We hear a lot in the Back Room about motoring problems that people have had, but perhaps not so much about the people who do their jobs well or go beyond the call of duty. So as 2006 draws to a close, who has served you well?
(Please try and stick to people who have served you well, rather than naming and shaming those who haven't - we'll have to remove those!)
My vote(s) go to:
Jacksons Basingstoke, where the salesmen were quite happy to spend a long time with me when I was considering the Skoda. It didn't matter to them that it was going to be a company car, like it does to some dealers. Such a shame a buyer couldn't be found and the showrooms now stand empty.
Breeze VW, Shirley - where I now take the Golf after the problems with the paint at a more local dealer. Customer service as it should be. Nothing (on the fleet side and the service side) is too much trouble.
Halfords at Winnall, near Winchester. The staff actually know what they're talking about, and, when I chose the stereo I wanted for Polo, they couldn't find the box, so discounted it by 30%, fitted it for free and extended the warranty.
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Gells of Raunds (Northants). A proper dealer who provides old fashioned service, in a small town where reputation is very valuable.
And to David Gell, of KWG Motors (also in Raunds), who takes care of my servicing.
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Mill Motors, Dursley - independent servicing/MOT: very friendly and knowledgeable
National Tyres, Gloucester - quick and convenient oil/filter changes
Radiator Specialists, Nottingham - cost effective, speedy service
Ed
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Votex garage in Congleton.
Not exactly cheap, but value-for-money. Do an excellent job, know what they're talking about, and give very good advice, even when it'll cost them money.
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ATS Tyres , Buxton. Decent Prices, polite service and they take care.
Gilbert Lawton, Macclesfield. Main VW dealer , not cheap but they stick to their quotes, provide loan cars for free and do a good job.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Toyota, for their response to an oil consumption problem
and good old Wilf Dawes Tyres in Saltash.
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J & A Rigbye Citroen Dealers in Lancashire. Family run business where the bosses don't hide in the back.
Thistlethwaites Tyres Bolton
And finally two unnamed gents who kicked the backsides of two blokes who attempted to rob my girlfriend in Phoenix Arizona in September.
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< snip >
You were warned... PG
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Norman Yates, a long established independent garage in Southport - excellent work, service and friendly customer attention from all members of staff.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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SMB Motors, Denton, for the invisible body repairs on the Focus. The uninsured witch who necessitated the repairs is another matter entirely:(
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ES Hartleys, a Chrysler Jeep dealership in The Lake District.
A quality company all round.
MTC
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Ocean BMW, Plymouth.
Took my 140k mile 530i Sport in with a slight issue with 5th gear not returning to centre when I popped it out of gear.
They replaced the entire transmission, free of charge, under warranty, no questions asked.
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Garmin customer services.
Less then 24 hours to source the registration code for my I3.
Enterprise rent a car Northampton
Stayed open way past closing time & sorted me out again with another hire car after I told a certain body repair shop that I wasn't happy with Ray Charles spraywork
Privilege insurance
For sending there inspector round & telling said bodyshop to sort the paintwork out & that they would inspect the car again before I got to see it.
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Inchcape Ford, Farnborough - Car was recovered to them with a leaking injector after they closed Saturday, but squeezed into the schedule Monday and fixed (under warranty) by 11am Monday.
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No motoring troubles luckily but Currys in Grantham were great. Internal light in newish microwave packed up; I established that the bulb cost £14 and took it back to them for repair under warranty. No they said, we'll replaces it! I got a new microwave, a new 12 month warranty and because the price had gone down £50 since I bought the original one I got £50 back too! Thank you very much!
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JLR Garages Ltd. at Slaithwaite (near Huddersfield) did top quality body repairs after someone drove into SWMBO's car; extremely helpful and friendly service.
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In additions to the above post, I can also recommend Stepping Hill Motors in Stockport for a fast efficinet MOT station. Strangely, passed with no advisories this year, despite me not changing anything from last year when it had two or three!
