ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

What do you think of Elon Musk? Have your say | No thanks

Sun 26 Jan 2025 18:00

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Orb>>.

I have noticed in the past few days when phoning for information that my call to a dealership is routed through a call centre where i have to explain what i want, then get put through to a dealer, then get put through to sales, each time explaining..

A while back when my neighbour had his fuel pump go and had the same palaver to get through to the service dept.

Edited by Orb>>. on 26/01/2025 at 18:03

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 18:14

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - RT

I have noticed in the past few days when phoning for information that my call to a dealership is routed through a call centre where i have to explain what i want, then get put through to a dealer, then get put through to sales, each time explaining..

A while back when my neighbour had his fuel pump go and had the same palaver to get through to the service dept.

Some big dealer groups have all calls routed through a central switchboard

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 18:37

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Big John

Yup, I've just had experience of trying to organise service with a chain of dealerships - call centre hell! Next time I'm going to pop in as the experience was fine in the dealership itself.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 28 Jan 2025 17:22

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Engineer Andy

Yup, I've just had experience of trying to organise service with a chain of dealerships - call centre hell! Next time I'm going to pop in as the experience was fine in the dealership itself.

That's what I do with my multi-franchise Mazda dealership. I'd previously emailed them about organising my service+MOT and heard nothing back, not even a phone call. The problem is if I call them, the person on the other end of the phone isn't really very technically competent and thus I spend ages explaining the situation on that occasion.

In the end, I just pop in when I'm in the town for other reasons to talk to them in person. A much more positive experience. Shame I have to drive 13 miles each way to do so, although it does keep the battery topped up - just.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 19:28

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - SLO76

I know I’m going to sound sexist here but another thing I dislike about main dealers is that when I do have reason to deal with their service departments I find the young girl manning the service desk has little to no knowledge about cars at all. Increasingly I’m finding sales staff are younger and have little knowledge beyond modern ICE and nav systems, they don’t usually know one end of a car from the other. Ask about timing belts or chains, what engine/gearbox is in it and they’ve no clue or interest.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 19:43

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Orb>>.

One of the good things about the sadly no longer ssangyong dealer Prestons of Chelmsford was that if you asked anyone of them a question they knew what they were talking about.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 19:45

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Xileno

"Ask about timing belts or chains, what engine/gearbox is in it and they’ve no clue or interest."

That's because most of their customers through the door aren't interested either. They will be more interested in the monthlies ans the ICE systems. We get frustrated as we're a bunch of motoring enthusiasts but I think we're a minority and declining. Through friends and colleagues I know quite a few teenagers who aren't even bothering to learn to drive. Was a big thing back in the day!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 21:46

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - mcb100

‘That's because most of their customers through the door aren't interested either. They will be more interested in the monthlies ans the ICE systems. We get frustrated as we're a bunch of motoring enthusiasts but I think we're a minority and declining. Through friends and colleagues I know quite a few teenagers who aren't even bothering to learn to drive. Was a big thing back in the day!’

Exactly this.
Yes, a knowledge of spec levels, but an interest in people is way more important than an interest in cars for a car sales exec.
Matching a car to a customer’s needs and wants will make them way more money than the origins of the automatic transmission in the latest model.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 26 Jan 2025 23:57

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - catsdad

I’ve never found a dealer call centre or receptionist who have much idea of even basic technical info. In contrast my indie office person is encouraged to see the indie himself at work on the occasional job. It means you can have sensible discussions about what they have done or work they recommend.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 09:21

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Catfood

My Yaris's screen washer pump fuse was blown during the cold spells couple weeks ago. I popped in Toyota garage as it was located next to local Aldi. I walked in and the receptionists greeted. I asked if I can speak to someone in part department as I'm after 15amp micro fuse. She went back in and came back 2 min later and told me to book in for check up because they don't have any spare part in the shop....

I stopped by the local auto centre and bought a fuse....60p sorted in 3min.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 09:31

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Bromptonaut

She went back in and came back 2 min later and told me to book in for check up because they don't have any spare part in the shop....

I stopped by the local auto centre and bought a fuse....60p sorted in 3min.

