Should I be cross?

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
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I was promised a year's road tax £145 as part of the deal when I bought my leon. The smarmy salesman then denied promising the tax, my mrs shouted at him in front of a showroom "you are a liar."

A common ruse is they agree a trade in price for your car, then when the day comes to do the deal they come up with some reason why they can't give you that amount and offer you less. That has happened to a few people I know. One guy I worked with just stood up and said he was leaving. They tried to up the offer but he said he wanted what they initially said or they could stick it and they caved.

I walked away from a Leon FR last week. The price of the car was ok but the trade in price for our car was poor and I just felt the dealer wasn't making any effort. It was actually the owner of the dealership I was dealing with, everyone else was on furlough. The kerbing on the wheels and bad stone chips had not been fixed, the cigarette lighter cover was missing and there were other bits that were not prepped to the standard you would expect on car of that value. I also knew that the previous owner had chipped the car and it had a towbar. I wanted a longer warranty in light of the question marks over how the car might have been used but he didn't offer to include one, we would have to pay for it. He wouldn't give me money off for no trade in, basically he wasn't giving us anything at all so I didn't buy it.

It's as much the principal as anything. If dealers think they can treat you like that and you'll still buy the car then they'll continue to do it.
 

Kirky

Copper Cupra Advocate
Apr 10, 2019
1,042
497
It's only 10 months old and 4000 miles but the car says it needs and oil service so they agreed to do it........
That must have been driven very hard in those 4000 miles as if it's less than a year and less than 10k then it's using the flexible service plan that determines service schedule based on usage. Mine is saying another year at 4k miles and a year old. I'm having mine serviced anyway as I want it on regular servicing every year.
 

Cupra622

Active Member
May 9, 2020
57
21
That must have been driven very hard in those 4000 miles as if it's less than a year and less than 10k then it's using the flexible service plan that determines service schedule based on usage. Mine is saying another year at 4k miles and a year old. I'm having mine serviced anyway as I want it on regular servicing every year.
Normally I'd agree but this shows no other signs of that, the tyres are all original with good rmtread and the brakes are in tip top condition with no wear, hence me concluding a town car which I'd expect to need a service sooner with all the stop start. I'm not sure it's on flexible either as the number of days is bang on 1 year old.....
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
That must have been driven very hard in those 4000 miles as if it's less than a year and less than 10k then it's using the flexible service plan that determines service schedule based on usage. Mine is saying another year at 4k miles and a year old. I'm having mine serviced anyway as I want it on regular servicing every year.


Normally I'd agree but this shows no other signs of that, the tyres are all original with good rmtread and the brakes are in tip top condition with no wear, hence me concluding a town car which I'd expect to need a service sooner with all the stop start. I'm not sure it's on flexible either as the number of days is bang on 1 year old.....

Service intervals under the time and distance service regime is 10k miles or 12 months, whichever happens first. @Cupra622 ‘s car appears to be on the time and distance service regime, which is why the service warning appeared when the car was 12 month old having covered only 4K miles.

The fact that the ‘service due’ message has been triggered when the mileage is 4k isn’t an indication the car’s been driven very hard; because of the low mileage covered, it’ll be the 12 month time interval that’s triggered the service requirement, not the mileage.
 
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Kirky

Copper Cupra Advocate
Apr 10, 2019
1,042
497
Normally I'd agree but this shows no other signs of that, the tyres are all original with good rmtread and the brakes are in tip top condition with no wear, hence me concluding a town car which I'd expect to need a service sooner with all the stop start. I'm not sure it's on flexible either as the number of days is bang on 1 year old.....
It's only 10 months old and 4000 miles but the car says it needs and oil service so they agreed to do it........
So it's a year old and not 10 months?
 
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Cupra622

Active Member
May 9, 2020
57
21
No the service information screen says its due in 70 odd days or was when I picked it up. Being that there are around 30days in a month.....thats just over 2 months...... Therefore 10 months old...... I simply asked the dealer to do the service now as part of the purchase deal.... As I said previously the service is showing to be due at bang on one year old.....
 