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1. Volkswagen Addictions in Southport. One man band who knows aircooled motors inside out.
2. Walmayne Motors in Southport. Extremely busy garage but always seems to fit you in....!
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>"You were warned... PG"
>Indeed. Which is why I didn't name and shame.
< snip>
______
It was obvious, and this thread is about people who've served you well, not naming (implicitly or otherwise) and shaming them. PG
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www.malluskautocentre.co.uk for cracking second hand car sales, proper test drives and the sales guys (who appear to own the company between them) know thier stock inside out and could not be more helpful. I had a small issue with a car I bought from them well into my fourth month of ownership and they could not have been more helpful sorting the issue out, great old fashioned service.
Lawthers Garage, Prince Regent Business Park, Belfast for independant servicing, again great old fashioned service with honsety that leaves you with that warm fuzzy feeling instead of that cold feeling in the pit of your stomach you get when picking your car up from a dealer service :o)
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I have two nominations:
www.fordpartsuk.com - Excellent for fiddly items your dealer will only order in 10s and 20s (o-rings and the like) or for which I would have to order a jumbo-sized set of assortments from Maplin in order to get the one size I want. Also bigger parts but a lot cheaper than said dealer.
Frettons (of Leamington) - Excellent motorbike shop and 'factors' where you can buy same fiddly bits without the inflated price tag and glossy packaging I find in the factors.
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Mike Farrow
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Good idea PG!
Avis Car Hire at Stansted. Despite booking ( and pre-paying) as a 'No1 customer' with another multinational they declined to let me have a car as I didn't have the paper section of my licence with me. Avis were helpful, friendly and efficient. Within 10 minutes of form filling I was away with a set of keys. Which is what you need when you are going to your father's funeral.
I was surprised about the above experiece as I had used the aforementioned a number of times with no problems at all.
Happy New Year to all BR ers
Papho
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My Bank - Direct motoring link as they fund my "habit". Totally reliable in the 7 years I've been with them. The one glitch we had with them was when they cancelled SWMBO's card in error when mine got jammed in an ATM. A hamper of delights and a load of flowers (and I mean a load) compensated. Who are they ? Smile.co.uk. Would recommend them to anyone. SWMBO does not tolerate poor Customer Service and these have survived.
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For garage doors:
www.thegaragedoorking.co.uk/
Enough said!
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This thread is a nice positive idea for the season of goodwill.
Octagon Toyota near Bracknell, just off the A329M, is the place to go in Berks. if a Toyota is on your shortlist. Salesmen and saleswomen know their stuff and let you out for an hour or so on your own; they're quite happy for you to test more than one car, one after the other. Service has been first class too for elder daughter's Yaris - she is now on her second. Newer Toyotas are definiitely more interesting to drive than the older ones, and touch wood no less reliable.
Sorry to hear about Jacksons of Basingstoke: I liked what I saw of them. You'd think there would be good money to be made from a Skoda dealership. Skoda are already losing out by not having a dealership in the Reading area.
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Ford dealer Ringways Garages (Doncaster) Ltd.
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L\'escargot.
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The nice man at Meca Services on the Sowton Industrial estate in Exeter.
He let me borrow his tools to repair the GTM when it misbehaved one Saturday morning on holiday a long way from home. All for a nominal beer token.
He said the car made him smile so was happy to do it!
Simon
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Fish Brothers Toyota in Swindon. Excellent courteous service when buying my Avensis. Once upon a time I would have thought this could be taken for granted (especially at a Toyota dealer), but one or two others proved otherwise to quite a degree.
Fish Brothers restored my faith, with a friendly manner and some good old-fashioned haggling, so got my trade.
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G.H. Motor services of Bristol, a mobile mechanic who really knows his stuff and at reasonable prices. I get him to do jobs that i would have done myself as he is reasonable and will show you everything he has done with good explanation and advice of any thing needing done or advice about things which you may may have been told elsewhere that supposedly need doing...Cheers...Keo.
