Vindis Skoda - Cambridge

[DGW]

Vindis Skoda

59 Cowley Road

Cambridge

Cambridgeshire

CB4 0DN

01223 507507

New Car Sales

Authorised Repairer

Approved Used Car Sales

Business Car Sales

[DGW]

Originally posted by boy_exley - Tue Jun 22, 2004

Had 20K service, plus the purchase of odds and sods. No complaints, when car not valeted due to no staff, got a discount on the service as a "sorry".

Overall making vRS ownership quite easy.

[DGW]

Originally posted by StressedDave - Tue Sep 7, 2004

Service department efficient and they did manage to clean and hoover the car. Sadly they failed to order the parts requested so I now have to make two further trips to the dealership (only one can be delivered next day) to get stuff that should have been available when I got there.

[DGW]

Originally posted by neilwilliams - Thu Dec 9, 2004

The deal on my old (problematic) 1.4 16v was fair but not necessarily brilliant.

Sales staff were very polite.

HOWEVER: The dealership tends to add a bodywork sticker to the cars they sell without asking. When you order a car from Vindis ask them not to put the bodywork sticker on. They'll be fine about it but it's best to ask.

[DGW]

Originally posted by neilwilliams - Sun Apr 24, 2005

Had the Fabia vRS serviced on 23/04/2005 (a Saturday).

They were polite and friendly.

Looked at some rattles with no notice.

Customer service has improved over the past few months. The car was washed (not perfectly but it was given a quick once over!). I was also given a bottle of oil.

Parts Manager took me through exactly what they had done in a relaxed manner, sitting down.

[neilwilliams]

Vindis don't seem to know the correct tyre pressures for the Furby vRS. When I bought it they quoted 30psi all around (a quick all to Skoda Customer Service gave the the correct ones).

At the recent service they changed all the pressures to 30psi - that's about 10% under inflated at the front.

[JMK2]

Originally posted by neilwilliams - Thu Dec 9' date=' 2004[/b']

HOWEVER: The dealership tends to add a bodywork sticker to the cars they sell without asking. When you order a car from Vindis ask them not to put the bodywork sticker on. They'll be fine about it but it's best to ask.

Yup. My previous Fabia had this and I was told by Jess (The saleswoman) that Mr Vindis liked this on all of his cars. I then refused to hand over the log book (V5) on my trade in and the sticker transfers were promptly removed.

When I replaced the car with an Octavia, the garage didn't make the same mistake. However do ask before buying a car.

ALS (Locks) at Little Downham do the same now. Must be an infection spreading through Cambridgeshire,

Also on the subject of Locks, my previous Fabia was on Variable servicing. Vindis didn't tell me so I took the car in at 10k. At 15k the service due indicator came on and they blamed it on the car.

Now I take the car to Lock's or Wings (p'borough) and they actually clean the car.

[jonathan]

Brought my O5 plate Octy Vrs from them found them to be fairly helpfull. I have one of those badges on the back of my car, I am going to have the body shop man take it off when it goes and has it's dents and scratches taken out.

My farther in law has just brought an Tourean from Vindis and he has a sticker.

My car went in for a health check with a few problems that I had noticed not all of it was sorted and I have to go back. But to be fair they weren't expecting to repalce the door seal and the handle.

I live in Essex and it is my local garage, my parents live down there so it is know hardship to go back. They did not clean my car, the guy at the service desk made a note to clean it next time I will remind them.

[Nick P]

Just booked my 1.9TDIs first variable service with Vindis - Then promptly unbooked it when I thought about the price for such a simple service. £298 is insane. I just booked in with ALS in ELY for less than half the price. I had spent days trying to get through on the phone to Vindis service without success. Got through to ALS immediately and they were really helpful and friendly. When I told Vindis that I was going elsewhere the guy said "fair enough, bye". Nice.

[zUgan]

Called at 11am when the passenger electric window stopped working the day before going to France for a few days. They told me to bring it in at 2pm, and by 3pm had sorted it temporarily and ordered new parts under warranty which were replaced when I got back.

[rossshand]

Wouldn't buy another car from them - even if they are fairly cheap.

Sales staff lie (what's new but you don't expect it from a main dealer).

Was told the car had been serviced and had the recalls checked - however when it was in for the post-sale (warranty) work to be carried out they then had to do recall work ?

All in all very disappointing.

After sales care is pretty poor so far - This has improved over the last 2/3 months.

Took 2 attempts to fix a broken door mirror indicator.

Still have to fix full length paint oddity on roof. This has since been fixed.

