As per title, can anyone recommend a good dealer in the North West?

 

Went to Simpsons Preston today (just down the road from my house) but was fobbed off really with a rattle issue ("there's a £108 diagnostic fee, sir") and was quoted something silly for servicing (I'm on variable - which apparently "costs much more and uses different oil").

 

Thanks

 

Hi,I can recommend Mitchell's at Cheshire Oaks,near Chester. Bought my Octavia and wife's Fabia from them. Use them for servicing and warranty work,never had any issues,really nice people to deal with. Even got a bacon butty when I took the Fabia in last time! 

Nice site/showroom with smart waiting area. Also,as it's over the road from Cheshire Oaks,you can go for a nosey in the shops or grab some lunch if you're waiting with your car.

we live around 40 minutes away,but the warm welcome and quality and attention to detail mean that we're happy to travel there.

Hope this helps.

I second that Mitchell's recommendation - my local dealer is 10 miles away and gave such lousy service I now travel 110 miles round trip to Mitchell's for all my Skoda needs and never fail to be delighted by their excellent dealership. The staff, the service and premises are all top notch and well worth the extra time & fuel to to go there - I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed.

JKW 

Another vote for Mitchells.

 

RRG in Bolton and Rochdale have had good feedback on here too IIRC, but I've not used them, too far for me. 

RRG Bolton is probably the next closest so that's interesting to know. Thanks everyone so far for the responses

RRG Rochdale - by far the best dealer I have used round Manchester/Warrington.

 

I've never tried Mitchells as it is a bit far out for me ........

 

Simpsons don't do themselves any favours do they LOL

3 hours ago, andyvee said:

RRG Rochdale - by far the best dealer I have used round Manchester/Warrington.

 

I've never tried Mitchells as it is a bit far out for me ........

 

Simpsons don't do themselves any favours do they LOL

 

I've actually defended them on here in the past as I've had good service from them. Had warranty issues sorted no problem and healthy discounts on services for taking my own oil.

 

The service/warranty staff have changed now though and it's completely different. I'm coming up to 4 years old / 30k on my petrol VRS and was told the next 3 services are major at roughly 350 + 350 + 450! Asked why so much when fixed major services are only 269, and she told me the Longlife oil is extra and they do extra stuff on the variable. After listing off all the stuff, there wasn't anything different than the fixed major - the only difference being the time before it comes back in. Don't think the next 3 are major either but hey ho... 

 

The various RRG dealers seem to get good feedback on here so definitely going to phone around this time and venture further if I have to.

 

 

That old chestnut - the 'special' oil they use for variable servicing.

Might be a bit out of your way but the service I've had with Alex Lawrie has been first class, plus you could make a day of it and enjoy the delights of Liverpool 

1 hour ago, ahenners said:

 

I've actually defended them on here in the past as I've had good service from them. Had warranty issues sorted no problem and healthy discounts on services for taking my own oil.

 

The service/warranty staff have changed now though and it's completely different. I'm coming up to 4 years old / 30k on my petrol VRS and was told the next 3 services are major at roughly 350 + 350 + 450! Asked why so much when fixed major services are only 269, and she told me the Longlife oil is extra and they do extra stuff on the variable. After listing off all the stuff, there wasn't anything different than the fixed major - the only difference being the time before it comes back in. Don't think the next 3 are major either but hey ho... 

 

The various RRG dealers seem to get good feedback on here so definitely going to phone around this time and venture further if I have to.

 

 

 

Skoda Cars 3 to 10 years old are covered by the fixed servicing.

 

See Notes at the bottom of the page,    http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/simply-fixed/default/

 

As far as I an know all the odd year services 1st/3rd/5th are inspection/oil service, minor and the even year services 2nd/4th/6th are classed as a Major service ( when on fixed servicing )

 

 

Edited 2 July, 20178 yr by Auric Goldfinger

1 hour ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

Skoda Cars 3 to 10 years old are covered by the fixed servicing.

 

See Notes at the bottom of the page,    http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/simply-fixed/default/

 

As far as I an know all the odd year services 1st/3rd/5th are inspection/oil service, minor and the even year services 2nd/4th/6th are classed as a Major service ( when on fixed servicing )

 

 

 

Indeed, however I'm told by this dealer that those prices don't apply if on Variable servicing as Variable costs more and they do more... 

 

Debated long and hard about Fixed Vs Variable and went with Variable for the convenience. I'd be looking at 2 services a year under the Fixed regime, but from a pricing perspective Fixed seems more straightforward and transparent 

 

Edited 2 July, 20178 yr by ahenners

Just have a Major service every years or 20.000k Miles then and pay the £269. Just read the add again no where does it state " Varible " only or " Fixed servicing Excluded "

 

 

 

 

Edited 2 July, 20178 yr by Auric Goldfinger

2 hours ago, andyvee said:

That old chestnut - the 'special' oil they use for variable servicing.

