Failed MOT, Seat Cardiff -white dove- bunch of *beeps*

[m.r.davies]

car had a sevice and mot today
I rang up at 4:30 as no one had rung to say it was done or if there were any probs

they told me to come and pick up the car.

I was just about to put down the phone but thought i'd check it had passed ok
they said, no its failed on rear plate light (fallen inside bumper) and the exhaust bracket at the back that clips onto the rubber bung had snapped off and needs rewelding.

I said 'ok, so this is done now then is it'
which they replied 'no, you'll have to sort that yourself then come back to us and get a retest for a further £25'

I'm quite a patient guy, and through sheer shock i didn't give them any abuse.
apparently they dont have welding facilities, but didn't even bother to tell me about it or the rear plate light.

Am i being out of order or is this unacceptable? usually i've gone to garages for the MOT where they fix any issues and then charge for 1 MOT and for fixing any issues.

 

[RobM]

They have no obligation to fix it or even let you know about it, all they have to do is test it. But from a customer service point of view that's really bad and I'd definitely think twice before taking my car to them again!

The MOT retest rules changed a while ago and I think the rule now is that you can only get a free retest if it is done at the same garage within 24 hours. So in your case, as you need welding, that's not likely to happen. But £25 for an MOT is cheap anyway so it's not a terrible deal.

 

[m.r.davies]

it was £50 for the MOT test and £25 for the retest.
They said they use someone to do their welding, i had to pressure them for that info though
i'm going to try and get them to do it tomorrow through the seat garage.

its a joke really, customer service is soooo bad.
Next time i'll go to my usual helpful garage.

 

[kez]

i reckon you should 'name and shame' so others don't suffer the same

 

[Jonny]

From past experience, I stay well clear of Whitedove. I use JP Board in Bridgend.

Absolutely faultless service there for both parts & service - and hell of a lot cheaper than Whitedove. The guy in sales is very open & genuine too, had a very long chat with him while I was there this week.

They are a Seat Specialist - they were a franchised dealer up until about 2 years ago. Seat wanted them to move out of town, but they refused as they're a family run business, established for around 80 years - hense they lost the franchise.

JP Board recommend FRF in Swansea for warranty work...

I have heard several tales worrying concerning Whitedove... I won't go into details on a public forum though! I certainly won't use them again!

 

[AshCupra300]

I have only used White Dove in Cardiff once since buying my FR off them, always use Thompson & Thompson in Caldicot for warranty and repairs/parts etc, only went there due to the waiting times of getting booked in at White Dove.
On the one occasion I did go to White Dove service was faultless, I did however have Seat UK doing all the leg work so that probably made a difference, but they did sort a leak that Thompson & Thompson didn't.

Always had top class service from T&T even though they didn't manage to sort the leak 1st time (see my thread)

I will be thinking about JP Board once my warranty runs out, if they are as good as you say it will be worth travelling to Bridgend

Are they anywhere near the VW dealerships on the hill?

 

[Leigh15]

I bought my FR from White Dove and after a couple of months unsuccessfully trying to get some issues sorted with the car I completely boycotted them and told them as much at the time. The sales department are great but the service and parts departments are truly awful.

I now use FRF in Swansea and have been on the whole very impressed.

 

[m.r.davies]

It's the last time i'll ever use them,
I called their recommended welding company and it turns out they were the people who actaully did the MOT in the first place!

so i'm trying to sort this all out with them now.

Use white dove with caution, or better still use one of the others mentioned in this thread

freaking muppets!

 

[flares]

I`ve used thompson & thompson in caldicot with no probs , there have been previous bad reviews about white dove on this site . There are some good local VAG specialists , if u want any info let me know

 

[m.r.davies]

i've been over to westec in the port a few times and they are ace, where else is there?

The only reason i had a service was coz its my closest seat garage and i want to keep the dealer service history, and the mot was £5 more than i would usually pay so thought what the heck i'll get it all done in the same day.

