Hi everyone, I was just wondering what your experiences of your handover day has been. I've had a mixed bag with my previous car's and I'm not sure what will happen when I get my new Supurb. I didn't know if you just get the keys thrown at you and told to enjoy the car or do you get a tour of the car first. I'd be interested to here your stories.

I have bought 5 cars since 2011 - three new and two "nearly new"; two Skodas and three Seats. All came from branches of the same dealer chain. All were good experiences with five different sales people. The process has got longer with time as the cars have got more complicated! Also there seem to be more and more signatures required. The most recent, for my Superb Estate 200 SE-L Executive, was an excellent experience. There was a display panel at the entrance to the dealer welcoming me by name, the paperwork was dealt with, then we walked over towards the dealer stock area and passed an car under a cover. I took this to be a facelifted Octavia awaiting launch but it was, in fact my car which the sales person proceeded to "unveil". I was taken for a tour of the outside of the car, noting extras and then taken though the many (very many!) settings for phone, radio and so on. I had assumed it would take an hour, but it took nearly two. I guess they deliver fewer cars in January than in March or September, so had the time and frankly I did enjoy the experience, sad soul that I am.

21 minutes ago, 100andthirty said:

I have bought 5 cars since 2011 - three new and two "nearly new"; two Skodas and three Seats. All came from branches of the same dealer chain. All were good experiences with five different sales people. The process has got longer with time as the cars have got more complicated! Also there seem to be more and more signatures required. The most recent, for my Superb Estate 200 SE-L Executive, was an excellent experience. There was a display panel at the entrance to the dealer welcoming me by name, the paperwork was dealt with, then we walked over towards the dealer stock area and passed an car under a cover. I took this to be a facelifted Octavia awaiting launch but it was, in fact my car which the sales person proceeded to "unveil". I was taken for a tour of the outside of the car, noting extras and then taken though the many (very many!) settings for phone, radio and so on. I had assumed it would take an hour, but it took nearly two. I guess they deliver fewer cars in January than in March or September, so had the time and frankly I did enjoy the experience, sad soul that I am.

What chain was this? Sounds good. 

Most recent was Lancaster Skoda of Milton Keynes. Seat dealer is now part of the Vindis group

Just now, 100andthirty said:

Most recent was Lancaster Skoda of Milton Keynes. Seat dealer is now part of the Vindis group

That's where I have ordered my Superb. Ordered my last car with them too. :-)

Tigermad - what have you ordered and when is it due?

2 minutes ago, 100andthirty said:

Most recent was Lancaster Skoda of Milton Keynes. Seat dealer is now part of the Vindis group

 

What was the quality of the car prep like? I am in 2 minds letting a dealer wash mine. The last car I picked up was filthy because I told them not to wash it and detailed it at home instead. If they do a good job might let them do it this time and detail it when wash is due. 

4 minutes ago, 100andthirty said:

Tigermad - what have you ordered and when is it due?

Superb L&K 150 2.0 tdi dsg in quartz grey with nearly all the extras :-). Ordered Feb 11 and was given an estimate of 13 weeks. Provisional build date is week commencing March 13th so looks like I may get it earlier (hoping so anyway)

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by tigermad

Good luck to you Tigermad. If you enjoy your new car as much as I'm enjoying mine, you'll be "quite chuffed" (typical British understatement!).

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by 100andthirty
typo.......again!

Just now, 100andthirty said:

Good luck to you Tigermad. If you enjoy your new car as much as I'm enjoying mine, you'll be "quite chuiffed" (typical British understatement!).

Thanks. Was the car nicely prepped when you picked it up? I'm a bit OCD on my car cleaning and don't like swirls etc. 

Yes it was, but bear in mind I'm a "clean it every six months whether it needs it or not" man; I am not into "detailing" or using various strange named gunges!

Generally excellent, but then I'm picky about dealers I order with in the first place. Any that try the whole showbiz-prizes-grand-unveiling crap don't even get my foot in the door. I know some enjoy it, but I think it's embarrassing and tacky. I get the car straight off the transporter as it comes (complete with transport wrap and wax), unwashed and still with internal seat covers/protective wraps etc, and definitely no dealer advert stickers plastered anywhere. I then take it home and prep it myself to my own standards. That's my simple request or no deal, and that's exactly what I get. Well except for my Mazda 6 in 2015, which came complete with a crumpled half-heartedly applied sticker on the rear window, which I'm fairly certain the salesman only put there to try to wind me up because I'd been so particularly specific about not wanting one. He didn't think it was so funny when I refused to sign for the vehicle until he'd picked it off by hand, his shiny suit shedding heavy rain like a well oiled bird.

 

Off the transporter delivery works well for us as I get an unmarred car to literally unwrap at home, without feeling like a mong while some spotty oik tries to tell me I'm speshul because the car has flashy lights and a branded tablecloth over it (yay, micro marring and scratches). I'm getting grumpy in my 'old age'.  On the plus side, removing the transport wrap, decontaminating the paintwork before giving it a corrective machine polish, then waxing it and protecting all the interior surfaces before taking it for a properly good hard drive are very therapeutic. I have new car itch...

7 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

Generally excellent, but then I'm picky about dealers I order with in the first place. Any that try the whole showbiz-prizes-grand-unveiling crap don't even get my foot in the door. I know some enjoy it, but I think it's embarrassing and tacky. I get the car straight off the transporter as it comes (complete with transport wrap and wax), unwashed and still with internal seat covers/protective wraps etc, and definitely no dealer advert stickers plastered anywhere. I then take it home and prep it myself to my own standards. That's my simple request or no deal, and that's exactly what I get. Well except for my Mazda 6 in 2015, which came complete with a crumpled half-heartedly applied sticker on the rear window, which I'm fairly certain the salesman only put there to try to wind me up because I'd been so particularly specific about not wanting one. He didn't think it was so funny when I refused to sign for the vehicle until he'd picked it off by hand, his shiny suit shedding heavy rain like a well oiled bird.

