Ive had an interesting few telephone conversations with Holdcroft.

All started with a 'cold call' asking me if i needed a service..??

After about 1/4 of an hour explaining why i wouldnt use a Subaru dealer etc, regarding prices etc, and how there is a wealth of knowledge out here.

Anyway, i had 5 missed calls on my fone, which when i re-contacted turned out to be the 'new' branch manager.

So this afternoon, i have had a 1/2hr call with him, and he has proceeded to tell me that they are prepared to try and price match or even beat any genuine price you are quoted.. he is also trying to talk to Subaru about parts prices etc..

So for servicing, oil changes, whatever..!!

So, if you need any work doing, give them a try, at least give them the chance to quote... lets see if they come good. Has to be worth a fone call.

Ask for the branch manager, tell him you've come via scoobynet.

Sounds interesting that Frank, might be worth keeping in mind :)

Interesting. Holdcroft blew their chances with me last January when we were looking for our Forester. Asked if they had any in stock and were told "look in the book". Ended up spending our cash with another dealer and Holdcroft don't get the servicing work either.

must say since i bought my02STi i had a few niggles with it , abit of a misunderstanding between parties-no ppp fitted to car,was told it did. Spoke to Darren about it and he ordered the kit and it was fitted, foc,no questions. had aleak on the downpipe gasket all sorted now,threw in a service. to be honest the only niggle i have with them is they sometimes dont return your calls, but hey how often do you forget when you are busy? it is not often you hear of a dealer getting praise but they have always done right by me very helpful.thanks to Colin,Mark,Leah(?) Darren.


Lee (no i am not on commission:D )

I've just tried them for a 60K service and cambelt. A few months ago I was quoted £600 and now they quoted me £525. Mentioned I'd had cheaper prices from Graham Walker Chester £385 and CAS Bebington £370 and they brought there price down to £490. The question is do you think it's worth spending the extra £100+ to get that Subaru main dealer stamp in the service book and the service done with Subaru parts. I'm not sure at the moment and both cheaper places are much closer to me also.

WELL IM SURE IF U GET ANOTHER PRICE AND CALL THEM BACK THEY WILL TRY TO MATCH YOUR PRICE IVE PHONED MYSELF YESTERDAY AND GOT A CRACKING DEAL ON A SERVICE

Just phoned Holdcroft again, spoke to the right person and now got a very good deal not much more that what I've been quoted else where. So looks like I'll be going to Holdcroft to get the major service and cambelt done.
It's very good to see that a main dealer is now being aware of what other people are charging and are willing to almost proce match even though they are the only main dealer in the area. I'd very seriously suggest that anyone thats got a service due to give them a call after you've shopped around for other prices and let them know what the best price you had from elsewhere was. They seem to do there best now to give you the best deal they possibly can.

The guy that spoke to me was 'Colin'...... If you contact them, tell him, that you've been contacted them via info from Scoobynet.... see what 'he' comes back with.

fair play, he 'Colin' tried 5 times to get hold of me, thats the number of missed calls i had from them. I was in hospital at the time. When i contacted them back, he was very helpful, and seemed genuinely interested. I gave him my verdict etc, and fair play he listened without coming back at me...... one of my comments was ' im not interested in covering your overheads costs i just want the job doing at minimal cost.

His reply was, 'well give us a chance'..


Frank

I would give them a go to be fair after all this has come to light but unfortunately they cant do mapping so its off to Prosport i will be going.

About 30mins after my earlier post on thread I received a PM from Colin at Holdcroft. I called him back and he really knocked a lot of the price for too, so now don't mind paying £400 for full service and cambelt. A much more reasonable price so they get my money this time and I get the Subaru service stamp in my service book :)

I'd rather let my gran touch my engine than them after my experiences in my early subaru ownership days... 2 years ago... Trained £70 an hour mechanics (ahem) couldnt identify problems with my car that a guy from SN spotted in 20 seconds flat...The sales team (well one bleach blonde numpty) treated me like a joke and the head mechanic guy was the most blase' "couldnt care less" chap I have ever met....
So for me;
They could match a price from a rival garage, halve it and divide that by 50 and I still wouldnt deal with them... Unless, unless, all that were there before have left, not just the manager...:mad:

I'd rather let my gran touch my engine than them after my experiences in my early subaru ownership days... 2 years ago... Trained £70 an hour mechanics (ahem) couldnt identify problems with my car that a guy from SN spotted in 20 seconds flat...The sales team (well one bleach blonde numpty) treated me like a joke and the head mechanic guy was the most blase' "couldnt care less" chap I have ever met....
So for me;
They could match a price from a rival garage, halve it and divide that by 50 and I still wouldnt deal with them... Unless, unless, all that were there before have left, not just the manager...:mad:
Abdabz, sorry to hear of your feeling towards Subaru main agents. I'm very happy with the deal I got from Holdcroft so if you don't use them where do you go then.