I bet they wanted £100+ (vat added) for that.

My Berlingo had a fuel injector fail. I know that because the code downloaded by the recovery agent told us it was (IIRC) number 1 injector.

Still wanted their diagnostic charge.

Local franchise is Bristol Street, part of Vertu, and their calls are handled in the north east.

Perrys in Milton Keynes handle there's in Central Lancs but answer as MK. I usually make a comment about the accent...

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 11:07

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Catfood

I bet they do want to charge £100+ and obligatory diagnostic !

It's not just me but feel like it's a phenomenon at nation level....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 10:08

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - FoxyJukebox

I popped into my Mazda dealership to ask for some top up oil-and the parts bloke said “we don’t sell it”

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 10:29

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Orb>>.

I popped into my Mazda dealership to ask for some top up oil-and the parts bloke said “we don’t sell it”

I remember a few years back when I had one of the Kias No sir we don't sell it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 11:13

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - catsdad

I asked my Suzuki dealer parts desk for coolant. He said the Suzuki OEM stuff was expensive and that I could use any blue one e.g. from Halfords. This is not true. I bought the OEM stuff but I won’t now use them for services.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 09:43

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - RT

I know I’m going to sound sexist here but another thing I dislike about main dealers is that when I do have reason to deal with their service departments I find the young girl manning the service desk has little to no knowledge about cars at all. Increasingly I’m finding sales staff are younger and have little knowledge beyond modern ICE and nav systems, they don’t usually know one end of a car from the other. Ask about timing belts or chains, what engine/gearbox is in it and they’ve no clue or interest.

I've found the problem is age, not sex - the young lads on my local VW service desk have no more idea than the girls - always trying to sell me a Haldex fluid refresh when my VW Touareg is the one VW that doesn't use a Haldex 4wd system!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 10:42

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - pd

Have sales people ever really had knowledge like whether a car has a timing chain or belt? What percentage of the buying public even know what they are, what they do, and what the difference is? Very small I'd imagine.

Apart from some very odd engines (Honda being one a few years back) how many 1st owners ever get to the stage when they would need to consider a cambelt change even if it has one? Not many I'd guess.

A salesperson *does* need to know whether the car as Android Auto and Carplay however.

Edited by pd on 27/01/2025 at 10:43

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 12:05

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Chris M

"I've found the problem is age, not sex - the young lads on my local VW service desk have no more idea than the girls"

I had reason to visit an auto electrician a few months back. Apparently very well regarded in the area as a bloke who knows his stuff. Probably late fifties and been in business a good few years.

His mother was the receptionist. Wouldn't want to guess her age but looked about 90 and made up like she was still in her twenties. Probably a very attractive lady in her youth... less so now. But she knew her stuff and, as I witnessed, could hold her own against a stroppy customer who thought the complex and time consuming issue with his car should be handled there and then without an appointment. She clearly had at least some idea of what was wrong with it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 12:14

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Orb>>.

I also remember the old parts man in a BL dealer many years ago who almost never looked at the catalogue. He used to listen and then get the parts.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 27 Jan 2025 12:45

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Andrew-T

I also remember the old parts man in a BL dealer many years ago who almost never looked at the catalogue. He used to listen and then get the parts.

The current chairman of Club Peugeot UK is a 70-year-old Liverpudlian who (I am pretty sure) spent much of his working life in the parts department of a Pug dealership. He still has access to worldwide parts availability, which I have made use of once or twice. The example above pre-dates the internet though, which would need much greater expertise.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 28 Jan 2025 23:31

ANY - Calling dealerships for service or buying - Big John

I also remember the old parts man in a BL dealer many years ago who almost never looked at the catalogue. He used to listen and then get the parts.

I have a friend who had (er still has!) an old 1923 Morris and was asking a guy at a really old BL dealer about suitable bearing to get machined to fit the rear axle - Old guy said hang on a sec, and brought out a few original fit spares from decades ago and said at least he won't have to count them again on the next stock take. The slight issue was what to charge as the cost price was from many moons ago!! Needless to say he bought the entire stock of parts for the Morris.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator