# VW Dealer Recommendations?



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Hi guys,

Anybody got a recommendation of a VW dealer in the North West that offers a good level of service? 

I'm looking to place an order for a new car in the next few weeks and although we're spoiled for choice in this area (Liverpool, Warrington, Southport, Wigan, Preston are my nearest ones) I just wondered if anybody had experienced good things?!

Jon :car:


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Gilbert Lawton Macclesfield (part of Inchcape) were very good, that's where I bought mine from.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Gilbert Lawton Macclesfield (part of Inchcape) were very good, that's where I bought mine from.


Cheers buddy, I will look them up and add them to my list, not too far from me really.

I've had a quotation from 1 dealer which isn't too far away from where I want it to be, just going to do a bit of negotiating! :thumb:


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

DO NOT buy from Warrington or Liverpool

Can second Gilbert Lawton in Macclesfield, also Bolton VW (again part of Inchcape) and Dane VW Chester (again Inchcape) - know them all very well and would happily recommend


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

andy665 said:


> *DO NOT buy from Warrington or Liverpool*
> 
> Can second Gilbert Lawton in Macclesfield, also Bolton VW (again part of Inchcape) and Dane VW Chester (again Inchcape) - know them all very well and would happily recommend


^^ Cheers mate, that's very interesting. May well give all 3 of those a shout and see what they offer on spec/price/lead time compared with what I have already.


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

What you going for next Jon?


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Scrim-1- said:


> What you going for next Jon?


Not 100% decided yet but it's looking like a MK7 Golf GTI! 

I loved my Mk5 GTI and I'm itching to get back into a petrol after owning the Passat CC diesel burner for a couple of years. Whats more, the wife approves! However it's looking like I'll be waiting around 6 months for one!


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Not 100% decided yet but it's looking like a MK7 Golf GTI!
> 
> I loved my Mk5 GTI and I'm itching to get back into a petrol after owning the Passat CC diesel burner for a couple of years. Whats more, the wife approves! However it's looking like I'll be waiting around 6 months for one!


That sounds great look forward to seeing this detailed:thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Derekh929 said:


> That sounds great look forward to seeing this detailed:thumb:


Cheers Derek. I'm hoping I might be able to do a deal on a demonstrator or something as I'm not the most patient in the world when it comes to waiting for a new car! :lol:


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> Cheers Derek. I'm hoping I might be able to do a deal on a demonstrator or something as I'm not the most patient in the world when it comes to waiting for a new car! :lol:


me nethier 3 months wait killed me bought stuff for car i did not need , i acctully was going to test drive the Gti and i did the M135i seems funny i end up with desiel estate


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Derekh929 said:


> me nethier 3 months wait killed me bought stuff for car i did not need , i acctully was going to test drive the Gti and i did the M135i seems funny i end up with desiel estate


My Brother In Law has an M135i (avatar pic!) and it's a stonking car, really is! Just a little outside my budget otherwise I'd have had one. I also wanted a 328i in Estoril blue but again, slightly too much for my wallet at the mo!

I've got a great offer on the table for a GTI, just whether I can wait until April next year to collect it!


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

VW demonstrators probably won't be up for release yet, majority of sites will have registered a new demo fleet in September and these usually can't be released for 3 months

Demonstrators also won't have the deposit subsidies / low rates available on them either - VW Financial Services are pretty conservative on things like that


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

^^ This is true, i wound up better off buying a new VW than i would of getting the 6 month old demo.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

That's handy to know, thanks. I did think that about the demonstrators to be honest. I think the only chance of me getting one quicker is perhaps a cancelled order but I would have thought theres no chance! Plus, I don't really want to deviate from the spec I've chosen.

Looks like I'm going to have to live with our old works Fiesta (54' reg, 170k miles) pool car over winter then!