 

Ha believe me we had a good argument about this one...

 

Me: So what oil is used on Fixed then?

 

Simpsons: 5w 30

 

Me: Most 5w 30 that conforms to VW specification and is recommended by VW is Longlife. Other dealers have told me they use the same oil regardless of Fixed or Variable servicing. So how is the oil Different?

 

Simpsons: It's just different

 

Me: Differently priced to customers?

 

At that point it was fairly clear I was being BS'ed and walked away, with the decision that they have lost me as a customer now.

Edited 2 July, 20178 yr by ahenners

Mmmmmmmmm..........Special Snake oil.

2 hours ago, ahenners said:

 

Ha believe me we had a good argument about this one...

 

Me: So what oil is used on Fixed then?

 

Simpsons: 5w 30

 

Me: Most 5w 30 that conforms to VW specification and is recommended by VW is Longlife. Other dealers have told me they use the same oil regardless of Fixed or Variable servicing. So how is the oil Different?

 

Simpsons: It's just different

 

Me: Differently priced to customers?

 

At that point it was fairly clear I was being BS'ed and walked away, with the decision that they have lost me as a customer now.

Simpsons are good at losing customers with their BS

 

I don't know why SUK seem to favour them so much ...

Got my car from Simpson's and am local to them .

They are pricey in my opinion and I'll be shopping around on my 2nd service,so I'll be interested to know how people get on with other NW dealers.

I felt they were a little too arrogant for my liking,but maybe that was just my experience.

19 hours ago, RickW said:

Got my car from Simpson's and am local to them .

They are pricey in my opinion and I'll be shopping around on my 2nd service,so I'll be interested to know how people get on with other NW dealers.

I felt they were a little too arrogant for my liking,but maybe that was just my experience.

Same here - arrogant and clueless

Bought my car from Simpsons and from day one customer service was non existent.

The tools in spare wheel were missing, after numerous phone calls and promises I ended up driving back where they got a set from another car for me.

Rear washer wasn't working, my wife took it back and was told it needed a new motor, can't remember the cost, but after checking on here I took the jet off, cleaned it and it worked perfectly!!!!

Never been back since, took it to Alex Lawrie for it's service and they were infinitely better, got a lift into Liverpool city centre and a courtesy call a couple of days later to check everything was ok. I'll definitely be taking it back to Alex Lawrie from now on.

But to be fair, my dad has now had 3 cars from Simpsons and would recommend them to anyone he spoke to, he's never had a problem with them.

Edited 24 July, 20178 yr by Bluesarge

55 minutes ago, Bluesarge said:

 

 

On Friday I ended up taking it in for a service with them.... I needed it done and due to work commitments etc. It was easier to drop it there on the way to work. 

 

Perhaps someone there saw this topic and someone got a kicking, because the experience on Friday was 5/5! Never thought I'd be saying that but...

 

After phoning to book in for a Major Service and quoting the pricing listed on the Skoda Fixed Price Servicing page, I ended up paying £214 (took my own oil for £55 discount - filters and spark plugs were actually changed too. I was also a bit of a Berk and didn't check the total oil capacity of the MK3 VRS. Thought it would be 4.6L like the MK2 FL, so left a 5L bottle. Got a call later that morning to advise I hadn't left enough so I'd need to pay £10 for an additional litre of Quantum Longlife 3 which they bought in. They left the remaining amount in the boot for top ups. Not the end of the world and lesson learnt for next time! But why on earth does the MK3 / EA888 Gen 3 take 1.1L more oil than the previous Gen?!

 

I'd requested a loan car so I could get to work and back, and the Fabia they lent did the job just fine. Wouldn't fancy owning one - the high biting point of the clutch was annoying, especially being a DSG driver, but it was good on fuel and allowed me to get to work and back with minimal disruption.

 

I also requested that they didn't wash it and they noted this on the job sheet - very particular about this and keeping the paintwork swirl free. They did indeed pay attention as they'd left it as requested. A friend's local Audi dealership seems to struggle to acknowledge this request, even after leaving a note in the car as a reminder!

 

Finally, they even sorted out the rattle under "goodwill" which was a huge relief as it had been bugging the hell out of me! Turned out to be the common rattle of the fuel lines, and the car is quiet and smooth once again.

 

TLDR; no complaints this time, it was actually a good experience. Just wish every dealing with them was like this; they seem to be inconsistent.

 

Handy to know that the Liverpool dealer is rated well too

Edited 24 July, 20178 yr by ahenners