Looking around the site I came across the 'recommended dealer' pages, where 'Hat's are awarded on the basis of member feedback and the participation of the garage in schemes to promote good service, etc, etc, etc....
Scanning the list for my area I was frankly astonished to see a dealer, whom I know absolutely be be thoroughly dishonest, proudly sporting his three trilby's!
Obviously no naming/shaming/or other potentially litigious comments - but here's what happened in my case.
Went to see a brand new car late one Friday afternoon. Specifically asked the dealer whether the diesel fuel pump was a certain brand - because I'd read some alarming reports about similar vehicles fitted with these particular pumps requiring replacement (at vast expense) usually just out of warranty.
What I wanted was a Bosch system. Dealer claimed not to know whether the pump was Bosch, but said he'd check with the importers after the weekend.
Fair enough - took the car for a test run, and told the dealer that I'd be back with my family to try the car after the weekend - subject to he car having a Bosch fuel pump, of course.
Dealer virtually insisted on his sales manager following me home with the demonstrator vehicle 'To save my family the trouble of making the trip to see the car'
Well.....OK.....if that's what they wanted - no skin of my nose, and it wouldn't do any harm.
Family duly takes a run in the car, and like it.
Sales manager then asks if I'd like to buy it - 'yes' - but only if it's got a Bosch pump (or, at least, not the horror story pumps) and we wouldn't know until Monday when the importers could be contacted.
"No problemo", breezed the SM - except that the special finance deal was coming to an end, and if we were to benefit from it a car had to be ordered as soon as possible (I know...I know)
SM made suggestion - pay a £500 deposit to allow an order to be placed on the system - and if it transpired that the fuel pump was one of the dodgy brand, no problem, the £500 would be immediately refunded.
What was there to lose?.....
So, a call to his boss at the dealership who confirmed the refund, if necessary, and a £500 credit card payment duly made, lot's of handshaking, and exit one happy SM
On the fol owing Monday it soon became clear that the car *did* have the unwanted fuel pump! - so, although a bit disappointed because I fancied the car, it was a quick call to the dealership to cancel the sale as agreed.
That was when he took off all three of his hats - and refused point blank to refund the money!
He denied having said he didn't know the make of pump fitted to the car, he denied having given me telephone confirmation of his SM's assurance that the deposit would be handed back if the pump turned out to be not a Bosch unit, he told me that he'd invested time and money in the sale, that the new car was on its way, and that, whatever the reason, they *never* refund deposits.
All of which left me a bit flummoxed.
There was no contract, nothing had been signed (because the deal was done via the telephone when the SM accompanied me home) - but it still took MasterCard nearly a month to extract the money from this three-hatted fraudster.
So, you can understand why I view the gent's with the hats on the Good Garage page with more than a degree of scepticism ;)
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Scanning the list for my area I was frankly astonished to see a dealer whom I know absolutely be be thoroughly dishonest proudly sporting his three trilby's!
Email HJ - letters at honestjohn.co.uk
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The problem with these databases is keeping the data up-to-date.
Some kind of system needs to be introduced whereby the listed garage needs to show they are still in existance once they have been added to the list.
In a similar way to how online email systems work, one login every xx days keeps the account active would be a low cost way of doing it. I'm not saying a garage has to login every month but maybe quarterly or half yearly would keep things fresh.
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How do I go about recommending a garage in the GG section?
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How do I go about recommending a garage in the GG section?
www.honestjohn.co.uk/hatstandard/index.htm
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