Car advice

[Thistle_do_nicely]

10 hours ago, TxRover said:

Second that…but a couple of tips:

Instead of the factory maintenance schedule, change the oil every 5,000 miles or six months. Do that on a Toyota instead of the “recommended” 10,000/1 year, and it will last 300,000+ miles (watch The Car Care Nut on YouTube for examples…master Toyota tech).

If you have a Honda (or Nissan, or anything) with a CVT, change the fluid every 30,000 miles and it will last much longer. 60,000 mile changes don’t help, even if that’s the recommendation.

If your vehicle has a lifetime fill transmission, change the fluid at least every 100,000 miles…the manufacturers idea of “lifetime” is about 100,000 miles. Note that dealers may actually decline to do this job.

If you have a Subaru, go to a specialist because it’s entirely too easy to miss one of the gearboxs/differentials and/or miss fill them.

afaik the oil change advice is indeed sound and will prolong a cars life, but i think you'd be doing well to get most cars in the UK to 300,000+ miles! rust murders just about everything no matter how well looked after, something to do with salt iirc.

going purely by judge judy 'murica has a funny old car market, shitboxes with 200,000+ miles that are still valued at thousands of dollars.

suppose climate is king, was in spain a few years ago and saw a remarkable number of mid to late 90's cars that are just about dead in the UK that looked in good condition. standout was a lovely wee peugeot 1.9 gti

edit: vans seem to live longer i think, or they're just mechanically raped into lasting for as long as possible for their lifetime as they're generally commercial vehicles

Edited January 21, 2023 by Thistle_do_nicely

[TxRover]

9 minutes ago, Thistle_do_nicely said:

afaik the oil change advice is indeed sound and will prolong a cars life, but i think you'd be doing well to get most cars in the UK to 300,000+ miles! rust murders just about everything no matter how well looked after, something to do with salt iirc.

going purely by judge judy 'murica has a funny old car market, shitboxes with 200,000+ miles that are still valued at thousands of dollars.

suppose climate is king, was in spain a few years ago and saw a remarkable number of mid to late 90's cars that are just about dead in the UK that looked in good condition. standout was a lovely wee peugeot 1.9 gti

edit: vans seem to live longer i think, or they're just mechanically raped into lasting for as long as possible for their lifetime as they're generally commercial vehicles

Yea, I considered that aspect, but todays Toyotas will last that long if rinsed off promptly after salty drives. The ‘Murican market depends on the location, with the Mid-West and North-East destroying cars with salt and slush, while the South and West let them live.

150k cars for $10-$15k is common now, market is f**king insane.

[pozbaird]

Important thing first - like most of us, I have encountered some shoddy service and have had frustrating run-ins with different companies down the years, but I’m not the kind of guy who would stand outside a business with a placard saying ‘never shop here’ and look like a moon howler with a grudge. Standing the in rain, shouting at passers-by.

Just want to put this out to anyone on P&B who might, just might, have been thinking about the following, or know someone who was thinking about it…

Never buy a Mazda car from either Western Barnetts at Newbridge Car Village in Edinburgh, or Arnold Clark Mazda on Kerse Road, Stirling.

No need to into full details, this is just my advice, based on one full calendar year of Mazda ownership, and dealing with these two establishments. Actually, my personal experience means this will be the first, and last, Mazda I ever buy - and I appreciate there may be folk reading this who own a Mazda, and have had no problems at all. Me? My next car will likely be back to a VW.

Anyway… no ranting, no raving (much). Feel free to ignore this post if you wish. I would highly recommend avoiding both of these dealerships though, should you choose to buy a Mazda from somewhere.

[Molotov]

2 minutes ago, pozbaird said:

Important thing first - like most of us, I have encountered some shoddy service and have had frustrating run-ins with different companies down the years, but I’m not the kind of guy who would stand outside a business with a placard saying ‘never shop here’ and look like a moon howler with a grudge. Standing the in rain, shouting at passers-by.

