Arnold gets another one
Discussion
News article(s) is quite nice to him and paints a good picture.
Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
HendryG said:
Looks like Lookers/Taggarts in Motherwell may have lost/given up Volvo in Lanarkshire, was past today and while all Volvo signage is still there, and it's still listed on Volvos website however all over the showroom windows is plastered "Nissan Cared 4 Used Car Centre" and inside the Volvo showroom are a few used Nissans.
Yeah its moving to Hillington as per my previous posts. At the moment they have one guy selling the product from an outdoor office.Only JLR & Volvo will have the Taggarts brand. The rest is & will be Lookers.
Daverb said:
News article(s) is quite nice to him and paints a good picture.
Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
I bought my last car from Arnold, there were a few snags. They couldn't get the colour I wanted so they offered me a spec upgrade if I chose another colour which I agreed to. I have to say though the experience was generally pleasant. The after care was very good as well. I bet there are a lot of horror stories out there, as with any big company but there is a reason why they have been so successful. Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
I'm no loyal fan of them or anything, my current car bought elsewhere but the 2 cars I have bought from them have been good experiences.
RRLover said:
Yeah its moving to Hillington as per my previous posts. At the moment they have one guy selling the product from an outdoor office.
Only JLR & Volvo will have the Taggarts brand. The rest is & will be Lookers.
Ah I see, I thought it was only Maryhill Road Volvo that was moving to Hillington, not both Maryhill and Motherwell. Only JLR & Volvo will have the Taggarts brand. The rest is & will be Lookers.
Are there plans for another franchise in the ex Volvo showroom at Motherwell?
Should just call the whole lot Lookers for brand unity, as their Jag, LR and Volvo sites down south arent branded differently from the other Lookers branches.
HendryG said:
RRLover said:
Yeah its moving to Hillington as per my previous posts. At the moment they have one guy selling the product from an outdoor office.
Only JLR & Volvo will have the Taggarts brand. The rest is & will be Lookers.
Ah I see, I thought it was only Maryhill Road Volvo that was moving to Hillington, not both Maryhill and Motherwell. Only JLR & Volvo will have the Taggarts brand. The rest is & will be Lookers.
Are there plans for another franchise in the ex Volvo showroom at Motherwell?
Should just call the whole lot Lookers for brand unity, as their Jag, LR and Volvo sites down south arent branded differently from the other Lookers branches.
The Motherwell site was (is?) an absolute clusterf
k, it meets only a few of the Volvo corporate standards, and did not operate the way (Aftersales wise) that Volvo wanted. I presume the 2 sites will effectively be combined into 1 then?750turbo said:
It was (last year anyway) the Maryhill site that was moving to Hillington, according to the Service Mangager.
The Motherwell site was (is?) an absolute clusterfk, it meets only a few of the Volvo corporate standards, and did not operate the way (Aftersales wise) that Volvo wanted. I presume the 2 sites will effectively be combined into 1 then?
That site is going to be absolutely massive for just 2 franchises (Nissan and Hyundai) in that case, they closed down their body shop at Motherwell and moved it to Carluke at the old Verve/Ian Skelly body shop opposite the now Arnold Clark VW body shop at Bogside, and their fenced off new car compound has partially at least been converted into a huge used car display and the Peugeot showroom demolished.The Motherwell site was (is?) an absolute clusterf
k, it meets only a few of the Volvo corporate standards, and did not operate the way (Aftersales wise) that Volvo wanted. I presume the 2 sites will effectively be combined into 1 then?Not sure if the rebranding of Nissan and Hyundai Motherwell is a sign that Lookers intend to increase their volume offering in Scotland, but there can't be many suitable sites not already owned by Arnies/Parks/Halshaw/Vardy/Western/John Clark
Daverb said:
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
Is the Record not sponsored by AC?I assume he buys so much advertising space off the media that none of them would dare to risk that with a negative story.