Save yourself hassle and ******....

update 04/07/07 - The support/service staff seem to be more interested in helping now. Customer service has improved. Still will only visit them for Warranty work as they are convenient. Will probably look elsewhere for servicing.

update 25/01/08 - Had recent DMF failure (warranty) - service dept was quite efficient at sorting out the problem, but need to learn that customers like to be updated rather than having to chase.

Rear windscreen replaced as rubber seal was coming away (warranty).

Have also had the rear windscreen wiper replaced (warranty).

[martingump]

This was the dealership I sat in for 20 mins waiting to BUY my Furby!!!

I knew the model, colour and price and was just waiting to place my order. It was fairly obvious that the sales staff were in a meeting in the Sales Managers office. I could see them! Not one of them wanted to sell me a car!

I explained a member of staff who described himself as 'the company accountant' that all I wanted to do was place the order. He didn't seem overly interested... so I didn't seem interested either! I went elsewhere!

I got a phone call 8 MONTHS later, asking me if I was still looking for a car! I could still be sat waiting in the showroom... nobody would have noticed or cared!

Customer care.... it's pants at Vindis! I haven't been back since!

[stuzzi]

Am currently negotiating with Vindis , salesman called Peter to buy a 06 vrs estate and send it to Glasgow.

It's a bit of a leap of faith since I am not going down to see the car but it's the lowest vrs on the approved used car list and I can just about afford it. I've sent an email asking for detail of condition, history and the pics on the web are good etc. They are also willing to do a deal on my VW passat trade in without seeing it also.

Am I mad or can they be trusted??

[dliviu]

I've done all my services for my Fabia vRS with them and although prices are not the cheapest and on odd cases I have been charged for washing liquid even if I've topped up the bottle the night before, I found them quite friendly and OK to deal with them. So much that I actually ended up buying an Octavia Mk II vRS from them

I haven't caught them yet lying or making promises that they didn't kept. Buy your mileage might vary.

[DGW]

I collected a Fabia vRS for my wife from this dealer last Saturday, having seen the car and agreed the deal the previous Wednesday. Jemma (Sales) was very pleasant and efficient in arranging a test drive, answering all my queries, and then sorting all the initial paperwork - including advising me of the free 7 day complimentary car insurance available on this purchase from SkodaAuto Insurance (Zurich). Zurich faxed a cover note to Vindis the next day which enabled Jemma to tax the car in time for collection on Saturday. The MD (Phil) took a personal interest in the sale, agreeing to a modest reduction in the realistic asking price to get it within my budget and to supplying front and rear mud flaps as part of the deal. He also had the car fast-tracked through preparation and servicing for early collection. The car and paperwork were all ready on time, with front mud flaps fitted and rears supplied for me to fit (once I have decided whether to cut the bumper or the mud flaps). I asked for and received a 5 page printout of the Car Data (options) for future reference, plus verbal confirmation of car build date. Simon (Finance) quickly sorted out payment details, covered available options I might wish to consider (eg GAP insurance), and said he would ring me back Monday with the answer to my query about renewing the extended warranty for my Octavia. Before leaving, I ordered a modified EGR from Parts just in case, and left an SAE for it to be sent to me. Simon phoned Monday morning with the answer as promised, and the part arrived on Thursday.

The car was advertised as having cruise control and, along with numerous other similar Fabia vRS on SkodaAuto's website, TCS. However, when I had time to look at the car data printout, I noticed that option code 1AT - electronic stabilisation program - was part of the car's spec. Had I looked at the dash closely, I would have seen ESP rather than ASR on the switch but probably would not have realised the significance of that initially.

To sum up, a wonderful car and spec at a very competitive price, with the bonus of ESP, and Vindis getting ticks in all the boxes for service from the top down. I would buy again from them.

[Ads]

If have found the level of service very poor.

My main consistent gripe is this: I cannot get hold of them to service my car! I phone up, ask for service then one of two things happens - they put me through to service, no-one is there, I leave a message, no-one calls me back OR I am told there is no-one in service and so I ask to pass on a message to call me back, they never call me back.

There was a time recently when I called around 6 times in a couple of months to get some work done on my car. I never got through and in the end I took it somewhere else. I later rang and asked to speak to the manager, and eventually got through to him after 2 attempts!

Unfortunately, I am currently trying to get hold of the service dept again. Only been told I would be called back twice so far though, so I still have a little way to go! The last time I called I said "You will definitely get him to call me back, won't you?", "Oh yes, sir, of course....."

