Adieu & Farewell

[tonyishuk]

Hello and Goodbye.

Having been an IQ3 cvt owner for a 3 years and lurking and occasionally contributing to the
forum, I am afraid it is time to move on.

Before going some quick comments on IQ3 ownership;

Plus side;

Great little car with loads of personality, easy to drive, given you have a metre space in
front of you, it is possible to pull a u-ee out of queuing traffic
;-) (mind the cyclists !), nothing has gone wrong, nothing has fallen
off, and comfortable to drive.

The amount the car holds when the rear seats are down just amazes me, speed and
acceleration surprise some other drivers at times.

Great feeling when you can just get in behind another car on the box junctions, were others
would have to wait and usually miss the lights changing.

Negatives;

Not a lot, most irritating thing was trying to find the mirror folding switch in the
dark, you would have thought it was backlit !!

MPG about 42mpg the way we drive it, more on longer runs. That comes as no surprise
considering most motor manufacturers are lying b@@tards when it comes
to quoting mpg.

Only fitted extras were DRLs. Love or hate them, I felt that the dark car appearing out of
shadow on a road, gives some warning to others. Thanks to the forum
guys for pointers in fitting them.

Reason for change,

Size and its got a top !

Plan A was to keep the IQ and get a Caterham. (Ohhhhhh yes !)

Unfortunately common sense (aka the Wife) prevailed and have ended up with a ex demo Golf
Cabriolet with seats for growing grand children. Even Mr T could not
match that with the GT86.

At least the roof comes down. The Iq is on its way for P/X.

So anyone wanting a 10,000 mile (just under), now in forth year IQ3 auto, speak out quick ! (Location West
Sussex UK)

Adieu & farewell

Rgds

[Soeley]

Farewell. I hope you get just as much enjoyment out of your Golf, happy motoring

[sweet-dentist]

Have a happy future.... Then again I would have kept the iQ..

But... it's your choice.... :-)

[scimberk]

Having had a little trouble with IQs, lets be fair its the awful dealer network, not the cars and also owning a VW Bora and looking after several Audi A3s and Golfs, I would not go down the VAG route ever again, they are not all they are cracked up to be.

That said, I hoe you enjoy the Golf and wish you as many enjoyable, truble free times as you have had in your IQ.

[bobkneale]

Hello and Goodbye.

Having been an IQ3 cvt owner for a 3 years and lurking and occasionally contributing to the

forum, I am afraid it is time to move on.

Before going some quick comments on IQ3 ownership;

Plus side;

Great little car with loads of personality, easy to drive, given you have a metre space in

front of you, it is possible to pull a u-ee out of queuing traffic

;-) (mind the cyclists !), nothing has gone wrong, nothing has fallen

off, and comfortable to drive.

The amount the car holds when the rear seats are down just amazes me, speed and

acceleration surprise some other drivers at times.

Great feeling when you can just get in behind another car on the box junctions, were others

would have to wait and usually miss the lights changing.

Negatives;

Not a lot, most irritating thing was trying to find the mirror folding switch in the

dark, you would have thought it was backlit !!

MPG about 42mpg the way we drive it, more on longer runs. That comes as no surprise

considering most motor manufacturers are lying b@@tards when it comes

to quoting mpg.

Only fitted extras were DRLs. Love or hate them, I felt that the dark car appearing out of

shadow on a road, gives some warning to others. Thanks to the forum

guys for pointers in fitting them.

Reason for change,

Size and its got a top !

Plan A was to keep the IQ and get a Caterham. (Ohhhhhh yes !)

Unfortunately common sense (aka the Wife) prevailed and have ended up with a ex demo Golf

Cabriolet with seats for growing grand children. Even Mr T could not

match that with the GT86.

At least the roof comes down. The Iq is on its way for P/X.

So anyone wanting a 10,000 mile (just under), now in forth year IQ3 auto, speak out quick ! (Location West

Sussex UK)

Adieu & farewell

Rgds

Thank you very much for the honest feedback, My View - "All Feedback is good providing it is perceived to be the truth by those giving it"

The IQ does have its own personality as a car has its good and bad points (as all cars do) Having owned a second hand IQ now for 6 months, if I was asked now after 6 months of IQ experience time would I buy another one I would possibly say NO. However I am still planning to keep mine for a few years in any case. So the IQ experience carn't be that bad otherwise I would be accepting a massive mistake and making other plans !

Positive Regards,

Bob.

[Parts-King]

Having had a little trouble with IQs, lets be fair its the awful dealer network,

Well thats your opinion and not that of the thousands who participated in the JD Power survey

For instance, Prius won the small family car catagory and they said of their dealers

Toyota’s dealer network added extra gloss to the Prius experience, with some of the lowest charges in the class reported by owners. They also rated the service experience, praising dealers’ booking flexibility and the helpfulness and patience of service advisors. Facilities were easy to get to and park up at, while they were also rated the cleanest, with lots of creature comforts while customers waited.

Kingo

[scimberk]

Yes it was MY experience and I stand by it.

Out of all the Toyota delaers I have had the experience with, they were comfortable, served nice drinks, seemed friendly, but as far as their sales, service and presentation of used cars are concerned, it leaves a lot to be desired.

It would be nice for me to be able to experience something good within Toyotas dealership network, but it says a lot for them that I found my experience with a Suzuki dealer some weeks earlier much better and some weeks later my experience at a GM garage was also exemplary.

Thanks to the dealer network, I will probably not buy a Toyota again, shame really they are nice cars.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Tonyishuk - all the best with your VW Golf Cabriolet.

Bear in mind there may be a GT86 convertible which retains it's 2+2 seating on sale next year ....

As regards dealer networks, personal experiences are just that - personal. No need to condemn an entire dealer network due to personal experiences.

