Hawthorns Farnham - setting the standards for the Trade
Discussion
I'll keep this as brief as I can though its quite a long story.
The bucket list dictates owning a V8.
My venerable SAAB 9-5 SE Estate had out-stayed its welcome so the search was on for a V8 replacement.
Without too much research I bought a BMW 550i Touring in Oxfordshire which, despite its outward appearance, turned out to be a dog.
That went back PDQ to the trader for a full refund.
Shortly after another one appeared on here.
Exceptionally it's an M-Sport of which there are only 30 (?) in the country.
Being fairly local I shot down to Hawthorns of Farnham ( www.hawthorns.co.uk ) the next morning, test drove it and put a deposit down.
The description didn't really do it justice. It's one owner, FSH and obviously been looked after.
It's in Imola Red which makes it outstanding
I expressed some concern over the front discs.
By the time I rang them the next morning to say maybe I'd been a bit harsh they had already re-newed both front discs and pads PLUS they had scheduled to repaint the passenger door mirror and whilst at it would be re-painting the rear bumper as it was slightly scratched.
However not long after collection it became apparent there was a major fault which was undetectable on a relatively short test drive.
Obviously I contacted Hawthorns without delay and they fell over themselves to fix it.
They immediately sent a low-loader to collect it, supplying a loan car for the duration (Mini Cooper S).
Their well-qualified in-house engineering department were unable to fix the fault so they sent it off to a local BMW engine specialist.
Given his speciality booking time was extensive so a lot of patience was called for (not helped by our taking a trip down Route66 in the meantime and being subjected to all those throaty V8's the Yanks are so fond of).
Finally last week the car was ready for collection and at no cost to myself.
This weekend has been spent really enjoying it for all its attributes - the more I drive it the more attributes it has (reinforced by at trip from RG1 to Bedford Autodrome for a milestone birthday treat on one of Mr Palmer's Activity Days - highly recommended). The drive back was spectacular especially once the Sport button was sussed.
So whether your looking for a BMW, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Ferrari and /or Mercedes you should seriously consider buying with full confidence from Hawthorns.
Just to clarify I had no prior association with Hawthorns other than to now being an extremely happy customer.
Finally I must compliment Jonathan, Jane and Dan at Hawthorns for their response and service levels in what was potentially a difficult situation.
Their attitude to customer relations sets a standard rarely found in the Motor Trade and others could do well to match.
Would I buy from them again? You bet.
Am I a satisfied customer? You bet!
Am I made up with owning a 550i M-Sport Touring? You bet!!
Cheers, Pewe.
PS I've also posted this in the E61 section but felt my experience deserved a wider audience.
The bucket list dictates owning a V8.
My venerable SAAB 9-5 SE Estate had out-stayed its welcome so the search was on for a V8 replacement.
Without too much research I bought a BMW 550i Touring in Oxfordshire which, despite its outward appearance, turned out to be a dog.
That went back PDQ to the trader for a full refund.
Shortly after another one appeared on here.
Exceptionally it's an M-Sport of which there are only 30 (?) in the country.
Being fairly local I shot down to Hawthorns of Farnham ( www.hawthorns.co.uk ) the next morning, test drove it and put a deposit down.
The description didn't really do it justice. It's one owner, FSH and obviously been looked after.
It's in Imola Red which makes it outstanding
I expressed some concern over the front discs.
By the time I rang them the next morning to say maybe I'd been a bit harsh they had already re-newed both front discs and pads PLUS they had scheduled to repaint the passenger door mirror and whilst at it would be re-painting the rear bumper as it was slightly scratched.
However not long after collection it became apparent there was a major fault which was undetectable on a relatively short test drive.
Obviously I contacted Hawthorns without delay and they fell over themselves to fix it.
They immediately sent a low-loader to collect it, supplying a loan car for the duration (Mini Cooper S).
Their well-qualified in-house engineering department were unable to fix the fault so they sent it off to a local BMW engine specialist.
Given his speciality booking time was extensive so a lot of patience was called for (not helped by our taking a trip down Route66 in the meantime and being subjected to all those throaty V8's the Yanks are so fond of).
Finally last week the car was ready for collection and at no cost to myself.
This weekend has been spent really enjoying it for all its attributes - the more I drive it the more attributes it has (reinforced by at trip from RG1 to Bedford Autodrome for a milestone birthday treat on one of Mr Palmer's Activity Days - highly recommended). The drive back was spectacular especially once the Sport button was sussed.
So whether your looking for a BMW, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Ferrari and /or Mercedes you should seriously consider buying with full confidence from Hawthorns.
Just to clarify I had no prior association with Hawthorns other than to now being an extremely happy customer.
Finally I must compliment Jonathan, Jane and Dan at Hawthorns for their response and service levels in what was potentially a difficult situation.
Their attitude to customer relations sets a standard rarely found in the Motor Trade and others could do well to match.
Would I buy from them again? You bet.
Am I a satisfied customer? You bet!
Am I made up with owning a 550i M-Sport Touring? You bet!!
Cheers, Pewe.
PS I've also posted this in the E61 section but felt my experience deserved a wider audience.
It is rare, (but extremely achievable), to be able to find an honest and genuine garage out there. I have a friend who runs an independent one-make dealer all by himself. I help him out by finding car stock and using the train system to get round the country picking up cars. (I'm semi-retired). Sadly, he has competition from the main dealers around who have cornered the market place by making people think that the ONLY place to buy one of these products, is from a main dealer.
They are, sadly, SO wrong.
If you find a reliable and honest car repairer/dealer - hang on to him/her for dear life. The trade is, sadly, overwhelmed by crooks and villains who care little about service or honesty. That's mostly main dealer franchises - but not all.
They are, sadly, SO wrong.
If you find a reliable and honest car repairer/dealer - hang on to him/her for dear life. The trade is, sadly, overwhelmed by crooks and villains who care little about service or honesty. That's mostly main dealer franchises - but not all.
Cynically the point about margins could be correct.
However knowing what I paid for the car I doubt they had a huge initial margin.
Hawthorn's attitude and responses throughout the intial buying process and into them effecting the repair leads me to conclude they took it on the chin.
Their customer satisfaction ethos is one others would do well to emulate.
However knowing what I paid for the car I doubt they had a huge initial margin.
Hawthorn's attitude and responses throughout the intial buying process and into them effecting the repair leads me to conclude they took it on the chin.
Their customer satisfaction ethos is one others would do well to emulate.
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