Otherwise they are pretty expensive (but aren't all main dealers?), and I can't say they are technically any better than my local independent (and much much cheaper) garage.

If there was a local SKoda alternative I would definitely use them instead.

[r.carder]

Poor service on several occasions and seem interested in selling fleets/accounts rather than the

private motorist IMHO. I now go somewhere else even when its further to travel.

Roger.

[DGW]

I visited Vindis at the start of April to book our Fabia vRS in for a number of warranty issues: condensation in front offside foglight; BLT engine stutter fix; rear nearside door leak; a loud knocking noise under the dash area at idle; and a rattle from the dash area. Parts needed to be ordered so the car was booked in 3 working days later for 2 days and an Octavia II courtesy car provided. On collection all 4 doors had been sealed, the carpets lifted and checked for water damage underneath (none found), the foglight replaced, and the loud knocking noise traced to the front of the centre console and then fixed by use of suitable padding. The dash rattle couldn't be found but that didn't bother me. Three weeks later I booked the car in again as the rear NS door was still leaking and the dash area rattle had been superceded by a creaking noise when steering lock was applied. I also mentioned in passing to the General Manager that the interior trim was not as clean as I would have hoped. He straightaway instructed the Service Manager to book the car in for a second day so that a full interior valet could be carried out FOC. When I dropped the car off I asked that the boot catch be adjusted as the boot was difficult to close and the unlocking lever too sensitive in operation when opening. The courtesy car this time was a Roomster. The offending door was sealed again (this time by a Skoda Master Tech) and the boot catch adjusted, but the creaking noise failed to manifest itself. When I collected the car the following morning after overnight rain it was clear that the rear door carrier was still leaking. The decision was immediately taken to replace the door carrier and the car booked in 2 days later for job to be done once the part was in stock. In the meantime I discovered that the creaking noise could be reproduced by pressing down on the rear edge of the bonnet, although I couldn’t work out how the noise was being caused. I then found mention on Briskoda of the black plastic blocks on the rear underside of the bonnet being a possible source of noise, and discovered that wetting the blocks provided a short term fix for the noise. I mentioned this when I dropped the car off and departed for home in the Octavia II courtesy car again. When I collected the Fabia the next morning the door carrier had been replaced, the creaking noise cured by applying a trace of grease to the plastic blocks, and the car treated to a full interior and exterior valet to showroom standard.

Throughout the visits to Vindis I had direct dealings with Michael Fish (Service Dept Controller), Ean Daniel (Group Service Manager), and Phil Saunders (General Manager), and also spoke to a number of their technicians. There was no quibbling about what was or wasn’t warranty work, I was treated with courtesy and efficently, and kept informed of when the car would be ready and what had been done. Our Fabia was one of the few where the standard sealant fix didn’t work - hence the need to replace the carrier in the end – but that fix has proved to be 100% effective in the torrential rain since. The message for me here is that buying a secondhand car from a dealer can pay major dividends when it comes to aftersales support – as in this case.

[dieselV6]

Avoid Vindis Skoda Cambridge service at all costs for non-warranty work. My Octavia went in for a timing belt+water pump job 2 years ago. Came out with leaking (new!) water pump and marginally leaking head gasket (so someone mistimed the engine and tried to turn it most likely, and the pump must have been running dry for a while due to service not removing airlocks after refilling coolant). I phoned them twice afterwards, no response whatsoever They killed my pleasure from driving this car.

Also, regarding sales, on 2 occassions when I wanted to buy a Skoda with some cold weather options (that Skoda Auto provides outside UK in many places), Vindis were not interested in finding out whether they can do that and at what cost. But this comment applies equally to most UK Skoda dealerships that I ever tried. So in both cases I went to Ireland and sourced the car there for similar or lower cost with all options that I wanted.

[newskoda]

Picked up my fabia vrs recently and am quite happy with it. The service at Vindis was very poor.

I test drove the furby I eventually bought. It was great, no issues apart from the brake discs. I told the sales person they were worn down and I could tell this by the lip that had formed. The brakes would be checked I was advised. The tyres were in fairly ok condition with legal thread left and there wasn't any uneven wear.

When I picked up the car, I had a good look over it and was shocked to find the tyres looked very different to how they looked the week before...the ones on the car now were badly cracked on the sides and the thread was down to the wear indicators. the brake discs were slightly better...but still not that good. I think this dealer thought it could con me with this trick, as probably it is common practice. It was inspected by the service manager who then spoke to the sales assistant and they agreed to change 2 of the tyres that were really bad. They ended up having to take 2 wheels of another furby to put on mine. Wasn't too happy with that but seeing as the wheels were in good condition...was ok with it. lol...these were probably the same wheels i originally saw the week before.

