Citygate Skoda Watford

[Noz]

Bought an approved, used Octavia from them.

 

The price was about right I think but service only so-so. Salesman got a bit funny about price negotiations and we ended up leaving when really the sale was to be had but I rang up the next day to take it.

Getting back to me via email took chasing. Handover was OK but a few things haven't been as good as they should have been

 

1. The car didn't have Mirrorlink as I was told. They've simply brushed that aside - no attempt to make up for this lack of a feature I actually really wanted.

2. 12V system was fused - I fixed it myself rather than the drive back.

3. Rear washer didn't work at  all. Again, fixed it myself by buying a new nozzle.

4. Now the valeting chemical smell has gone, it's apparent it was owned by a heavy smoker. I know how flipping hard it is to get rid of that smell so that's not gonna be fun.

 

The faults they missed make me wonder just how good the multi-point check is.

 

I wouldn't avoid them like the plague but then I wouldn't rush back either. 

[SurreyJohn]

Not sure where to post this, but Citygate are apparently opening new Skoda/Seat branch in Slough (the old Landrover premises), Landrover have moved to big new site.

 

 

[edwards]

They are pretty much my local dealer but after an 'interesting' sales experience with a dreadful pushy American salesman and a 'sales manager' who tried to sell me a second hand Yeti on finance which would have cost more than the new one on 0% we told him we wanted, I haven't been back.

 

Willis in Ruislip are a bit better but avoid their 'sales manager' , he accused me of scratching the instrument screen on our brand new Yeti and tried to wiggle out of replacing it by offering to 'try and polish it out'. It took an e-mail to Dennis Willis himself to get it sorted. Their service department is excellent however, and Dennis Willis himself is actually a very nice chap when you speak to him.

 

We bought the superb from a dealer in Plymouth that we visited while on holiday. We actually paid a bit more but their service has been second to none, even when a boot protector they fitted damaged the paint a tiny bit they paid to get it fixed up with no quibble at all and were supportive and apologetic. I was very impressed how they dealt with it, and that is the mark of a good company. Murray Skoda in Plymouth, Jamie was the sales person.

Edited 10 May, 2018 by edwards

[Noz]

I'd had to deal more with them since buying the car and it's not been a good experience.

 

A couple of weeks ago the service indicator came on, which it shouldn't given it's an approved used car which had been serviced before I bought it. I rang and they said I could take it to any Skoda dealer to get the indicator reset.

 

However on doing this, the other dealers wouldn't do it because the service wasn't showing on the Skoda "VMS" system. So I got back to Citygate to get this sorted. I called 4 days in a row, explaining the same thing each time to various people. Each said they'd get the dealer to call back but each time nobody did. I ended up making a complaint to their "brand manager". I don't know if this is what helped (seeing as he hasn't replied to me either) but suddenly action was taken and it's supposedly fixed with the computer updated....although I need to test this with another dealer as my confidence in them isn't all that high now.

 

They have a central call-centre number and they all sound like they're going to be helpful but it's really not good enough. I'm surprised the Watford branch didn't call after hearing I was chasing them repeatedly - if I was the salesman I'd want this fixed ASAP as bad service experienced really damage customer loyalty.

 

Overall- not at all keen to go back for anything now.

[edwards]

I have to say I am not exactly surprised given my personal experience.

 

Makes you wonder if they actually did the service in the first place or not, I wonder if they have records of the parts (filter, oil etc) booked out to that reg number on their system. If they have no contemporaneous documented evidence of the service being carried out then I'd have thought they should carry out another service rather than simply updating the computer. Although unless you stand and watch then there is every chance they will take the car in and still not do it. UV paint on the oil filter perhaps :-)

[Noz]

I guess at this stage I either take their word for it, or I don't. I'm hoping that the repercussions being caught forging a Service book etc would be too much for a Skoda main dealer to risk. But perhaps I'm being naive.

[Madmax889]

I don’t think they would have forced the service book. The car has to be serviced before you take ownership of the car and for audit purposes they wouldn’t be able to fudge that either. 

 

The only reasonable wxplanation would would be the technician when doing the service light reset didn’t do it correctly causing it to come on earlier than it should. Not ideal I know but these things can happen. 

 

You have to understand from the other dealerships perspective they can’t reset the service light if no service has been done/on the skoda database as if something happens to the car or you they are liable. 

 

Hope this helps a little more. I know it doesn’t help with the situation but more for understanding. 

[juan27]

We have put a deposit on 2017 Yeti sight unseen from Citygate, so I hope the "approved used" experience was a exception rather than the rule.  So far our experience has been largely positive in visiting and test driving another Yeti, although we did receive a few phone calls trying to sell us other Yeti variants we had already ruled out. 

 

I'd say they are better to deal with than Marshall's in Newbury who we've called about a similar car.