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

I used Carbuzz (they seem to be called carwow.co.uk now though), i put in the details of what i wanted and the dealers contacted me, i eventually found two new cars and got discounts and deals etc too (you deal with the VW dealer directly), not sure of they still do the same now but i just logged in and they appear to do so.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Shaun said:


> I used Carbuzz (they seem to be called carwow.co.uk now though), i put in the details of what i wanted and the dealers contacted me, i eventually found two new cars and got discounts and deals etc too (you deal with the VW dealer directly), not sure of they still do the same now but i just logged in and they appear to do so.


I've done a very similar thing with Drive the Deal. Got around 13% off the list price on the table without even trying but I'll certainly look at Carwow... Thanks! :thumb:


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

It may be a bit far, but I've been with Smith Knight Fay Oldham (Inchape) for the past 17 years for a very good reason. Always buy/trade with them except for the time I bought an ex-demo from Leeds VW in 2010 and things started going wrong under the hood within a matter of weeks, they then said that there was nothing they could do because the salesman had left and they didn't know if it had come from them because they had no record of it. I sold that and went back to SKF with my tail between my legs and asked if they'd sell me a car. VW Bury have a supposedly bad reputation for customer service too.


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Shaun said:


> ^^ This is true, i wound up better off buying a new VW than i would of getting the 6 month old demo.


Have to agree with this BMW was the same deal on demo was poor


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Shaun said:


> I used Carbuzz (they seem to be called carwow.co.uk now though), i put in the details of what i wanted and the dealers contacted me, i eventually found two new cars and got discounts and deals etc too (you deal with the VW dealer directly), not sure of they still do the same now but i just logged in and they appear to do so.


Very similar to me, I bought my Golf through Orange Wheels & told them the spec I was after etc. Shortly after that Orange Wheels phoned me confirming the car/spec etc & asked if I was ready to order & if so they could put me through to one of their VW dealers they use.

I saved around £3,500 by going through them as my local dealer wouldn't price match for the online quotes the brokers had given me - their loss.


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanks guys. 

I've tried the 3 websites named above, Drive The Deal, Carwow and Orange Wheels, and so far DTD are offering the best deal by quite some way.

I'll see what the individual dealers offer and take it from there, first on the list is SKF in Oldham thanks to JA0395!


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## Pinky (Feb 15, 2008)

I know its not in your area but try Benfield in Dumfries as we have bought two cars off them in the last 18 months , great service .


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## MINIMark (Aug 18, 2012)

A long way away, but Western in Edinburgh have a specific "GTI World"!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanks guys.

Just a little update, I tried Inchcape over in Bolton yesterday when I was visiting my brother who lives in Horwich. Phoned ahead and let them know I was coming and they said no problem, they would be happy to see me. When I got there the sales guy was shocking. Made it clear he wasn't really interested in talking to me and said 'sorry, I've got someone coming in 10 mins so you'll have to book another appointment.'

Really frustrating, I'm a sales manager myself in a different industry and I'd be horrified if one of my team spoke to a potential customer the way he spoke to me.

Anyway, the chap from Liverpool VW was excellent on the phone and has invited me to go and drive their demonstrator tomorrow evening so I'm looking forward to it!

Jon


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

JBirchy said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> Just a little update, I tried Inchcape over in Bolton yesterday when I was visiting my brother who lives in Horwich. Phoned ahead and let them know I was coming and they said no problem, they would be happy to see me. When I got there the sales guy was shocking. Made it clear he wasn't really interested in talking to me and said 'sorry, I've got someone coming in 10 mins so you'll have to book another appointment.'
> 
> ...


Sorry you had a bad experience at Bolton VW mate. I've always been led to believe that the Inchcape Group are very good in general & I certainly had good service from VW Macclesfield (again Inchcape) when I bought my car.

Has that put you off potentially enquiring via Inchcape again or would you just try another branch?

What car you got lined up for test-drive tomorrow?

If you can, could you get some pics please if it's a Golf?  :thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Sorry you had a bad experience at Bolton VW mate. I've always been led to believe that the Inchcape Group are very good in general & I certainly had good service from VW Macclesfield (again Inchcape) when I bought my car.
> 
> Has that put you off potentially enquiring via Inchcape again or would you just try another branch?
> 
> ...


