Feedback on PDI's / vehicle collection experience

Originally Posted by Gimpo

In summary, can't recommend Palmers highly enough..

If I lived in Reading, I'd drive to St Albans!!

Originally Posted by Gimpo

As a point to note, I originally went to Perry's in Amersham - which is where we first saw the Ti - and although their original sales lad was really knowledgeable and friendly, it went a bit sour when the business manager got involved. They wouldn't give us a very good price on the Audi and he was just so negative about it all - did not make me want to do business with them, so we went elsewhere.

Good for you. Too many people just put up with the c**p and do the deal anyway. Well done on a great deal and a fantastic car!

Originally Posted by braddersgt

Picking my used (3 months old) ex demo GT JTDM up on Thursday so will post to let you know what the experience was like.

From Beechdale? Heard good things about them

You've raised a good point here. Why is this in the 159/Brera/Spider lounge

I will move it to General Alfa Discussion so everybody gets to see it

Date of collection - 19/06/08
Dealer - Platts, Stoke.
Vehicle - Spider LE
Faults noted on collection - None
Faults noted shortly after collection - Front number plate plinth not screwed on properly, although was secure. 1 month into ownership, passenger window regulator/motor/ecu has failed, with window in down position.
Did you reject the vehicle? - No
How / how soon after collection was rectification work carried out - 1 month (when the window failed)
Overall comments on collection experience - Very good. Red cover on car in showroom, flowers for Mrs Oggy, sat in and listened to the 8C in the showroom (bonus!). Sunny top down drive on the way home In short, Platts did a great job.

Update: window fixed in 24hours despite having to order an unexpected part - excellent service from Platts again.

Originally Posted by cj romeo

Beware of bad press on forums....

Oh, you're NOT going to believe what just happened to me.. - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

That's great! But actually he deserved what he got. Stating the truth in a level-headed manner is one thing but using some of the language he did goes way beyond stating that he was unhappy with the service. And you should not do that in public otherwise you could be liable. That's why threads like this are reasonable and useful - state the facts. Negative comments here (and there don't seem to be many, which is good) have been stated in an objective way.

Good thread.

Cheers,

Nigel

If it's factual or opinion based (by non-AO staff) there's no real issue, but no personal insults or the likes please

to long a list of bad service had to reject the car for another which was meant to have 1/2 tank of fuel , = empty no follow up call wont buy from cv again

Originally Posted by 004phil

to long a list of bad service had to reject the car for another which was meant to have 1/2 tank of fuel , = empty no follow up call wont buy from cv again

Don't be shy Elaborate!

Date of collection - 24 January 2008- bought used (05 plate).
Dealer - AMC (Chelmsford) Ltd.
Vehicle - Alfa 147JTD MJet 16v Lusso
Faults noted on collection - n/a
Faults noted shortly after collection - MCSF warning light came on 10 days after purchase. Was returned to garage who replaced a sensor and reset ECU. About 10 days later MCSF came on again, another sensor was replaced. This became a pattern with the warning coming on at least every 10days (always on start-up) and various sensors being replaced, some of them more than once.
Did you reject the vehicle? - eventually yes, after it had been back 6 or 7 times. ARUK were involved and said that the car had a software/electrical fault for which there was (at the time) no fix. I asked for a full refund or a replacement vehicle of equivalent or higher spec and AMC preferred to give me a refund.
How soon after collection was rectification work carried out - was unrectifiable at the time
Overall comments on collection experience - When I collected the car the sales guy (Mark) was very helpful and despite it being a secondhand purchase took time to show me all the controls, where to refill windscreen washers, check oil, unlock fuel cap etc. When it was agreed that the fault was not repairable the refund was agreed without any argument.

Thanks Amanda. Bad car, good service

Date Of Collection - 15 March 2008
Dealer - Veloce's Of London
Vehicle - Used 147 Selespeed with 22k
Faults Noted On Collection - n/a
Faults noted shortly after collection - n/a
Did you reject the vehicle? - n/a
How soon after collection was rectification work carried out - n/a
Overall comments on collection experience - Smooth as silk. Car ready, cleaned and the guys were very helpful with advice.

