Celica 190 - Is This A Good Deal?

[GazChap]

Yep, it's Charles Clark Toyota on Bilston Road in Wolverhampton. Just opposite the Lexus dealership, which is the same group isn't it? Funny thing is, their reasoning for all of these "policies" is that they treat every customer (and prospective customer) equally, and they can't take time out during their busy period on a Saturday to hand a car over to me because that means that some potential customers might be waiting longer to be seen to by their salespeople.

I said "why can't I just make an appointment to handover the car then, like I would to look at one?" and he said that if I made an appointment for 11.00am, the salesperson would have to start getting ready from 10am onwards, and if I was late and didn't ring up to tell them I was going to be, that's a lot of time wasted that could have been spent seeing other customers.

I voiced my opinion quite strongly on the phone to the Sales Manager yesterday (yet remained polite, no point in getting angry).

Once the deal is done and dusted and I have the car, I'll be contacting Toyota Customer Relations to register my complaint officially. Just the time I took out of my Saturday to go and look at a car (only to be told it wasn't there after I'd travelled all the way to the dealer) meant I potentially lost a few hundred pounds in lost work.

By contrast, the dealership in Shrewsbury (William A. Lewis) has been nothing but brilliant, even though I've not expressed a solid interest in buying. I even received a handwritten letter through the post the other day from them to let me know that the e-mail address I gave them isn't working for some reason, but that they still have the Celica there that I was interested in if I wanted to take a look. It was just a 140 though (2004/53, 46K miles) and was the same price as this T-Sport.

I guess it's because the dealer in Shrewsbury is tiny compared to the one in Wolverhampton so they can put more effort into dealing with each individual customer.

[Scarlett Arrow]

As a former New Car Sales Executive I'm really surprised at their inflexibility. It seems to me the Sales Manager should be retitled "Sales Prevention Officer". They are very lucky you are so forgiving, other owners have had similar problems with the After Sales service at Charles Clark Toyota, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised after all.

[GazChap]

Really? Is it documented any where at all?

[Scarlett Arrow]

You would have to do a search on TOC!, the guys on there avoid Charles Clark like the plague.

Edit: Having done a search, it seems it was Arnold Clark, my apologies.

[GazChap]

I don't smegging believe this. I really don't. This is taking a turn for the farcical now.

When I went to the dealer last Saturday I was told that I could use Norwich Union to get 7 days free insurance on the car so I could drive it back. Wednesday, he gives me the number and I ring up Norwich Union. They won't insure me as I'm under 25 - something Charles Clark have known from the beginning.

So I ring my insurance company (Direct Line) and add the new car to my policy for a week (at a cost of £20 might I add) and ask if they can e-mail a copy of the cover note over to the dealer. They can't, which is a bit odd in the 21st century, but never mind. I ask them to post a copy to the dealer and they agree.

Fast forward to this morning, and the cover note hasn't arrived yet. Not Direct Line's fault - if Toyota had told me that NU wouldn't insure me I could have arranged this a lot earlier, after all. So I ask what my options are.

T: "You'll have to get them to e-mail a cover note over."

G: "But they can't. Can they fax it instead?"

T: "No, the post office won't accept a fax when taxing a car. They need to e-mail it."

At this point, that's about the 4th or 5th time I've been told a fax isn't accepted. The Post Office website confirms this.

So I ring Direct Line again and they confirm again that they can't e-mail it, because they simply don't have the facility. Fair enough. Again, a bit odd but my beef isn't with Direct Line here.

I ring the dealer again and explain that I absolutely HAVE to pick the car up tomorrow as I'm on holiday for two weeks from Sunday. I then ask if the dealer can put the car tax on their insurance for 6 months, I'll pay Toyota for the tax and then renew it on my own policy when the time comes. He hangs up to check with a manager.

10 minutes later the manager calls me back. They can't do that (why the hell not, every other dealer I've had dealings with can and has!).

I ask him what my options are, and he says (and I wish I was kidding) that I can ask Direct Line to fax the cover note over.

G: "But the post office won't accept a fax."

T: "We have one here that will, although they're not technically supposed to."

G: "*****, this is ridiculous. I've been told numerous times now that a fax isn't acceptable, and now it IS?"

T: "Look, I'm trying to bend the rules for you here a bit, if you don't want me to then that's fine."

So now I've asked Direct Line to fax the cover note over. The saga, as they say, continues.

I mean, what the hell is this dealer playing at? It's like they WANT me to walk away.

[Scarlett Arrow]

In hindsight, you should have asked Direct Line to post the Cover Note by Special Delivery, even if it would have cost you a few quid to do so.

Having said that, it seems somebody is trying to tell you something

[GazChap]

Direct Line wouldn't do it, I asked.

I really don't understand how the dealership can be so... ubiky, especially given the current climate where no-one is actually buying.

[GazChap]

Picked it up now, and it's rather nice. Will get pics up as soon as the weather starts behaving itself :)

[GazChap]

Pics:

[gordypix]

Ahhh.

Not a fan of Grey(ish) cars but gotta admit it looks good...!

Happy motoring B)

[GazChap]

It's really weird, it comes out quite dull in photos but in the flesh it's lighter and looks more like silver.

Oh yeah, and cheers to everyone on here for their help. Especially fazzer who went out of his way to come and take a look at my previous 140. Much appreciated.

[Scarlett Arrow]

Looking very nice, Thunder Grey suits the Car so well :)

Hope you don't wait too long before getting some TTE Springs.

[GazChap]

At the risk of sounding silly, what are TTE springs and why would I want to put them on the car?

[Scarlett Arrow]

There are two benefits to having Toyota Team Europe Lowering Springs fitted. As you are lowering the centre of gravity, the Car will handle much better around corners with less body roll. They also reduce the gap in the Arches so the Car doesn't look like it's on stilts. The Springs (which are manufactured by Eibach and lower by 26-30mm) are fitted as standard on the GT and cost £125+VAT from Toyota to supply only. If you have them fitted at Mr T they offer a warranty too. Once the Springs have settled, it's advisable to have a Laser Wheel Alignment carried out.

They should be the first mod. on any Gen 7, GT excepted of course. If you have any money left, a Dynamic Front Lip, again standard on the GT, will give the front view a much more purposeful look.