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Kirky

Copper Cupra Advocate
Apr 10, 2019
1,042
497
No the service information screen says its due in 70 odd days or was when I picked it up. Being that there are around 30days in a month.....thats just over 2 months...... Therefore 10 months old...... I simply asked the dealer to do the service now as part of the purchase deal.... As I said previously the service is showing to be due at bang on one year old.....
This makes much more sense. I thought you had a service required indicator when you picked the car up. Not a service reminder.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
I simply asked the dealer to do the service now as part of the purchase deal....

Yes. I would do the same. If you're spending a lot on a car it's not unreasonable to ask that you don't have to pay for a service next week!
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
Remember that not all main dealerships take the effort to reset the service indicator, so it the warning can first appear early as it was left set as per the build date.

Edit:- unless it is a complete faff for you, I'd be handing that car in for its first service as near as damn it to 12 months after its original reg date, as that is when it is due in terms of months when set on fixed servicing, getting it done early sounds like a good idea but eventually your plan should be, when on fixed servicing to end up handing the car back in for its final service under warranty slightly early and not progressively handing it is early so that the final service needs doing maybe 3 months early, that would be a waste of warranty time.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
unless it is a complete faff for you, I'd be handing that car in for its first service as near as damn it to 12 months after its original reg date..

It depends. I don't mind pulling servicing or MOTs forward if it means they're due in the summer rather than the winter. I was actually disappointed when the dealer put a fresh MOT on my FR. They thought they were doing me a good turn but it meant the MOT is now due in November rather than the spring. I work on my own cars, like to check them over before the MOT etc, and it's a lot less unpleasant if you can do it in the sunshine.
 

martin j.

Active Member
Feb 11, 2007
1,996
889
Fife
You could just have the mot done at whatever suits you, 3 months or 6 months into the 12 to get it to a time for your convenience.
 
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RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
There is a guy on the Polo forum raging because he has to move his MOT back a few months due to C-19, I thought the plan was that DSVA(?) was granting a blanket 3 or 6 months extension to the date that some affected cars must be MOT'd by, not forcing everyone to move the "MOT due" back 3 or 6 months, though maybe like this guy is doing, can only see the "bonus" and then complaining about it. I'll be aiming to MOT my wife's Polo in its normal date range, none of this moving it from mid August to a date in November or February, like you say @Mr Pig no joy messing about at that time of year, I have that already for my Audi S4 and I try to grab a window in weather to get to the MOT station and back without any or too many inches of snow around.
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
Maybe times have changed, when I picked up my Mk3 pre-FL Leon in late 2014, it was 13 months old, ex Management car, did only 2500 miles (on a 2.0TDI). I asked if I can pick it in 2 days time, they're like no, because we need to service it first, I'm like, it's only done 2.5k miles, and the reponses was, we need to service all cars before giving it to the customer to take away. All right then, you win. This was the dealership in the South coast at Hastings. Oh, they also picked up and drop me from and to the station (to view) and again when I wanted to drive it away few days later. Not bad eh? This was in 2014 though.
 

Seriously?

Active Member
Apr 20, 2018
1,237
831
Maybe times have changed, when I picked up my Mk3 pre-FL Leon in late 2014, it was 13 months old, ex Management car, did only 2500 miles (on a 2.0TDI). I asked if I can pick it in 2 days time, they're like no, because we need to service it first, I'm like, it's only done 2.5k miles, and the reponses was, we need to service all cars before giving it to the customer to take away. All right then, you win. This was the dealership in the South coast at Hastings. Oh, they also picked up and drop me from and to the station (to view) and again when I wanted to drive it away few days later. Not bad eh? This was in 2014 though.

If this was the dealership I think it was, then I am happy to confirm times have not changed. They are still top-notch :1st:
 

martin j.

Active Member
Feb 11, 2007
1,996
889
Fife
I often picked folk up at the bus/train station(and back) even occasionally the airport, I sold three cars to the Isle of Lewis because for the first customer I delivered the car to the ferry terminal meeting him when he got off the boat, good customer service sells cars.
 
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