you as a safety deposit.......would need child care for the day anyway! ;D

I'll bare that in mind about the 21st/22nd and I'll check the VCDS thread - didn't even know there was a dedicated one for it. I've still got a fair bit to check out before I go ahead but useful to know these things in advance. Thanks again.