Thanks mate, I'll try and grab a photo if it's light enough - its a MK7 GTI! I've chosen a spec I want, so just going through the negotiating process but I'm really looking forward to driving one.

It's not really put me off the Inchape group, but that particular dealer didn't seem particularly friendly for some reason.

I've got an offer on the table through Drive the Deal which is pretty attractive but I'd like to buy through a local dealer if possible depending on the deal.

I'll post pics tomorrow if I manage to get any!


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Top man, cheers Birchy.

Enjoy your drive in the GTI.....very jealous!! :thumb:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I've got the new golf estate at work on a 3 day demo, I love the smell of a new car


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

SteveTDCi said:


> I've got the new golf estate at work on a 3 day demo, I love the smell of a new car


Do you think that the space in the boot is as good as said by VW?

Agreed, you just can't beat the smell of a new car, such a unique & hard to beat smell!


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Boot space looks fine, our mk6 estates are not on site so cannot compare it, I fill it up with rubbish to see how big it is but it seems unfair when it's only covered 25 miles, 10 of them were delivering it to me


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Well, went for the test drive at Liverpool VW last night and I have to say the service I received from the sales guy was the best I've ever experienced! He'd only been there 2 weeks but his name was Stephen Roe and I wholeheartedly recommend him if you are looking to buy a car from there.

Very genuine, no BS and although he doesn't think he can get near the price I've already been quoted, he was very gracious and offered some advice which seemed very genuine.

He's going to try and look at the figures and come up with a deal for me and I would like to place the order through them, but it all comes down to £££ at the end of the day.

The car was fabulous! Liverpool City Centre roads at 6pm aren't the best for a test drive but the overall feel of the car was superb. The Adaptive suspension was very well judged and in comfort mode it was perfect for general driving. Sport mode was also more than acceptable and much better than the setting in my CC. The DSG gearbox was superb, much crisper shifts than my current DSG in the CC and the response of the engine was amazing. Very torque rich and overtaking was so easy.

I didn't really manage to get any good pictures but this was the car I drove.



I'll keep you posted!

Jon


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Glad you seemed to have a good experience at Liverpool VW Jon, it's first impressions that count!

What a beauty the Golf looks to be (Black as well, probably Pearlescent being on a GTI?) & it sounds like it floated your boat & performed well. 

Just hope Stephen can come up with the right figures your expecting & then you can ultimately place your order with them which is what you wanted to do.

Appreciate the photo mate & nice write up, thanks again for doing that & enjoy the car when you get it! :thumb:


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Glad you seemed to have a good experience at Liverpool VW Jon, it's first impressions that count!
> 
> *What a beauty the Golf looks to be (Black as well, probably Pearlescent being on a GTI?) & it sounds like it floated your boat & performed well.*
> 
> ...


It was actually a grey one, but I appreciate that from the photo it's very hard to tell!

The demonstrator was loaded up too with the Performance Pack, 19" Wheel option, leather and the PRO Discover Nav system. None of which I'm going for on mine!

I'll keep updating this thread as the deal progresses, but either way I'd only be expecting delivery in March/April next year which feels like a very long way away!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Just a quick update on this one...

I've placed my order today with Liverpool VW! I know there was a warning earlier on in the thread not to buy there, but to be quite honest the customer service I experienced was the best I've received from any car dealership.

The salesman, Stephen Roe was excellent when I test drove the car and I feel he deserved the order.

I did haggle hard and got what I believe to be a great deal after trying a few options too so I'm really happy to go ahead with them.

The only downside is that there is a 6 month wait! However that means I'll be taking delivery sometime in the Spring and the worst of the weather will be gone, meaning I get to enjoy a full summer with it before next winter.

Can't wait!


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## JA0395 (Dec 26, 2011)

Congrats on the new car bud! Glad you found a dealer than you trust! Keep us updated!


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