 

[flares]

Wales vw/audi in sully ( opp Cabot chemicals ) are good , i took my car there when i had engine management lights & they also did my coil packs . I`ve had my timing belt/water pump done at Keith Watkins in Llandevenny just off magor services , really good service there . I`ve found westec to be expensive for servicing/repairs

 

[PhilW]

****in numpties in White Pigeon. Hate goin there for anything, one guy on the parts desk is ok, but theres one dude whos a *****, wouldnt order the parts i wanted even tho i had the part numbers in front of me.

 

[STEVEO@CYMRU]

i dont go to the stealers any more had bad experiences with thompson & thompson and with white dove got a very reliable mate at ford thorn who does all my repairs and they are spot on ....... and i know what you mean about the guy on the parts desk

 

[Jonny]

Wales vw/audi in sully ( opp Cabot chemicals ) are good , i took my car there when i had engine management lights & they also did my coil packs . I`ve had my timing belt/water pump done at Keith Watkins in Llandevenny just off magor services , really good service there . I`ve found westec to be expensive for servicing/repairs

I work just down the road from there at the power station We used to have our VW Transporter serviced & MOT'd there...

Not sure whether it was bad service or the fact we're a big company & they thought they could screw us out of a lot of money for work that was either not done or didn't need doing, but we went to Cardiff VW afterwards.

They may be a VAG specialist, but they don't know a lot about the LCR! I called about new brake pads a while back, they refused to do just the pads, as it's their policy to to do the discs as well. They called me back to say they could source some TT V6 pads "through the back door" of an Audi dealership. I said it's a Cupra R, not a Cupra... to which I was told "they're all the same mate".

JP Board had them in stock and managed to fit me in for fitting pretty much there & then in between servicing - bearing in mind this was a Saturday lunchtime, when most service departments are closed!

As far as Whitedove go, a several forum members have posted about poor service, including starting their car while it's in gear, launching their car into a steel tool chest. Another where they used a trolley jack on the jacking points and bent the sill. I've heard many other stories from my mate who's on the Mitsubishi EVO forum. He was concerned to say the least & ended up taking his EVO down Bristol way, just for a first service! When I asked about a service, they asked "is it petrol or diesel?" Is there such a thing as a diesel Cupra R??? Mmm...

Seems the PDI isn't done properly either. I found the small manifold cover down behind my radiator, and went back with that (plus a few other niggly faults & problems) which should have been picked up & sorted before handing over to the customer. I waited 3 months for 2 screws so I could put it back on. I finally got a call to say they were in, and they asked if I still wanted them. I went into Cardiff to pick them up, and they handed me a new manifold cover. I said "oh, so it comes as a set then does it? Screws in the bag?". "Erm, no sir, if you need the screws we'll have to order some".

I've also heard they actually charge up to £40 for VAG COM diagnostics?! JP Board does this for free as part of the service - and so should any other dealer when the car is under warranty.

I've had a 10k service (0.9 hours) and a 20k service (1.6 hours) done at JP Board. They are a busy place, but can still book you in well within 1-2 weeks. They ask me to be there at 9am. The car goes straight into the workshop. They call just as your car leaves the workshop for the road test, so by the time you walk back it's there waiting for you. You're in & out before lunch, so you can carry on with whatever you want to do instead of wasting time hanging around.

With Whitedove, you should consider booking your car in about 2k before your service is due, as the waiting weeks (or months!!) are horrendous - especially if you want a courtesy car (which apparently you have to pay for?!). Before quoting a price, they need to know if your Leon Cupra R is petrol or diesel!!! (yeah, I know...) Despite having a 'price list' in front of them, they will tell you an "about" price... if paying cash, take about £50 extra for "sundries" as their "about price" will inevitably be added to. If you ask what you get for the hundreds of pounds you're about to shell out - they don't really know... you can almost see the blank expression on their face and the dribble coming out the corner of their mouth. They ask you to be there at 8:30 - 9:00am. Why??? Call them between 12:00 - 1:00pm and ask if you car's ready. They'll tell you it's not even in the workshop yet!! And, how many people live 5 minutes away from Whitedove? That's all the notice they give you before closing time, to say your car is ready for collection.

As I said in my previous post, there are many more stories I've heard about Whitedove which I won't go into on a public forum.