HendryG said:
750turbo said:
It was (last year anyway) the Maryhill site that was moving to Hillington, according to the Service Mangager.
The Motherwell site was (is?) an absolute clusterfk, it meets only a few of the Volvo corporate standards, and did not operate the way (Aftersales wise) that Volvo wanted. I presume the 2 sites will effectively be combined into 1 then?
That site is going to be absolutely massive for just 2 franchises (Nissan and Hyundai) in that case, they closed down their body shop at Motherwell and moved it to Carluke at the old Verve/Ian Skelly body shop opposite the now Arnold Clark VW body shop at Bogside, and their fenced off new car compound has partially at least been converted into a huge used car display and the Peugeot showroom demolished.The Motherwell site was (is?) an absolute clusterf
k, it meets only a few of the Volvo corporate standards, and did not operate the way (Aftersales wise) that Volvo wanted. I presume the 2 sites will effectively be combined into 1 then?Not sure if the rebranding of Nissan and Hyundai Motherwell is a sign that Lookers intend to increase their volume offering in Scotland, but there can't be many suitable sites not already owned by Arnies/Parks/Halshaw/Vardy/Western/John Clark
As you say, a massive site for what they have, no doubt they have plans for it due to its location and passing traffic (Ever tried crossing that road
)Daverb said:
News article(s) is quite nice to him and paints a good picture.
Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
Because you only ever hear about the bad things, as simple as that.Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
You cannot compare a Dealer in Inverness to one in Carlisle - They work autonomously mostly.
Daverb said:
News article(s) is quite nice to him and paints a good picture.
Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
It's getting harder to buy a car from someone other than Arnold Clark, they own so many dealers now. In my area they've acquired most of the dealers. Strange when you hear so many people with bad experiences. I almost bought a lemon of a Clio 197 but pulled out just in time, I should have known better because I tell everyone not to go near Arnold Shark.
Can't understand why they have so many customers, sell so many cars and Arnold doesn't get a bad word mentioned in any news article. Can only imagine it's people that don't know much about cars getting fleeced.
My last 3 cars have been from different A.C dealers over a 16 year period. I haven't had any issues with any of them and don't feel I've been fleeced. Their prices have been very reasonable.
Years ago though I had a Citroen that developed a fault, and A.C. just couldn't fix it. They took the car back each time, but didn't see the point that I didn't buy a car from them to constantly have to take it back. I ended up trading it in. (To another A.C branch!)
So I am not a particular fan of them, but I can't really complain about my last 3 cars. But then because they have not developed any faults I haven't had to contact them after picking the car up after buying.
I don't particularly like dealing with any car dealer, but I wouldn't be put off buying a car from A.C again if it was the right car.
750turbo said:
Do they not also have Mazda there as well? They did have Peugeot, but i think they lost it last year?
As you say, a massive site for what they have, no doubt they have plans for it due to its location and passing traffic (Ever tried crossing that road )
Yes I've tried to cross that road a couple of times, nightmare!! As you say, a massive site for what they have, no doubt they have plans for it due to its location and passing traffic (Ever tried crossing that road
)Yeah Peugeot was lost/dropped last year and the showroom demolished recently, they didn't have it long, 7 years I think.
They don't have Mazda anymore either, they lost/dropped the sales franchise in 2011 when they took on Nissan and put Nissan in the Mazda showroom although I believe they are still a Mazda "authorised repaired" for warranty work etc
Although we are all on a car forum and kind of know a bit about cars, there is a huge population out there, probably the majority, who don't.
I know people who have bought cars from AC, accepted the first trade in price, accepted screen price, bought all the add ons of warranties, and covers and didn't think twice about it.
I would have no issue buying a car from them but would never, ever, take a car to them for any form of servicing work.
Arnold owes GTG training, they receive government funding to train apprentices, these apprentices are then placed in dealerships for work experience. So when your car is in getting charged at full dealer rates, the govt is paying the wages of some of the guys that are working on your car!