Just want to put this out to anyone on P&B who might, just might, have been thinking about the following, or know someone who was thinking about it…

Never buy a Mazda car from either Western Barnetts at Newbridge Car Village in Edinburgh, or Arnold Clark Mazda on Kerse Road, Stirling.

No need to into full details, this is just my advice, based on one full calendar year of Mazda ownership, and dealing with these two establishments. Actually, my personal experience means this will be the first, and last, Mazda I ever buy - and I appreciate there may be folk reading this who own a Mazda, and have had no problems at all. Me? My next car will likely be back to a VW.

Anyway… no ranting, no raving (much). Feel free to ignore this post if you wish. I would highly recommend avoiding both of these dealerships though, should you choose to buy a Mazda from somewhere.

Is the problem here the franchise or the car?

Even with certain premium brands I’ve had horrendous issues with the dealerships.

The turnover in staff in many of these places leads to really poor customer service. 

I have been waiting 2 weeks to take ownership of a car that the dealership, the leasing company and the manufacturer HQ are arguing over an item that was originally ordered (Harmon Kardon) but was removed prior to build as the supplier of the speaker system probably couldn’t meet with demands to reduce price by MINI. 

The last three days I’ve not even bothered phoning. They just don’t seem to give a shite about customer service. 

Seriously considering cancelling the order and losing my deposit and let them continue to argue. 

[scottsdad]

10 minutes ago, pozbaird said:

Important thing first - like most of us, I have encountered some shoddy service and have had frustrating run-ins with different companies down the years, but I’m not the kind of guy who would stand outside a business with a placard saying ‘never shop here’ and look like a moon howler with a grudge. Standing the in rain, shouting at passers-by.

Just want to put this out to anyone on P&B who might, just might, have been thinking about the following, or know someone who was thinking about it…

Never buy a Mazda car from either Western Barnetts at Newbridge Car Village in Edinburgh, or Arnold Clark Mazda on Kerse Road, Stirling.

No need to into full details, this is just my advice, based on one full calendar year of Mazda ownership, and dealing with these two establishments. Actually, my personal experience means this will be the first, and last, Mazda I ever buy - and I appreciate there may be folk reading this who own a Mazda, and have had no problems at all. Me? My next car will likely be back to a VW.

Anyway… no ranting, no raving (much). Feel free to ignore this post if you wish. I would highly recommend avoiding both of these dealerships though, should you choose to buy a Mazda from somewhere.

You went to Arnold Clark?

[TxRover]

5 minutes ago, Molotov said:

Is the problem here the franchise or the car?

Even with certain premium brands I’ve had horrendous issues with the dealerships.

The turnover in staff in many of these places leads to really poor customer service. 

I have been waiting 2 weeks to take ownership of a car that the dealership, the leasing company and the manufacturer HQ are arguing over an item that was originally ordered (Harmon Kardon) but was removed prior to build as the supplier of the speaker system probably couldn’t meet with demands to reduce price by MINI. 

The last three days I’ve not even bothered phoning. They just don’t seem to give a shite about customer service. 

Seriously considering cancelling the order and losing my deposit and let them continue to argue. 

I certainly wouldn’t let them off the hook by paying them for their stupidity. They contracted with you to deliver a vehicle, and now are unable to deliver said vehicle as contracted. It’s on them to either amend the contract terms an d get you to agree or they have to release you unless the contract has some language of a ridiculous nature allowing force majure changes.

The semiconductor shortage has caused a lot of this kind of thing, but usually with the components in place but inactive…so be sure what they are offering/promising. Either way, with a lease, get extremely explicit documentation it was delivered without an item it would normally have via spec or they might try to charge upon lease return, if you elect to accept it.

[beefybake]

45 minutes ago, Molotov said:

Is the problem here the franchise or the car?

Even with certain premium brands I’ve had horrendous issues with the dealerships.