 

Off the transporter delivery works well for us as I get an unmarred car to literally unwrap at home, without feeling like a mong while some spotty oik tries to tell me I'm speshul because the car has flashy lights and a branded tablecloth over it (yay, micro marring and scratches). I'm getting grumpy in my 'old age'.  On the plus side, removing the transport wrap, decontaminating the paintwork before giving it a corrective machine polish, then waxing it and protecting all the interior surfaces before taking it for a properly good hard drive are very therapeutic. I have new car itch...

What about if something is wrong underneath that wrap or dirt. Surely they will say it's something you did? I had to sign a disclaimer if I remember rightly. 

19 minutes ago, tigermad said:

What about if something is wrong underneath that wrap or dirt. Surely they will say it's something you did? I had to sign a disclaimer if I remember rightly. 

 

'Bring it back and we'll sort it' was the response to my questions about the very same. They are plenty used to receiving 'new' cars with the odd scratch and ding; it's par for the course for a big piece of metal that has been shunted from train to ocean liner and back again. I've always had immaculate cars so far, touch wood. It'd take something fairly serious for me not to be able to sort it myself to be fair, and that type of damage tends to be visible regardless. If anyone was worried then a simple request of 'Just the very bare minimum possible, please - unwrap, check and certify but definitely do not wash or touch' would work just as well really.

Not good for me .....

 

1) Car parked at back of dealership. Given keys and told to bring it round.

2) Looked like car washed with wool mits full of grit. Paint needs proper detailing and still does. Didn't spot this until later.

3) Big black lance scuff on back where they had hit it with a pressure washer.

4) Protective blue plastic still stuck in all nooks and crannies on dash.

5) Marks on steering wheel. Didn't spot this until later.

6) Missing umbrella in one door... When questioned oh they only have one dont they.... Er no...

7) Trim that houses temp LED's pulled out where it looks like the protective plastic had been forcibly pulled to remove.

8) Mats that I had purchased ( and only used on the drive home ) missing. When questioned no idea where they were. Turns out they had just been thrown in the boot and were still stapled together. Had to fit them myself their and then with the help from a very embarrassed sales man.

9) Only perk from the dealer was making me up a new set of number plates..... Which were made up wrong... How the hell they managed that is anyone's guess.....

 

My second and last car from that Dealer...

 

Edit to say... I usually have my cars like Rainmaker.... Why I didn't tell them to just leave it this time is anyone's guess.... I did mean to ...

 

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Nick_H

Bloody hell @Nick_H what a mess.  How bad are the wash inflicted scratches? Just light marks in the clear coat, or through to paint/primer? I imagine you mean swirls, i.e. lighter scratches across the clear coat that catch the light? A decent polish by a detailer would sort it out at little expense. I'd offer to do it myself but I'm not in much of a position atm. If you get stuck give me a shout when the weather warms up, but I'll be honest and say don't hold your breath too long (two kids under 2 here lol). 

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Rainmaker

Thanks mate appreciated :-) I've been promising myself a decent machine polisher for years so i'll treat myself in the spring. It's something i'll enjoy doing.... Maybe not enjoy having to respray after though !!

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Nick_H

5 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

Thanks mate appreciated :-) I've been promising myself a decent machine polisher for years so i'll treat myself in the spring. It's something i'll enjoy doing.... Maybe not enjoy having to respray after though !!

 

 

With a good dual action polisher (do not get a rotary!) it's hard to do it wrong tbh mate. Go slow, work in 2 foot square patches until the polish goes clear, don't press too hard, and keep moving. Start with a lightish pad (e.g. Chemical Guys green or orange hex pad) and a mildish polish, then keep checking your results. Only move up a pad grade (OR polish grade, not both!) if you don't get results after a couple of passes.

 

An hour on YouTube would give you enough to work on your own car. I did ours after the body shop completely wrecked the finish (swirl marks, buffer trails and holograms everywhere) and after a couple of hours the paint was like a pool of water, way better than factory. If the swirls are light even something like Dodo Juice Lime Prime (mildly abrasive pre-wax cleaner polish) would do wonders. Sorry for mildly diverting your topic OP (but tbf this sort of stuff is very relevant to those of us who take 'untouched' delivery).

Edited 5 March, 20179 yr by Rainmaker

Mine took 20 mins. 10 mins waiting, 9 mins paperwork and handover of coffee mug/pen/oil gift set, 55 seconds for me to tell the nice person doing the handover that I'd read the manual myself and wanted to just go and drive it. 5 seconds for her to ask me if I knew about dpf's as I drove off the forecourt saying yes....

fantastic service for my experiance last week.

 

the only issue i had was a missing service book which is being resolved.

car was delivered on back of trailer to my home. cant see any issues or snags so far. was given professional demo of car functions.

 

I have previously had 2 seat leons with loads of snags such as suspension transport blocks left in place but no such issues with the superb.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Mattster said:

fantastic service for my experiance last week.

 

the only issue i had was a missing service book which is being resolved.

car was delivered on back of trailer to my home. cant see any issues or snags so far. was given professional demo of car functions.

 

I have previously had 2 seat leons with loads of snags such as suspension transport blocks left in place but no such issues with the superb.

 

 

Missing service book? Your don't get a service book stamped. It's all electronic. 

I've had that many Skoda's, most models, so I usually educate the Sales Person whats on/in the Car and how things work

2 hours ago, tigermad said:

Missing service book? Your don't get a service book stamped. It's all electronic. 

I'm guessing I need one day due to car being leased, Skoda confirmed they were sending one to me.