Hi all

Just been told today that my local dealer is finishing with Skoda due to the demands they have been issued with. They will however still be a servicing dealer for normal and warranty work , and can still order new cars (and i suppose used too) from another Skoda dealer , should a customer wish to order one. The work Skoda wanted done would have cost them over

Not good news when one of the better dealers has to bail out.

Sounds fairly typical Duncan, the suits say "jump" and expect the answer to be "how high sir?"

The Dealer i bought my car from is moving to a Brand-New "corporate" type site in a few weeks, which admittedly will save me having to drive into the centre of Middlesbrough, but i'm wondering what will happen to prices....

Its big business which means everybody has to sell more to keep the manufacturer happy (one way or another). To me it means that customer service and costs will actually suffer rather than benefit from the independents exiting the market.

I wonder about the life expectancy of my local dealer who are a very small outfit and certainly don't have "corporate style" premises. I've not had cause to deal with them face-to-face yet but were very helpful over the phone when I explained my mileage predicament to them.

Howard,

I am wondering the same about mine, after all its also a small affair that employs 4 staff. despite low staffing levels they will always help you there and then. none of this "you need to make an appt sir, will next thursday be ok". They know I use my car on the track and have seen pics of the car on the ring. On their noticeboard are links to various websites (including this one) that I let them know about.

Yes, Manny, when I rang the dealer I asked to be put through to the service department and the lady who answered the phone said "Yes, how can I help you?". Definite small dealership. But when I explained that I was going to go over my 30k limit before service she couldn't be more helpful, explaining that they've had diesels in with 32k before, serviced them fine and no effect on warranty (I won't name the dealer in case this gets them into trouble!!).

Any big dealership would be sucking their teeth at this point and shoving me in the direction of the service schedule.

They also offered me either a courtesy car or a lift home.

Oh, and another nice thing - they asked if I wanted the brakes to be inspected - normally they would just do a visual inspection at the 2yr service, and perform work if they were worn, but she offered me the option of having the wheels removed, brake pads removed and cleaned, everything lubricated etc. for an additional

It's all part of a big scheme to raise the revenues through ALL of the VAG brands in the UK.

1. Force the dealers to invest in premises

2. Which forces the dealers to sell more cars

3. Which means that they lose the individual service level we get

4. and which also means that the hourly labour rates will go up by say 50% over the next 3 years

5. Which means that if you pay