And as more and more apprentices qualify, supply exceeds demand, which in turn will drive down the salaries of the mechanics.
I recently had a conversation with a guy in the know. To be fair we were discussing the situation at Rangers and he was saying that Douglas Park's business is being effected with his involvement there. Arnold is able to go to the likes of Volkswagen and basically buy £10m cash worth of cars at ridiculous discounted prices, then put these on their hire fleet, get rental income and then sell them for much more than they paid in the first place. A complete win win. Whereas Park's money is being tied up elsewhere.
I know people who have bought cars from AC, accepted the first trade in price, accepted screen price, bought all the add ons of warranties, and covers and didn't think twice about it.
I would have no issue buying a car from them but would never, ever, take a car to them for any form of servicing work.
Arnold owes GTG training, they receive government funding to train apprentices, these apprentices are then placed in dealerships for work experience. So when your car is in getting charged at full dealer rates, the govt is paying the wages of some of the guys that are working on your car!
And as more and more apprentices qualify, supply exceeds demand, which in turn will drive down the salaries of the mechanics.
I recently had a conversation with a guy in the know. To be fair we were discussing the situation at Rangers and he was saying that Douglas Park's business is being effected with his involvement there. Arnold is able to go to the likes of Volkswagen and basically buy £10m cash worth of cars at ridiculous discounted prices, then put these on their hire fleet, get rental income and then sell them for much more than they paid in the first place. A complete win win. Whereas Park's money is being tied up elsewhere.
Craigie said:
Although we are all on a car forum and kind of know a bit about cars, there is a huge population out there, probably the majority, who don't.
I know people who have bought cars from AC, accepted the first trade in price, accepted screen price, bought all the add ons of warranties, and covers and didn't think twice about it.
I would have no issue buying a car from them but would never, ever, take a car to them for any form of servicing work.
Arnold owes GTG training, they receive government funding to train apprentices, these apprentices are then placed in dealerships for work experience. So when your car is in getting charged at full dealer rates, the govt is paying the wages of some of the guys that are working on your car!
And as more and more apprentices qualify, supply exceeds demand, which in turn will drive down the salaries of the mechanics.
I recently had a conversation with a guy in the know. To be fair we were discussing the situation at Rangers and he was saying that Douglas Park's business is being effected with his involvement there. Arnold is able to go to the likes of Volkswagen and basically buy £10m cash worth of cars at ridiculous discounted prices, then put these on their hire fleet, get rental income and then sell them for much more than they paid in the first place. A complete win win. Whereas Park's money is being tied up elsewhere.
I'm going to have to disagree about the apprentice thing, yes Arnold does own GTG and trains up motor trade employees but they do IT and I believe HGV driving etc as well. When I worked at Arnold Clark we had around a dozen experienced, full qualified mechanics who had worked in the trade for years, had all the relevant certificates from manufacturer training courses and so on, and we had 2 apprentices, they basically shadowed the 2 mechanics they were assigned to, one being the sales prep/PDi mechanic, they weren't allowed to do anything by themselves only assist, and no important jobs, they did tyre fitting, number plates, bulbs, simple stuff! However in order for them to become fully qualified they do need to be trained, do apprenticeships and work in garages, however when you pay full whack at Arnies it's not to pay the apprentice wages for the work done on your car, a fully qualified mechanic will do the work. Although Arnold's must now be about £75+vat per hour while the techs are probably only about £12 an hour if they're lucky, that's the real sticking point.I know people who have bought cars from AC, accepted the first trade in price, accepted screen price, bought all the add ons of warranties, and covers and didn't think twice about it.
I would have no issue buying a car from them but would never, ever, take a car to them for any form of servicing work.
Arnold owes GTG training, they receive government funding to train apprentices, these apprentices are then placed in dealerships for work experience. So when your car is in getting charged at full dealer rates, the govt is paying the wages of some of the guys that are working on your car!