I haven't used them in well over a year. For all I know they could have all new staff & a manager who knows how to manage now... but I doubt it!

From personal experience, and from reading other people's experiences, the dealers I'd recommend are:

Parts, servicing, MOT:

JP Board 'SEAT Specialist'
Nolton Street
Bridgend
CF31 3BN

Tel. 01656 652865

Warranty work:

FRF SEAT, Swansea or Thompson & Thompson SEAT, Newport

Sales:

Well, it's just common sence to shop around & bounce one off another to get the best price

 

[m.r.davies]

I picked mine up yesterday from "Not so White dove"

They told me i needed a new rear exhaust box because the bit of metal that clips onto the rubber bung had snapped off

I ended up getting the exahust clip welded from their sub contracted MOT place called tanners.
The rear number plate light had fallen into the bumper so to fish that out and do the wedling cost me £100, and £25 for the MOT retest as it left their garage when they dropped it back to seat. (I wasn't happy!)

I needed a jacking cover put on and the front splitter had popped out of one of the holes, i tried pushing it back in but it's so low i couldn't get any weight behind it.
White dove tried to charge me £40 to do that!
after nearly making 2 service representatives cry they started deducting money left right and centre. i didn't pay for £25 MOT re test, or the £40 labour

Overall I am disgusted with them, and would strongly encourage everyone to stay well away.
I'm going to go to Westec Performance in Newport from now on, they know loads of the performance VAG cars and deal with them day in day out.

 

[PhilW]

Not heard of JP Board, might try them out for my latest batch of parts.

They open saturdays?

 

[Jonny]

I picked mine up yesterday from "Not so White dove"

They told me i needed a new rear exhaust box because the bit of metal that clips onto the rubber bung had snapped off

I ended up getting the exahust clip welded from their sub contracted MOT place called tanners.
The rear number plate light had fallen into the bumper so to fish that out and do the wedling cost me £100, and £25 for the MOT retest as it left their garage when they dropped it back to seat. (I wasn't happy!)

I needed a jacking cover put on and the front splitter had popped out of one of the holes, i tried pushing it back in but it's so low i couldn't get any weight behind it.
White dove tried to charge me £40 to do that!
after nearly making 2 service representatives cry they started deducting money left right and centre. i didn't pay for £25 MOT re test, or the £40 labour

Overall I am disgusted with them, and would strongly encourage everyone to stay well away.
I'm going to go to Westec Performance in Newport from now on, they know loads of the performance VAG cars and deal with them day in day out.

I thought that when you take your car in, most MOT places will ask if you want to put a cap on work (if any) that needs doing to pass, i.e. you could say £50 so if you need a new bulb or windscreen wiper they can do the work there & then to pass your car? If the work needed is more than your cap, they call you to ask if you want them to do it, or if you want someone else to do it and come back for a re-test.

Been a long time since I had an MOT (about 10 years! lol), but that's what they did for me.

 

[Jonny]

Not heard of JP Board, might try them out for my latest batch of parts.

They open saturdays?

Here's JP Boards website.

I just called them & they are open Saturday morning. Depending on parts you need, they may be in stock, or if they need to be ordered, I believe their delivery day is Wednesday... so if the order goes through on Monday, you shouldn't have too much of a wait

I've also found their prices are a bit cheaper than Whitedove too

 

[Leigh15]

Seems the PDI isn't done properly either.

I still don't think my Ibiza actually had a PDI -

* Black overspray all over front bumper (on a emocion red car!!)
* one FR badge missing
* Scratched dashboard
* Scratched steering wheel
* Alarm siren didn't work

I'm sure there's more, but I'm trying to forget about the whole thing - very nearly put me off ever buying SEAT again.

 

[Jonny]

I still don't think my Ibiza actually had a PDI -

* Black overspray all over front bumper (on a emocion red car!!)
* one FR badge missing
* Scratched dashboard
* Scratched steering wheel
* Alarm siren didn't work

I'm sure there's more, but I'm trying to forget about the whole thing - very nearly put me off ever buying SEAT again.

The missing FR badge, wasn't on the driver's side wing was it? I had an 'R' badge missing as well.... amongst other things