Weird Volkswagen Dealer

[arfur]

So there I am, parked up outside VW in Reading in my 57 plate Subaru. It's midweek so the dealer isnt very busy.

I'm looking at VM Scirocco R, Seat Leon R and the Renault 250 at the moment (I've moved away from the big diesel idea).

I spend about 10 minutes nosing about a R model in the showroom, it's pretty much how I'd spec it, colour is right etc. The sales woman approaches and we have a chat about the car, to the extent that the conversation ends up talking about the retrofitting of the satnav (missing on that car).

I then enquire about the availablity of a test drive and the answer is the wierdest I've ever had !

"We dont allow test drives in the R models". She would not budge on this at all, said is was company policy ! "We have a Tdi you can drive"

I asked her if she would buy a sofa without sitting on it and she agreed that she would not, but company policy is company policy !!

I handed her back the brochure and car details and advised her that maybe she should challenge company policy as she'd just lost any possible sale to me...

Mad as a bunch of frogs !

[TOPTON]

Mate of mine went to a VW dealer a while back. When he asked to book in for a test drive of the GTi, he was told he can test drive a deisel version but the GTi has a £XX (cant remember exactly, think it was 200) deposit which is refundable IF he buys the car. This was garage policy not VW

I have read on here a few times that a good salesman/women/person can tell the difference between a serious buyer and a test pilot so really no need for this policy.

Like you, he walked away

[Rawwr]

Hah, I've heard of the 'pay a £xx deposit which you will get back when you buy the car' thing before. Utterly bonkers.

Maybe try:

"If you're so sure I'm going to like the car, you give me £1,000 and I'll give it back if you're right. Have some confidence in your product. What do you say?"

[anonymous-user]

TOPTON said:

Mate of mine went to a VW dealer a while back. When he asked to book in for a test drive of the GTi, he was told he can test drive a deisel version but the GTi has a £XX (cant remember exactly, think it was 200) deposit which is refundable IF he buys the car. This was garage policy not VW

I have read on here a few times that a good salesman/women/person can tell the difference between a serious buyer and a test pilot so really no need for this policy.

Like you, he walked away

We bought our GTI from a main dealer and the guy asked us if we wanted a test drive. Mind you trying to get hold of the guy afterwards to get a couple of things done under warranty proved far more difficult. Saying that, it's not just VW dealers as I had a similar experience from a Ford main dealer too. All too quick to make the sale but afterwards they don't seem to be bothered to help much, not great customer service imho.

[the-photographer]

If you can still be bothered about a VW, ring customer services on 0800 333 666

I've had no problems with GTI test drives.

[Chrisw666]

I've had the deposit thing from a Vauxhall dealer before now, only from that place, VW and Honda dealers have I ever found truly bad sales people/techniques.

[Rawwr]

I also once had Ford dealer getting very forceful, wanting me to buy an ST after a 600 yard (yes, really) test drive. I laughed at him

[bga]

Aylesbury VW let me test drive a Golf GTI (which I bought) and an R32 with no problems at all. I think it helped that we booked the session with them in advance, though it was initially only to drive a GTI.

[Garlick]

Amended the tittle for you

[arfur]

Garlick said:

Amended the tittle for you

Thx ... I was asleep still .. coffee machine in the office is currently incapable of serving coffee

[FamilyDub]

My last experience with a VW dealer was some spotty trainee salesman said 'Oi, that's 30-grand', when I was peering in a Golf R's window last year.

I maintain that the 'lower' you go down the VAG-dealer hierarchy, the better you are treated.

[insanojackson]

Didnt have a problem with drives when I got my scirocco 2 years ago.

What did cause me much dismay is when i tried to book my car in for warranty work due to the abs/esp light being on. The numpty on the other end of the phone said "An abs fault wont effect your braking"

Ok erm right, I think i will use another dealer.

[FamilyDub]

...Or the VW service department monkey who told my R32 driving pal that 'that's not even 4WD, pal' when he was asking for an oil/filter change on the Haldex...

[GestapoWatch]

TOPTON said:

Mate of mine went to a VW dealer a while back. When he asked to book in for a test drive of the GTi, he was told he can test drive a deisel version but the GTi has a £XX (cant remember exactly, think it was 200) deposit which is refundable IF he buys the car. This was garage policy not VW

I have read on here a few times that a good salesman/women/person can tell the difference between a serious buyer and a test pilot so really no need for this policy.

Like you, he walked away

This bit gets my goat with some dealers - if you test drive the car and buy it you're a 'serious buyer' but if you don't then you're a 'test pilot', yet how are you to know whether you like the car unless you have a go?

Fully appreicate dealers need to cover the costs of demo vehicles and weed out the tyre kickers but making the atmosphere so obligatory is not on IMHO

[Colonial]

Didn't have any issues with getting a test drive for the R. And I was 25 and weekend scruffy in appearance at the time.

Dealers were basically throwing keys at me telling me once I drove it I'd buy it.

I did.

[Chicane-UK]

Just take your business somewhere else - there will be other dealers who'll give you a test drive. And then send them a letter, which you also send to VW Milton Keynes advising them of your experience and why you took your business elsewhere.

[Deva Link]

arfur said:

company policy..

I just got my daughter a new Golf and the Inchcape owned dealership told us we couldn't pick it up at the weekend due to company policy.

As she's a teacher it was a bit of a palava to go during the week but having spent in excess of 3hrs buying the car I was losing the will to live. I quite fancy a new Touareg (a couple of collegues have them) but I'm not sure I can go through that buying experience again.


Years ago, I was taken by the elbow and gently guided towards the door at a VW dealership. "I don't think we'll be able to do business with you" the salesman said, after I asked about discount.

I bought the same car from another dealership.

[jesta1865]

a number of years back a mate i worked with had saved for years (and i mean years since his 17th birthday) to buy a Ferrari, he finally had enough and ordered it.

It was about the time when Mercedes brought out the big slk the original one, he liked the look and popped in the local dealer to have a test drive and they turned him down flat.

so 3 weeks later he pulls onto the front of the dealers with a convertible Ferrari, and says to the head salesman, 'i wanted a test drive in that, the guy with the glasses over there wouldn't let me have one, so i bought this instead, they said thanks for the money'

he then drove off and just left them standing there.

i always wanted to do something like that when someone thinks my money isn't good enough.

i have to add, this was 20+ years ago hence me not being sure exactly which merc it was.

it was a 348 spider (IIRC) he bought.

[STW2010]

I was in the Mazda garage in MK once, whilst I had my RX8, and whilst waiting for the guy on the service desk to get off the phone I was looking at the R3 that they had in the showroom. One of the sales guys came over to me, and I asked 'this is the new R3 isn't it? What is it like to drive?'. His response- 'it's st'.

I do wonder if he ever managed to sell a car, though I respect a bit of honesty!

[Flintstone]

insanojackson said:

The numpty on the other end of the phone said "An abs fault wont effect your braking"

He's right, it won't.



















It will affect it though