are specialists as good as dealers ?

[siwilkie]

My question to you all is its all true and good taking your baby to a specialist rather than main dealer but what about warranty back up if you have a problem can anyone comment on this as it seems its ok when they take the money but saying too busy to look at problems after wards is getting too common. We all need to know whos going to be good and sort problems or who are sharks please farward comments and shame or name good or bad
cheers si

[mudstud]

Have used Joospeed and Topcats. Have had to go back to both with problems developing after they did the work (starter not living up to its name and water somehow managing to get into the ECU loom). Both sorted the problem without fuss and more importantly without further recourse to my wallet. Somehow doubt a dealer would have been as good.

Edited to say that in both cases need to go back does not reflect on workmanship at indies which was excellent.

>> Edited by mudstud on Wednesday 25th February 18:50

[satman]

From personal experience i have found my main dealer Castle TVR to be brilliant...never a problem to call them...never a problem to sort out warranty bits and pieces...and always friendly and willing to listen and give advise.
Other indepedants such as Joolz at Joolspeed are top people too...again, a phone call is never too much problem for theses very knowledgable people, who are always willing to pass their expertise and experience on to others...
I think a combination of the two, Main dealers and Indies, is an ideal situation for all of us.

[kojak69]

If you've got a relatively new car (ie-year or two years old), then main dealers are the place to go due to the warranties etc.. If your car is older, then labour costs are cheaper with an independent. However, there are good and bad independents, as there are good and bad main dealers.
If you are looking round for a good independent (or a good main dealer for that matter), then you'll find a lot of info looking back over past threads on here. The top independent you'll come across (and most will agree), will be Joolz at Joospeed in Chesterfield.
Give him a ring.

www.joospeed.co.uk/Default.asp

I rest my case. Both above have mentioned Joolz.

>> Edited by kojak69 on Wednesday 25th February 18:52

>> Edited by kojak69 on Wednesday 25th February 18:57

[plotloss]

I used a dealer for all the servicing on my first TVR and will probably never use another TVR main dealer.

If I do go for another TVR I will be driving miles to use a specialist solely due to his reputation.

[joospeed]

I know where this thread is going .. Simon, make sure you have your facts straight before you start on your name and shame ... all too often what appears to be correct is later proved not to be the case.

I always keep detailed records of work on cars which proves invaluable when, for example, a customer believes they have a reasonable grievance but make unreasonable claims for compensation.

or .. worse still a subsequent owner of a car tries to claim warranty on work that wasn't even done for them, but two owners previous! .. trust me, it does happen ..!! Sometimes it even appears that the work wasn't even done in the first place yet they still claim warranty on it .. go figure.

in cases like these it's important to play exactly by the rules and keep your nose scrupulously clean at all times, and come out whiter than white at the end.

it's a crazy crazy world, but one thing you quickly learn in business is that the customer isn't always right, and sometimes the customer is trying fleece you right left and centre ...

I suspect a moderator stick isn't far away ..

[jamer]

siwilkie said:

My question to you all is its all true and good taking your baby to a specialist rather than main dealer but what about warranty back up if you have a problem can anyone comment on this as it seems its ok when they take the money but saying too busy to look at problems after wards is getting too common. We all need to know whos going to be good and sort problems or who are sharks please farward comments and shame or name good or bad cheers si

Due to the way TVR run the whole operation there is very big differneces between the whole network. So I think whether it is Main Dealer or Specialist the individual garage is what counts and don't just look at what the signage on the front says.

If your TVR is still under a New Car TVR Warranty then keep with the dealers as the offset in price will not be such an issue if everything is still covered while you have the main dealer stamp

With you being in Yorkshire and having a Cerbera then Joospeed has got to be the one for you. At least you know he is going to do the work himself and with all the Cerbera experience he has it can only help, the added bonus is that he is :-

• 1/ VAT registered so it won't harm your used car TVR warranty

• 2/ Is much better value than most in his labour rate and methods of fixing rather than just ordering a complete new unit always seem a sensible way of not ripping off the customer

• 3/ Has a little chef a mile up the road from his workshop

>> Edited by jamer on Wednesday 25th February 19:42

[FourWheelDrift]

Simon there are strict rules of posting on Pistonheads which you must adhere to so no one is going to name any poor performers on here. Any such posting will be deleted.

Best to keep it to recommendations of good providers as always then you can't go wrong.

[siwilkie]

This Thread has nothing to Do with a certain job we know about its just a genuine thread to know of any one out there who is bad at their job and with no other experiance of Specialists I cant comment but the guy who bought mine rings me every day moaning about a job done on car when i Didnt even own it and even when I advised to take to Joolspeed as the best in Area on Cerberas Its not enough some people cant be pleased all the time you know what they say life would be easier without customers. I once owned a 911 and had it looked after By Strasse at Leeds they were great very compitent and helpfull

[siwilkie]

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN RECTIFIED WITH AN PRODUCED INVOICE ALL I HAD WAS THE PREVIOUS OWNER SAYING THAT IT HAD BEEN DONE SO YES I SUPPOSE IM THE FOOL FOR NOT GETTING COPY INVOICE AND BELIEVING IT HAD BEEN DONE BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT EXPENSIVE CARS HERE AND A LITTLE TRUST WHEN BUYING IS NEEEDED I HAVENT HAD A GO AT JOOLSPEED I HAVE EMAILED JULIAN DIRECT SO HE KNOWS WHATS HAPPENED ITS ABIT LIKE CHIENESE WHISPERS .

[PetrolTed]

I've no idea what's going on here.

If there's an issue then I suggest it's sorted out offline.

As for the specialists vs dealers thing , it goes back to the individuals. Find a company that you're happy working with regardless of their categorisation and just get on with it.