Date Of Collection - 18 June 2008
Dealer - Whitequay Reading
Vehicle - New 159 Ti 2.4JTDm
Faults Noted On Collection - No full fuel tank!!
Faults noted shortly after collection -
Internal issues:

1. Missing nut from trim below steering wheel.
2. Rattle from the area of the large top air vent in dashboard.
3. Rattle from top of windscreen on passenger and driver’s side.
4. Poorly fitted aluminium trim around gear lever.
5. Scratch on aluminium trim next to stereo controls.
6. Steering has play and feels loose, particularly at motorway speeds.

External issues:

1. Inside edges of front tyres show early signs of wear.
2. Metal lump showing through paint on driver’s side passenger door.
3. Metal lump showing through paint above driver’s side passenger door.
4. Poor paint finish at front edge of driver’s door.
5. Poor paint finish on front passenger door near handle.
6. Dark red patch of paint on boot lid next to badge.
7. Ti badges poorly aligned.
8. Bonnet seems extremely prone to stone chips.
9. Drivers side wiper missing a portion of the windscreen when wiping
Did you reject the vehicle? - n/a
How soon after collection was rectification work carried out - Ongoing, service dept. has been good so far although their attempts to sort the rattles have failed so far. Steering issue rectified quickly.
Overall comments on collection experience - Patronising, in some respects very much like they wanted me out of the way ASAP. I think they were going to introduce me to the After Sales team although they didn't mention that and I drove off. I got a follow up call from ARUK, but not the dealer. I let them know what I thought. I still love the car though, I must be insane!

Date of collection - 31 July 08 - 3 month old ex demo
Dealer - Beechdale Derby.
Vehicle - Alfa GT 1.9 JTD Lusso
Faults noted on collection - n/a
Faults noted shortly after collection - n/a
Did you reject the vehicle? - n/a
How / how soon after collection was rectification work carried out - n/a
Overall comments on collection experience - Extremly satisfied with the whole purchasing process. Gary, is a top bloke. Nothing is to much trouble, no pressure sales, very relaxed atmosphere. So far I would recommend this dealer 100% to anyone.

Date of collection - 08/12/07
Dealer - Fish Brothers swindon
Vehicle - Alfa GT 2.0 JTS Blackline
Faults noted on collection - Slit in leather on passenger's seat
Faults noted shortly after collection - 2" of paint missing from trailing edge of bonnet, headlining covered in windscreen sealant. o/s indicator full of condensation.
Did you reject the vehicle? - No
How / how soon after collection was rectification work carried out -

within 1 week the sales team had attempted to repair leather and bonnet,, using external contractors, both unsuccesfully. After ringing and speaking to the service manager, the car was taking back in and both were rectified. took 2 months to sort headlining and indicator.

The car was handed over outside, in the rain! I think that they knew of the bonnet damage, and used the fact it was raining to their advantage.

When I went back to have the remedial work I looked around the Blackline in the showroom. It had damage to the bootlid, bumper and a visible nail in the tyre. Not really the best way to show off the car.

On the plus side the service manager, Richard was excellent. Kept me informed at all times, and lent me his 159.

Date Of Collection - 5 Aug 2008
Dealer - Mangoletsi
Vehicle - New 159 Ti 1.9JTDm
Faults Noted On Delivery - Wrong colour leather interior, No ti badges, No engine designation badge, No full fuel tank
Faults noted shortly after collection -
Internal issues:

1. Rear passenger side window not working properly.
2. Window controls on drivers door poorly fitted.


External issues:

1. Small rust spot on weld in boot well.
2. Rough patch on alloy wheel where a repair seems to have been done
3. Passenger side window washer not working.

How soon after collection was rectification work carried out -
To be arranged. i am giving it 2 weeks so that any other probs will show themselves. Mangoletsi have been excellent and even gave me compensation for the interior colour mistake, a bit dissappointed that I can't use them for servicing as they are too far to travel. Will use DF in Cardiff.