Seeing as they'd put this car through an MOT and it passed i questioned the validity of the MOT if the tyres were badly worn!!! they said it had to be worn over 2/3 of the way which ok...maybe that is the case but still these tyres were not the ones I had seen and paid for when i tested it!! surely thats stealing isn't it?

the valet was ok. Nothing to write home about. They could have made a better job of cleaning the interior dash and wiping up the water marks on the outside. The car clearly belonged to a smoker or had someone smoke in it, as I could see small trace amounts of ash on the cig lighter.

further annoyed by them sticking a body work sticker on my car when i didnt want them too. Any ideas how to remove this carefully? they claim it is easy to peel off.

Looking over the service history...the first entry was done at 10,000 miles and was signed for by the general manager. It was hand written in as if inserted after the next service at 13k. very odd that.

Have to say though, that the saleswoman was brilliant! no problems with her! She'd only been there a few months but clearly was a cut above the rest

was let down badly by their service department and i think this issue is one which comes up quite a bit judging by the views on here.

the manager says they had been slated alot but had improved...i think they still have along way to go. It still bugs me alot that they tried stealing the tyres i paid for. What they did was also extremely dangerous as i had to drive over 100 miles to get home, so no thought there that if it rained, my grip on the road would be severely limited and my safety would be at risk.

[rossshand]

Was in Vindis again recently to have front screen washers replaced (for the 2nd time).

The new Service lady , advised that she is aware customers use this site to 'complain' about Vindis.

Edited 18 September, 2008 by rossshand

[DGW]

I booked my Fabia vRS in for a 20K/2 year Inspection Service, engine oil change and brake fluid change last week, having first phoned my 3 local Skoda dealers for quotes. Vindis came up with the most competitive one. I asked that 2 long-standing faults be investigated under warranty: first, a noise from rear offfside wheel when cornering; and second, the fact that the interior monitor could not be deactivated. A loan car was ready when I dropped the car off the night before, and all the paperwork was ready. I had a phone call the following morning asking for further information on the brake noise, followed by another call early in the afternoon saying the car would be ready for collection as soon as it had been given a courtesy wash and vacuum. When I collected the car the Service Advisor explained the breakdown of the bill in detail, together with the work done. The brake noise had been sorted by cleaning the brakes and fitting the mooing brake fix, while a full diagnostics of the interior alarm sensors showed no fault present - much to my embarrassment! There was no charge for that diagnostic check. The final bill was £17 less than the original quote, which much pleased me.

The Service Manager (Jon) and Service Adviser (Shaun) were new since my last visit. I have no axe to grind for Vindis but I must say that the the service I received this time was excellent in all respects and reflects most favourably on the new team.

[Balham]

I have been to Vindis twice now and I'm not impressed to say the least. I bought the car a year ago, and on collecting it noticed that the car had several hunded more miles on it than when I purchased it. I queried this but was told that I must be mistaken (I wasn't). A couple of weeks after this I took the car to another Skoda dealer to have something checked, at which point they said that several old ECU updates had not been performed. I asked Vindis about why this wasn't picked up during the PDI and they admitted they missed it.

I then went there last week for a service (I had a letter for a free service as part of the original purchase). On the way home I noticed that the tracking was out, I queried this with them and yet again was told that it must have been a problem before (it wasn't).

In summary for Vindis - :thumbdwn:

[KungfooVRS]

I've just bought a new (ish) 59 Plate. VRS CR Octy from them and have to say that the sales process was easy from test drive through to picking the car up. I got the deal I wanted and found them all to be reasonable people that understood my requirements. The customer service of the sales team is good and I've even just received a call from them to check that I am happy and that I don't have any questions. I've only had the car for a week so no idea what the service teams are like. Overall I had a good experience and would recommend them again.

[penguin17]

Vindis sales - I hope they've improved. When the Octy II vRS was launched I booked a test drive at Vindis. After travelling 40 miles for the big occasion I was told the Sales Manager had take the car for the day. Not impressed. They never called me back to re-arrange the test drive. *****************************************

They've just done something similar with a Fabia vRS (not returning calls). Again, they lost out on a sale. *****************************

Vindis servicing - as they are local to my place of work I've used them for servicing and warranty work. They have been excellent so far. Jordan the Service Manager is always helpful and friendly. They've also been the most competitive price wise too.

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

Edited 4 June, 2010 by DGW
Inappropriate inclusion of comment about 2 other dealers deleted.