The turnover in staff in many of these places leads to really poor customer service. 

I have been waiting 2 weeks to take ownership of a car that the dealership, the leasing company and the manufacturer HQ are arguing over an item that was originally ordered (Harmon Kardon) but was removed prior to build as the supplier of the speaker system probably couldn’t meet with demands to reduce price by MINI. 

The last three days I’ve not even bothered phoning. They just don’t seem to give a shite about customer service. 

Seriously considering cancelling the order and losing my deposit and let them continue to argue. 

They accepted your order, and took your deposit money on the basis of that agreement.

If they are unable to fulfill what was agreed, there is no legal basis for them to withhold the return of your deposit.

I'd cancel, and go somewhere where you're not being messed around.

 

[Long ago, I leased a new Astra. One of the options in the brochure was a smart set of alloys.  Come near the day of pickup, the garage informed me that Vauxhall weren't now offering the nice alloy wheels on that spec of Astra. The garage did offer to pay to fit an aftermarket set of my choice.  I wasn't at all happy about the whole scenario, but 'want a new car' had gripped me, and I'd signed all the documents, so I went along with this, chose a set that looked good sitting on a shelf. They looked crap, and totally out of place when fitted to the car. A learning experience for me. If your're being messed around, just face them down. If they are unable to supply what was agreed, it's their problem. Don't make it yours . ]

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by beefybake

[pozbaird]

2 hours ago, Molotov said:

Is the problem here the franchise or the car?

Even with certain premium brands I’ve had horrendous issues with the dealerships.

The turnover in staff in many of these places leads to really poor customer service. 

I have been waiting 2 weeks to take ownership of a car that the dealership, the leasing company and the manufacturer HQ are arguing over an item that was originally ordered (Harmon Kardon) but was removed prior to build as the supplier of the speaker system probably couldn’t meet with demands to reduce price by MINI. 

The last three days I’ve not even bothered phoning. They just don’t seem to give a shite about customer service. 

Seriously considering cancelling the order and losing my deposit and let them continue to argue. 

The problem is both the car, and the dealerships. It was bought new one year ago from Western. I used Arnold Clark in Stirling as a Mazda dealer to try and fix a problem under warranty, as Stirling is easier to get to than Newbridge. If I went into the entire experience I have had over the past year with both the car and these two dealerships, I would very quickly get into the realms of angry ranting, and I don’t want to go there.

[hk blues]

16 hours ago, beefybake said:

They accepted your order, and took your deposit money on the basis of that agreement.

If they are unable to fulfill what was agreed, there is no legal basis for them to withhold the return of your deposit.

I'd cancel, and go somewhere where you're not being messed around.

 

[Long ago, I leased a new Astra. One of the options in the brochure was a smart set of alloys.  Come near the day of pickup, the garage informed me that Vauxhall weren't now offering the nice alloy wheels on that spec of Astra. The garage did offer to pay to fit an aftermarket set of my choice.  I wasn't at all happy about the whole scenario, but 'want a new car' had gripped me, and I'd signed all the documents, so I went along with this, chose a set that looked good sitting on a shelf. They looked crap, and totally out of place when fitted to the car. A learning experience for me. If your're being messed around, just face them down. If they are unable to supply what was agreed, it's their problem. Don't make it yours . ]

 

 

It would all depend on the terms of the agreement though

[Elric]

Was looking to but a new Hyundai and went to Square Deal Motors in Falkirk.  Older Salesman started to deal with us, told him I would be trading in a Volvo and he stated they did not take anything other than a Hyundai as a trade-in. I asked if he was serious and stated the same thing. Walked out and ended up at Arnold Clark to secure the vehicle I wanted. Not my first choice of dealership but transaction went seamlessly.

Later found out from another salesman at Square Deal that what he had stated was a load of bull and it would appear that he just could not be bothered dealing with customers that day.

[Duszek]

1 hour ago, Elric said:

it would appear that he just could not be bothered dealing with customers that day.

