Previously Ridgeway before the buyout.

 

I have no idea what the sales side of this is like but wiht the exception of Jon who is very knowledgable and excellent, their service side is now one of the worst I've ever dealt with!! Used to be run by a guy called Jason who was very helpful & friendly, but now he's been replaced with a lady who obviously tows the company line and doesn't have a clue what she's talking about as well as underlings who are pretty rude.

 

I phoned to ask about something in my service manual to which I was told they didn't know and I would have to ask SUK. Knowing what a chore this can be at times, I asked them if they could do it for me, the customer, and get back to me. They outright said they would not do that. I tried to complain to the head of service who had an attitude of she's worked in VAG for 7 years and therefore there is nothing that a customer knows more than her despite being pulled up on a few things she couldn't answer.

 

On top of this, I was in Garland in Aldershot a few weeks ago waiting for some work to be finished on my Octavia and got chatting to another newer octy customer. Said he'd driven from the other side of Reading to Aldershot because it was his next nearest dealership because when Marshall took over they had lost his service agreement in the IT switchover and despite him having paperwork to prove it had been taken out pre-buyout, they refused point blank to honour this paperwork in front of them!! He was furious but came across as fairly inexperienced with cars so simply didn't know what to do which is why he'd just conceded and ended up 20 miles away.

 

Would now not touch this place with a bargepole, atl least for anything servicewise other than parts and that's as long as Jon is doing it, so if you do, good luck!

I'm thinking you didn't get what you wanted from them, hence the negativity and attacking nature of your post? I used to use them when Jason worked there and found him to be easily swayed too. Although I never took advantage of his good nature, unlike some, I'm sure.....

They are now truly abysmal. I had worked in Reading so that was the reason I began using Ridgeway and as blackspaven says, Jason was excellent and I continued giving them my business even though it was a 110 mile round trip. When it changed hands (again) and Jason left, I had one encounter with them and that was enough - I also left.

 

Having said that, I'm in the middle of a nightmare with Allams of Epsom - they too are completely awful (cambelt and major service) so I'll have to find another dealer that actually values ones repeat business.  

Between my parents and I, we've had four cars from marshals reading dealership in the past 18 month. Two Citigo's, one octy vRS, and now a fully loaded kodiaq scout.

 

Had nothing but outstanding service from both the sales and services teams!! Very happy with the outcome of every interaction, every sale, and every visit to the dealership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had Marshall Reading carry out the first service on my Superb a couple of weeks back. I am really suprised by the comments above. I didnt deal with Skoda prior to their move to the new site and I can only assume with the new site has come a new attitude. They were brilliant. I will use them again and I would recommend anyone else does. 

I nearly closed a deal on a car here but walked away after 3 hours as it was down to a few quid on my part ex. Found the sales staff ok but I ended up purchasing from Marshall Skoda Barnstaple. David Bowman was superb. Oh, I am in South Wales..

Sadly today, I am another one who has received generally awful service from Marshalls Reading after buying our car there.

 

The saleswoman was ok, but the management team are woeful both on customer service and very poor attitude towards customers in general.

 

I'm glad I travelled some distance to buy the car there and they are not my local dealer that I would have to endure for servicing etc!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 25 January, 20197 yr by SummersetBoy

On 05/09/2018 at 08:55, TheGingerOne said:

I had Marshall Reading carry out the first service on my Superb a couple of weeks back. I am really suprised by the comments above. I didnt deal with Skoda prior to their move to the new site and I can only assume with the new site has come a new attitude. They were brilliant. I will use them again and I would recommend anyone else does. 

 

As above.  My experience of both service and warranty work on my Octavia at Marshall Reading in their new location have been entirely positive and I can't recommend them highly enough.

 

Amy and John on the service team are nothing but polite and knowledgeable.  Reception staff are friendly and always greet me by name.  The technicians I've dealt with are down-to-earth and always take the time to listen to my concerns and come out on test drives to reproduce the various noises I've reported.  I even found a bottle of Moet in the boot on one occasion by way of apology for having to return to get a circlip replaced that was flagged by Skoda Technical as a must-change part after the dealership submitted their warranty claim.

Probably worth an update on Marshalls Reading. I had a full service and MOT carried out last week on my Kodiaq, and the standard of customer service was excellent. During the healthcheck they discovered that the two lower suspension arm bushes had split away from the metal (apparently a common issue) and quoted for repair. I mentioned that I had a Spoticar warranty as the Kodiaq was actually purchased from a Stellantis dealership, Sarah at Marshalls took the details and made all the arrangements with Spoticar to authorise a claim. The car was repaired the following day and I was given a brand new Karoq courtesy car for my troubles. I was kept informed on everything throughout and nothing was too much trouble.