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J Sherwin of Somercotes Derbyshire. Independent VW Audi specialist who services my car better than the main dealer at a fraction of the cost.
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Bathgate Tyres of Wimborne and across the South West. Sourced tyres in 24 hours that others said would take a week, and were >20% cheaper than anyone else.
Haynes Bros of Wallingford - a small independent, who maintain all our cars. Helpful, honest and fairly priced. Mark Brett is the chief mechanic and he is always prepared to spend time explaining stuff.
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Honest Johns Backroom has served me well
It gives me quick and (normally) relaible feedback when I need it from a range of varying people.
It makes me laugh when I need a lift in an insane world
It makes me realise ITS NOT JUST ME
Well done to all those who keep this great site running
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\"Eagles may fly in formation but Weasels dont get sucked into jet engines\"
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Grocer
Eagles may fly in formation but Weasels dont get sucked into jet engines"
I think not, I must post a link to a picture of the height I used to fly at! Happy 2007 to all and to all weasels!
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Nottingham Saab of Ilkeston, Derbyshire (just the other side of the M1 from Nottingham). A Saab specialist who services my car to main dealer standards for a much reduced cost. Real enthusiasts who are always friendly, helpful and give advice, and not fleece you for it. Unlike some main dealers I have tried, you always get a courtesy car, and its always a proper car not a shopping car.
www.saabperformancecentre.co.uk/index.html
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Halfords in Farnborough (Farnborough Gate Retail Park). Clearly the company invests heavily in staff training and recruits staff carefully. They were incredibly helpful when choosing a baby seat last year, taking the time to fit several types into the Mondeo, and spending a good half an hour with us discussing the pro's and cons of different models, and not pressuring us in the slightest to make a decision. They also fitted audio equipment to several friends cars including in-car DVD and Ipod connector kits, and each time did a fantastic job. With many High Street stores employing bored, disinterested 16 year olds who clearly don't want to be there, the Halfords staff are a revelation. Prices also often get close to the best deals on the internet, but with the personal service included. Heartily recommended.
Another mention must go to Camberley Auto Factors in Hawley who always had what I needed in stock, and were always very helpful and knowledgeable.
Finally, I would like to mention Nick Robinson Motorcycles in Turgis Green (between Reading and Basingstoke). Good, honest, down the line bike mechanics and nice people to deal with. Good range of kit as well.
Cheers
DP
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Without wishing to turn this into a BR popularity chart, I think Aprilia has served lots of people here extremely well, myself included. Cheers!
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Marwood Citroen near Richmond, North Yorks. Seemingly they can't do enough for me to fix the few niggles that are still surfacing on the C8.
NFU Mutual insurance who gave me a realistic quote to get my 17yo son mobile.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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HJ and the Backroomers served me well in 2006.
I used 4 garages in 2006. All were fine - though the one that was most impressive (Pedigreed of Forres) was one I discovered through the Good Garages section of this site.
I hired a car twice during the year - no problems either time, but one of those times I used Airline Network because it was recommended in the Back Room, and got a very good rate.
Backroomers not only provided me with a fair amount of useful information, but also answered a lot of my questions. Some even googled (or otherwise did research) on my behalf, at at least one even did some calculations for me. I'll not name names, since I would probably forget someone, but you know who you are!
Many thanks for excellent service.
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Tyreland in Christchurch. Friendly and helpful - good waiting area. Come out to you if necessary, give good advice and best of all, match the prices at Mitcheldever Tyres when we quote them! Recently son took micra to them to check tracking, after a quick look they suggested it went to a garage to be checked out - no charge made. They were right too - it was a steering rack problem - but that is another whole story.
Mike Harfields in Milford-on-Sea - not the cheapest but always make an extra effort to solve problems and give advice. In our old banger days were good at keeping cars going but were brutally honest when you should move on!!
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