Well, we’ve all been there.

[Alert Mongoose]

1 hour ago, Elric said:

Was looking to but a new Hyundai and went to Square Deal Motors in Falkirk.  Older Salesman started to deal with us, told him I would be trading in a Volvo and he stated they did not take anything other than a Hyundai as a trade-in. I asked if he was serious and stated the same thing. Walked out and ended up at Arnold Clark to secure the vehicle I wanted. Not my first choice of dealership but transaction went seamlessly.

Later found out from another salesman at Square Deal that what he had stated was a load of bull and it would appear that he just could not be bothered dealing with customers that day.

My first instict is to say that is disgraceful service then my mind wandered to my days at University when I had a part time job in Victoria Wine.  In the build up to Christmas they would heavily market the gift wrapping service. I tried many times but every single one I produced looked like an ill mannered bush.  My solution to this was to exclaim (sympathetically I might add) that we had run out of the wrapping stuff as the delivery had not arrived that week.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

15 minutes ago, Alert Mongoose said:

My first instict is to say that is disgraceful service then my mind wandered to my days at University when I had a part time job in Victoria Wine.  In the build up to Christmas they would heavily market the gift wrapping service. I tried many times but every single one I produced looked like an ill mannered bush.  My solution to this was to exclaim (sympathetically I might add) that we had run out of the wrapping stuff as the delivery had not arrived that week.

All whilst stood next to a big pile of wrapping paper and  sellotape presumably.

[Sergeant Wilson]

@pozbairdMazda, Mad da.

[beefybake]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

It would all depend on the terms of the agreement though

What I've stated is basic law of contract.  It over-rides any slippery stuff in a so called 'terms of agreement'.

[Andy Dufresne]

Should get my wife's car this week,it was serviced yesterday and MOT'D today with no problems.Not a suprise as she only did 2500 miles in it last year.

[hk blues]

On 28/01/2023 at 20:15, beefybake said:

What I've stated is basic law of contract.  It over-rides any slippery stuff in a so called 'terms of agreement'.

Wouldn't it depend on the exact variation i.e. would a change of stereo brand be considered justification for walking away?  

[scottsdad]

On 28/01/2023 at 08:53, Elric said:

Was looking to but a new Hyundai and went to Square Deal Motors in Falkirk.  Older Salesman started to deal with us, told him I would be trading in a Volvo and he stated they did not take anything other than a Hyundai as a trade-in. I asked if he was serious and stated the same thing. Walked out and ended up at Arnold Clark to secure the vehicle I wanted. Not my first choice of dealership but transaction went seamlessly.

Later found out from another salesman at Square Deal that what he had stated was a load of bull and it would appear that he just could not be bothered dealing with customers that day.

My niece's boyfriend went there and the salesman told him they don't allow test drives. They only allow them if he has already bought the car. He walked out too. 

Maybe got the same guy. 

[TxRover]

8 hours ago, hk blues said:

Wouldn't it depend on the exact variation i.e. would a change of stereo brand be considered justification for walking away?  

Actually, under contract law, generally yes. If they proved the substitution was of equal or greater quality and value, they would have a chance o enforce the sale, but it’s likely a decision would favor the buyer. The example would be if when he signed the contract the stereo for the car was made by Alpine, but branded Mazda, and the delivered car had a stereo of the exact same spec (speakers, power, etc) made by Kenwood…then it’s a change of manufacturing process with negligible impact. If instead you ordered Harmon-Kardon and they deliver Bose, you can likely opt to break the contract.

[Zetterlund]

I just had the wee runabout Peugeot 208 in for its MOT. I knew it likely needed a spring as there was a knock coming from it, so that was replaced as expected, but on picking the car up the knocking was worse than before so I took it straight back. Now they say it also needs the shock absorber and strut top replaced too, despite having just passed the MOT a few hours earlier. Clearly something not right here and I am formulating a strongly worded response.