Originally Posted by Tango Indigo

Date Of Collection - 5 Aug 2008
Dealer - Mangoletsi
Vehicle - New 159 Ti 1.9JTDm
Faults Noted On Delivery - Wrong colour leather interior, No ti badges, No engine designation badge, No full fuel tank
Faults noted shortly after collection -
Internal issues:

1. Rear passenger side window not working properly.
2. Window controls on drivers door poorly fitted.


External issues:

1. Small rust spot on weld in boot well.
2. Rough patch on alloy wheel where a repair seems to have been done
3. Passenger side window washer not working.

How soon after collection was rectification work carried out -
To be arranged. i am giving it 2 weeks so that any other probs will show themselves. Mangoletsi have been excellent and even gave me compensation for the interior colour mistake, a bit disappointed that I can't use them for servicing as they are too far to travel. Will use DF in Cardiff.

That's not good (actually it's embarrassingly crap) but neither was my mate's experience when he picked up is car

Hi all

Collected my new shiny red 1.9jdtm 159ti from Mangoletsi on Friday 15th August.

Faults noted on Collection? - none, Craig at mangos pointed out a very small blemish in the paint on the bootlid - very low down and only noticeable if you crouched and looked at it sideways - I doubt if I would have noticed it.

Faults noted after Collection ?- Loose screw in internal boot pull recess which left trim loose. Slightly loose handle on passenger seat and the common (?) drivers side wiper unswept patch ( small). Everything else fantastic though.
Did you reject the vehicle? - Absolutely not

How soon rectification carried out? Will book in now for wiper when I am down that way and probably try a screwdriver on the other 2 loose things beforehand .

Overall comments -

Buying - Very good - Graig spent nearly a whole saturday with me - test drove four different 159 variants -, went through a number of finance /contract hire options, tested my car, aghreed a p'ex , dealt with existing residual finance etc all on the spot and got Alfa to agree to let me have the red Ti in the showroom although they had asked for it not to be sold yet. There was no pressure to take more expensive packages nor any specific vehicle.

Pre delivery - kept in loop by phone calls from Craig - only had to wait a couple of weeks anyway so not onerous.

Collection day - excellent . Craig stayed from 6 - 8 pm on the Friday to set me up for the weekend and went through all the features of the car. Nice gift of Alfisti book and Cloverleaf subscription as a returning customer. Valet standard excellent.

to Post delivery - Follow up call from Craig 6 days later. he was suitably outraged about the minor niggles and apologised for them. awaiting call from Alfa customer service.

Overall, having dealt with mangoletsi for 3 cars over the last 6 years I have to say that the sales and service are very good. Certainly Paul on service and Craig on sales seem to be genuine alfa lovers with a strong customer service ethic. No organisation is perfect , but someone spending thousands should just not have to put up with sh*t service and going by some of the comments in this forum generally there are some right stinkers out there that would have had me reaching for a recently oiled .45 - eg if they had treated me like Johns 159 at CV - so Mangos comparatively do really come out well.

Ooer - nearly a rant at the end - sorry SR

Alec

Date of collection-4th Aug`08
Dealer- Western,Perth
Vehicle- GT Cloverleaf
Faults noted on collection-Steve informed me of a short spare wheel carpet flap,not overlapping enough
Faults noted shortly after collection- a sticking windscreen washer button/operation.(takes a few times to work),and a ribbed effect vision through rear window(heated screen)
Did you reject vehicle- No
How soon after collection was work rectified-Have notified them,but will wait to see how it goes first,no rush.
Overall comments on collection- Red cover treatment,good tour round car,inside & out,inc under bonnet.Plenty of coffees,best wishes,and then left me to get comfy and drive out the showroom when I was ready to.Plenty of communications since,how`s the car,any problems etc.All excellent.

Originally Posted by Tango Indigo

Vehicle - New 159 Ti 1.9JTDm
Faults Noted On Delivery - ... No engine designation badge

Not sure, but I don't think the '08 ti cars are meant to have an engine designation badge. At least, they had three side-by-side in the showroom at Western Edinburgh - my 1.9, another with one exhaust, and one with twin exhausts - and none of them had an engine designation. Hence why I don't know what the other two were.

Originally Posted by jamieboy

Not sure, but I don't think the '08 ti cars are meant to have an engine designation badge. At least, they had three side-by-side in the showroom at Western Edinburgh - my 1.9, another with one exhaust, and one with twin exhausts - and none of them had an engine designation. Hence why I