In the Which? Car Survey 2013, car brands were given scores for customer satisfaction, which included ratings for the relevant dealer networks. Fiat scored 74%, Vauxhall scored 68%, Suzuki scored 77%, and Toyota 82%

[scimberk]

Personal experience and recommendation mean a lot more to most of the people I know than simple figures, which, on their own mean very little.

In the past 3 months since I have owned various IQs, people have shown great interest in my latest "interesting" car and, I have been asked how the car and dealers have been. I cannot fault the car and nether can most of the people that have looked and driven it with a view to seriously buying one, however, most have not wanted the experiences I have has and gone for trouble free, pressureless purchases from Peugeot, Smart, Suzuki and GM.

One of the main problems is that dealerships are being bought out all the time and it will not be long before the smaller more friendlier, customer centred dealers are swallowed up and you just become yet another punter who either buys their cars or goes elsewhere because the couldn't care less.

[scimberk]

This is now no longer on subject so I will leave it there.

[bobkneale]

My View - I also have had better experiences with other dealers than Toyota, (Only used one Toyota dealer in over 40 years of motoring to buy my used IQ) other dealer experiences have been better.

So that is also a factor to me saying I will not buy another Toyota into the future.

As I have stated in previous posts you can give a person a "Experience" but you cannot "take it away" from him or her once given.

The last E mail in mid June 2013 I sent to my Toyota Service Manager is as follows:

________________________________________________________

Dear, Steve,

Thanks for your below E mail responses, they are exactly what I had anticipated they might be.

As you have now agreed that some Lindop Toyota's "attention to some detail" was lacking "up Front" in specific areas, and other than the below apology E mail you have chosen not to offer anything else in order to regain my confidence, especially now as you have also stated below that you also have reviewed your decisions taken with your Managing Director as well as Toyota GB Customer Relations.

That "says everything" from my perspective.

I will not be buying another Toyota (new or used) from your specific dealership, and probably not ever buy another Toyota going into the future.

My customer service experiences over the last 40 years with other dealerships (that are also linked to many other vechile manufacturers) in the UK / African Continent / Rest of Europe & the USA have all been significantly better than with Lindop Toyota.

In order to make other people more "aware" I feel it is only fair that I share my personal experiences with "selected other people across the globe" so "they" can also become aware of it.

Lets hope that my little Toyota IQ performs well for at least for the rest of the remaining warranty period left, and into the future beyond that, this will "hopefully" enable our paths not to have to cross again.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed in this respect.

Positive Regards,

Bob Kneale.

___________________________________________

Thats it from me !

Positive Regards,

Bob.

[johnan]

To be fair, I have dealt with Lindop over the phone and on line and have found them to be both helpful and efficient, but that is not the car sales/service department upon whom I can not comment.

As said before all dealerships are different, some not as interested as others in future sales for whatever reason. And some people have bad days, though that should not be an excuse.

On balance I am happy with my Toyota experience.(8 years of Aygo and 2 IQ2s)

John

[sweet-dentist]

In my experience... when something in the communication with a dealer went wrong, it was always due to one (1) person, who behaved like a piece of sh*t...

This happened with Mitsubishi and Toyota... went to a different dealer and the problem was over.

So in direct it's not the company but the salesman on the spot that can make or break your "car experience"....

I do regret that when communicating with the "higher up" people and telling them about this person, they did not give any backup nor support. I had sent more than one mail to this salesperson and a CC to his boss... but hardly any understanding or sympathy.. The problem was not dealt with in a fancy manner.... actually "I saw it wrong" ....

Up till now my experience with the Toyota dealer (that has this dealership my car) is not very helpful. Also communicating with Toyota Holland is not very nice / they reroute it back to your dealer... They are strict and not very helpful, not to say...short-tempered... "This is the way it is...and that's the way you deal with it"...

In my talking with Toyota (head of) Germany I have a way nicer communication... they listen...

But on the other hand... My H200 from Hyundai, had a very very nice dealer (2 persons dealer)... With my Smart going to Mercedes, felt like going to a butcher, that would look at this little stumpy car (not enough money for a real car?)... But they have to deal with it since the Smart shops have closed and Mercedes were obligated to do the servicing of the Smart also.

Fortunately there are 2 specialists for the Smart in Holland. One is nearby and there my Smart is serviced...

I have also had some things done with my iQ in this garage / specialist for Smarts... cause he's very nice and very good... (also a 2 person company)... I do not know if having him doing everything with my iQ would damage the warranty... it should not... but I have the servicing done at the Toyota dealer. Unfortunately our last dealer (one of a 5 company string of shops) has stopped due to the economical situation... So I'll have to go to yet an other...

About the quality of Toyota... having had... a Toyota Corolla / Toyota Verso / Toyota Avensis Verso / Toyota Verso aut / Toyota Previa / Toyota iQ ... not once a problem with any of the cars. Only a recall about the steering in the iQ and a recall about the clutch of the Verso.... but warrenty...

But then again... nor did I have any problems with my 2CV / 2CV-AK400 / Citroen Dyane / Hyundai H200 diesel bus aut / Mitsubishi Space Wagon / Mitsubishi Lancer Station ...

And as Johnan.... our last cars have been Toyota's ... very happy about these cars...

[tonyishuk]

Just to say thanks for your replies,

Enjoying having no roof at the moment. I must admit that I do not miss about the IQ is the potholes. (In the UK we have many)

It semed to me that any speed over 30 mph, the front and rear wheels hit the pothole at the same time, making a jarring ride in some cases. The VW Golf is quite sedate in comparison, but as time goes on maybe a change of shocks (dampers) and a litlle ECU chipping might make up for the yahoo !! moments in the IQ that the Golf does not quite have.

Only to add ""Rats !!" maybe should have waited for the GT86 softtop !

Rgds