Stratstone Wilmslow

[michael gould]

I would just like to thank Keith and Alan and all the staff at Stratstone Wilmslow for the excellent service I have received during my cars 12 monthly trip to Manchester. The car had a few problems which were all sorted under warranty (probably got my £1450 premium back from last year). The service bill was very reasonable (I supplied my own oil). With regard to a previous post the car has had 3 main dealer services in the past 7000 miles (I really must get the bloody thing out the garage occasionally)

p.s The BMW 318i they lent me was a piece of crap......quality not in the same class as VW's or Audi'S

[shunt]

I was impressed with the service there last time I visited. They're picking mine up from home tomorrow for it's annual fettle. Fingers crossed there's no surprises in store.

[jonby]

can concur - Alan in particular is great to deal with

[Good Soil (Pete)]

michael gould said:

........ during my cars 12 monthly trip to Manchester.

Mr G, That's one hell of a road trip 12 months to get to Manchester....remind me, where in Russia did you drive from? :-)

[michael gould]

jonby said:

can concur - Alan in particular is great to deal with

Yes Alan put me off ever owning a Vanquish......he described them as "delicate" and I could quadruple my annual service budget over and above the DB9....nasty big bills for footballers and rich people

[mikey k]

They did well with most the warranty work they did on mine (other than scratching the door and front calipers and taking 7 working days to fix a seat that would not drop right down.)
Lets see how they do with the S over the next three years.

[shunt]

Another thumbs up from me. The car was sat on the drive when I arrived home, nothing serious to report either. The mystery speaker grill rattle has gone now too.

Having put up with BMW dealerships for +10 years it's a refreshing change.

[Jockman]

shunt said:

Having put up with BMW dealerships for +10 years it's a refreshing change.

Having both a BMW and a DB9 I can vouch for what you're saying Shunt.

I had to put in a formal complaint to the BMW Dealer before any action was taken to rectify a misfiring new 3 series. Even then they insisted that I drive it into them 20 miles away, sort out a lift back to work, then arrange to come back for it later that day.

14 BMWs in the last 10 years, good cars but poor dealer aftercare.

The service I've received from my AM Dealer is exemplary

[JohnG1]

Jockman said:

Having both a BMW and a DB9 I can vouch for what you're saying Shunt.

I had to put in a formal complaint to the BMW Dealer before any action was taken to rectify a misfiring new 3 series. Even then they insisted that I drive it into them 20 miles away, sort out a lift back to work, then arrange to come back for it later that day.

14 BMWs in the last 10 years, good cars but poor dealer aftercare.

The service I've received from my AM Dealer is exemplary

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

But 14? Seriously - if a firm suck that much why stick with them?

[Jockman]

JohnG1 said:

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

But 14? Seriously - if a firm suck that much why stick with them?

Everytime they have been up against Audi and Merc - everytime the BMW deal is FAR superior and their CO2 levels mean that our BIK levels are phenomenally good (currently 19%). Mercs come bottom, and the more powerful Audi engines only lead to a higher BIK.

Four lots of 3 BMWs + 2 for my wife, with 3 warranty issues all of which were fixed to my satisfaction - in the end

[michael gould]

Talking of BIK levels Mr Jockman, do you buy yr cars on the company ? Is that tax efficient ?

[Jockman]

michael gould said:

Talking of BIK levels Mr Jockman, do you buy yr cars on the company ? Is that tax efficient ?

Very little in it these days Mr Gould. There is no real right or wrong.

I never buy company cars, I contract hire them (excl maintenance which is done by our company garage). I then pay 19% BIK on them which is added to my personal tax calculation with a highest rate of 42.5%.

All contract hire premiums are allowable for corp tax relief, though the Govt does cap the car cost at a sensible level ie you could not contract hire a DB9 through your company and get full relief at 21% I believe at the moment. The premium also includes RFL for the duration. No fuel is taken as BIK.

Insurance is done in a similar vein to your multicar policy, reducing costs and all premiums are allowable for corp tax relief with no BIK.

After the period, auction prices are offered to purchase the cars, though Directors cannot do so. There is always a friend somewhere to help out though.

It's all down to how you want to extract money from your company, as well as the corporate image you wish to portray.

I'm no Accountant but I'm sure most of my maths will stack up

Edited by Jockman on Sunday 21st August 09:02

[Jockman]

As far as I know Michael, class 1A is due on the BIK regardless of the set up.

Good point on the green issue, though the current fleet has co2s of 149. Not many Directors I know with a fleet of 149s, though there are better figures to be had

[Mako V12V]

I think we've gone off topic folks!

Good to hear positive feedback from others for AM Wilmslow. My V12V needs to be booked in for its second service and they are the most competitively priced.

[GPM3D]

Another vote here for Keith & the guys at Stratstone. Never had a courtesy car from them - they always collect from our house; the benefit of living a couple of miles away from their service centre
I sourced & supplied my own oil which helped on the price on the 1st service last month.
Graham

[hartley]

Don't get the 'these are great guys ' but you source your own oil? Presumably they can source oil at the same price you can or better but choose to charge a ridiculous mark up?

[jonby]

hartley said:

Don't get the 'these are great guys ' but you source your own oil? Presumably they can source oil at the same price you can or better but choose to charge a ridiculous mark up?

The mark-up dealers of many makes of car charge on oil is frightening - I just had my Audi serviced and the price for the oil change was ludicrous

but

surely you can't expect them not to make a profit on the oil if they supply it ? I think we should possibly be grateful that an official supplying dealer is prepared to let customers supply their own oil - out of interest, would other Aston/other prestige marques' dealers do that ? It had never even occurred to me before it was an option

[hartley]

I would expect to pay a fair margin on the oil but these guys are having to make the margin elsewhere because their charges are so ludicrous .All sounds very odd unless they make so much margin from the average punter they won't discount and you providing your own oil gets them off the hook and allows them to keep your business . just sounds odd for a customer focussed organisation . What does Rick charge for oil ?

[oblio]

I asked the question of Rick regarding oil with regards to my upcoming service in September. The difference in price quoted was not worth my sourcing it separately tbh and anyway, as stated:

1) Why shouldn't he make a reasonable mark up on parts etc that he has to source and stock?
2) He gives such good free advice freely that it is worth a few quid on oil to have that goodwill and support.

All IMHO of course

[michael gould]

hartley said:

I would expect to pay a fair margin on the oil but these guys are having to make the margin elsewhere because their charges are so ludicrous .All sounds very odd unless they make so much margin from the average punter they won't discount and you providing your own oil gets them off the hook and allows them to keep your business . just sounds odd for a customer focussed organisation . What does Rick charge for oil ?

i think you hit the nail on the head....there will always people who dont care if the service on their AM is 2k or 4k......and there are tight arses like me who do care......suppling your own oil is one way to reduce the price and keep hold of a customer who may be tempted to try a independant like Rick. They also have a lower charge rate if the car is over 5 years old.....BMW do the same thing.

the standard 6 year service cost on a DB9 at a main dealer is £1200 to £1400......I paid £825+ oil (which cost me £60) so £885. Thats a saving of between £315 to £515. worth having ??