And as more and more apprentices qualify, supply exceeds demand, which in turn will drive down the salaries of the mechanics.
I recently had a conversation with a guy in the know. To be fair we were discussing the situation at Rangers and he was saying that Douglas Park's business is being effected with his involvement there. Arnold is able to go to the likes of Volkswagen and basically buy £10m cash worth of cars at ridiculous discounted prices, then put these on their hire fleet, get rental income and then sell them for much more than they paid in the first place. A complete win win. Whereas Park's money is being tied up elsewhere.
Douglas Parks business can't be doing too badly, they reported record turnover and profit last year, something in the region of £17 million, I also doubt if they were struggling they would have the resources to take over Macrae & Dick last year plus all their major redevelopment and refurbishments of sites ongoing.
Back to Arnies, drove past the Milngavie dealership earlier and looks like they've lost/given up the Ford franchise, all Ford signage gone, and both the upper and lower showrooms full of new and pre reg Vauxhalls. Even though they aren't a Vauxhall franchise either, just a Vauxhall approved service agent, as the site has been since Halleys lost the Vauxhall sales franchise there about 14years ago.
HendryG said:
Back to Arnies, drove past the Milngavie dealership earlier and looks like they've lost/given up the Ford franchise, all Ford signage gone, and both the upper and lower showrooms full of new and pre reg Vauxhalls. Even though they aren't a Vauxhall franchise either, just a Vauxhall approved service agent, as the site has been since Halleys lost the Vauxhall sales franchise there about 14years ago.
I wonder what this means for the future of the site. I guess it will depend on how long is left on the lease of the property from the Halleys. cas20 said:
I wonder what this means for the future of the site. I guess it will depend on how long is left on the lease of the property from the Halleys.
Maybe they are planning to take on the Vauxhall sales franchise again or switch to another franchise. It could also be the case as they are still both Ford and Vauxhall service centres that the site will be run like Linwood Citroen, Bearsden Renault, Glenrothes Vauxhall in that they have the authorised repairer franchise and the showroom is full of pre reg cars and they can source a brand new car for you from another branch which has the full sales franchise.
Bearsden Renault is a strange one in itself, its listed on Renaults own website as just an aftersales dealer but the showroom and forecourt do have brand new unregistered Renaults on them. Every other Arnold's branch with just the aftersales franchise tends to only have pre reg stuff from other branches.
I bought my Golf R line from Inch Volkswagen Bathgate. Ex-demonstrator at what I thought was a cracking price. No pressure at all and let me go for a test drive myself!
A couple of months later I heard the place went under, taken over by Arnold Clark.
I've been looking at Golf Rs for a while now. Ventured into an Arnold Clark and they've got plenty. All bog standard ex-lease cars (I'm guessing). Prices seem ok but who wants a top of the range car with nothing on it?!! Had arranged to go a test drive. After they dug the car out I jumped in to be subjected to the usual saleman waffle and to be greeted by 5 miles worth of fuel according to the computer. ?? On the return leg of the very short run the guy said 'I'm just going slip this into eco mode' or something to that effect, obviously a hint that if I do anything but pootle along I'm going to run out of fuel. Not impressed at all and a reminder as to why I try to avoid them!
A couple of months later I heard the place went under, taken over by Arnold Clark.
I've been looking at Golf Rs for a while now. Ventured into an Arnold Clark and they've got plenty. All bog standard ex-lease cars (I'm guessing). Prices seem ok but who wants a top of the range car with nothing on it?!! Had arranged to go a test drive. After they dug the car out I jumped in to be subjected to the usual saleman waffle and to be greeted by 5 miles worth of fuel according to the computer. ?? On the return leg of the very short run the guy said 'I'm just going slip this into eco mode' or something to that effect, obviously a hint that if I do anything but pootle along I'm going to run out of fuel. Not impressed at all and a reminder as to why I try to avoid them!
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