Not wishing to open myself for liable here are some things that I have experienced whilst using Reg Vardy motors. They are fact and not fiction and have happened on various occasions

1. Being put on hold for 15 mins.
2. Being quoted £68, final bill £158 work carried out without consent.
3. Being told car ready for collection, but need to keep it in overnight to check work.
4. Being asked by member of staff that is head office enquired about level of customer service I was to say it was the best ever naming that member of staff as GREAT. Her bonus depended on it. Point to note: The only customer service was to be ignored for 10 mins offered a coffee then offered the Bill.
5. Being put on hold for 5 mins then being cut off. Twice.
6. Being talked to by the "technician" like a 3 year old when explaining work done on car.

Oh well, I'm sure it's only me and they are a super duper company really.

That sounds like every major chain of garages, car showrooms and tyre places.
They all lie, they all think they are smarter than you and they have no fucking clue how to talk or treat customers.
God help you if you have just had a service from one of these chains, take it easy for a few days while the problems emerge like the spanners they left under the bonnet to free themselves.
The smaller the garage the better the treatment IMHO.

he was great in 'on the buses' though

hugo-a-gogo spouted:
he was great in 'on the buses' though

Yeah - whatever happened to him? LOL

Doodle, ring the dealership, and ask to speak to the dealer principle. He is the bloke who actually holds the franchise with the manufacturer, and he should be able to sort this issue out.

From working in a similar type of industry I would always advise people to ask the garage to keep any parts which are replaced. While this doesnt protect you completely it gives you a little peace of mind. I also mark things like the fan belt so I can see it has been changed, and the position of the HT leads etc, so if the two marks all tie up, then the chances are they havent replaced the plugs etc. These marks dont have to be huge, just big enough for you to know they are there.

my mate used to work in a big chain garage as workshop manager and he'd get loads of people asking to see their old spark plugs and things. so he'd have to root through the bin and show them some plugs

Thats why I say also to mark the ht leads, as if they havent been removed you have a pretty good idea they have done naff all to your car.

salsa spouted:
Thats why I say also to mark the ht leads, as if they havent been removed you have a pretty good idea they have done naff all to your car.

I am not questioning the standard of workmanship or indeed work carried out. They always do ask asked/what is needed and advise on any other work. It is bad practice at the establishment with the middle management that is the sticking point. Have no fear, I have written to head office, spoken to the middle management and found an independant garage with a good reputation for further custom.

The branch of this chain is in Darlington. Like a ticking bomb, approach with caution. LOL.

I always think it is worth being wary wherever you go. But I work in a similar industry so I spend my life hearing horror stories, so im biased

my mate worked for SG Petch in Darlington (he's left now)
Another pal has just moved to a new car salesmans job in Darlington and i think it's Vardys! I'll have a word

Cheers Hugo, but no need I don't want the Darlo Mafia after a piece of me.

Well listen to this one, I spotted a car for sale in RV it seems an excellent price – (in the car window). Went into the showroom to do the deal, spoke to a sales person, lady actually. First of all she said she could do an excellent deal through finance (I know - never take finance through a car company!). We went through the figures and I asked her what the price would be, she keep asking, what can you afford to pay each month? I said tell me the interest rate and I’ll tell you. She ignored me and gave me a figure of £250.00 per month over what seemed like a zillion months. I said this doesn’t seem right and not having a calculator to hand I asked for the paperwork with the figures. Her reply was that I could not have this to take home so I said OK I’ll copy the figures down which I did but she was spitting bullets. I went home got the calculator out and worked through the figures. You know what it was 40% interest – I kid you not! I went back the next day. I went in and said I wanted to know why I was being charged 40% interest when I could get (at the time) 9.9%.. I demanded to know what interest they were charging and they looked at me and went to get the manager. I told the manager I wanted the car at cash price and I would sort the finance out. He then told me that the car had being miss priced and as he spoke some muppet was changing the price on several cars as I stood there. My car went up £2000.00 as I stood in the showroom. The manager offered no apologies and I was told to leave.

Verdict – well you decide.

WANKERS perhaps?