Just shows how much profit they make usually, if they can keep on reducing the price when some one quibbles....

Who's left there now, the staff keep changing ( since the days of being Mainland ) and have they got (m)any Subaru qualified mechanics now?

:luxhello:

About 30mins after my earlier post on thread I received a PM from Colin at Holdcroft. I called him back and he really knocked a lot of the price for too, so now don't mind paying £400 for full service and cambelt. A much more reasonable price so they get my money this time and I get the Subaru service stamp in my service book :)

I usually take my scoob to Prosport in Manchester for services because they seem more professional and tend to be about £40 cheaper.

A friend of mine was in Holdcroft on Friday and mentioned that I was getting my 30k service done for £411 at Prosport so they have agreed to match it.

Simple oil changes are a disgrace, they charge like £100 for that job and it's not like it's a complicated task when they have the experience/facilities.

well to be honest I've always used them and they tend to be good, if there doing things cheaper now I think I'll be seeing them again soon!


If your reading this colin :norty: my engines making a strange noise every so often, possibly like a release wine type thing, but its not there all the time and I cant find where its coming from !

How much to find it :cool:

I've just had a 10k service done at Holdcroft, it was nearly £200, I thought it was a tad steep but it's been about 2 years since my last Impreza needed a 10K so I just thought the prices had gone up. Having said that the car felt great when I got it back!

I see on the Subaru web site they are listing Ryders in Bootle as a main agent, anybody had any experience with them?


Graham

I'd rather let my gran touch my engine than them after my experiences in my early subaru ownership days... 2 years ago... Trained £70 an hour mechanics (ahem) couldnt identify problems with my car that a guy from SN spotted in 20 seconds flat...The sales team (well one bleach blonde numpty) treated me like a joke and the head mechanic guy was the most blase' "couldnt care less" chap I have ever met....
So for me;
They could match a price from a rival garage, halve it and divide that by 50 and I still wouldnt deal with them... Unless, unless, all that were there before have left, not just the manager...:mad:


;)

To be fair, they have had a 'patchy' reputation in the past, but they say they have new management.

I think its only fair to give them a chance- my Isuzu Rodeo is in for a service on Monday, so lets see how they do with that- I'll report back on it guys.

They've shafted me and treated me like sheite in the past too, but they are the nearest dealer..... and on this occassion I have physically not got time to get to Palmers :(

Palmers are good but too remote for many people.

Prosport are excellent, no question about it. Just imagine everything you'd LIKE a dealer to be, and that's prosport. Nothing is too much trouble, they are excellent and last time I was there they were an approved Subaru agent. (i.e. dealer stamp)

I have nothing to do with prosport BTW, in fact I don't own a Scoob anymore, but after trying most of the dealers in the north West, prosport are absolutely MILES ahead of the rest of the field.

Just to add further; I think the reason why PS are so good is that they started off as independant specialists, not Subaru agents, so they have more knowledge of customer satisfaction and retention. Most of the Scooby dealers I have looked at seem to think it's your fecking honour to be in their company!

Abdabz, sorry to hear of your feeling towards Subaru main agents. I'm very happy with the deal I got from Holdcroft so if you don't use them where do you go then.

I recently used TDI North in Warrington (formerly System R - www.system-r.co.uk) service my MY02WRX.
Paul & Skippy did a great job and its been back for an HKS exhaust system and ferrodo brake pads.
I'll be using them again when the time comes :)

For electrical bits and bobs I use Carstuff in Northwich who fitted my Blackjax system recently also (www.car-stuff.net)...Great work..

I need look no further!

WOW!!! I take it all back!!! :eek:
I had a fantastic customer experience at the hands of Holdcroft yesterday and have to applaud the way in which I was treated :luxhello:.
I think its only right to retract my former comments and tell all how good things seem to be now...
Driving to work yesterday morning at 7.45am the engine warning light came on my 02WRX. I decided I would drive straight over to Holdcroft from Lymm and at least get it booked in etc.
I got there at 8.30 (flippin traffic :mad:) and explained my problem to one of the lads behind the counter.
Within 5mins its on the diagnostic doo dah (charges all explained) and the fault is found (faulty cam sensor :().
I'm told they have one in stock, am given the price and get told they can do it for me that morning! :notworthy
They then arrange for one of the lads to run me home (St Helens - about 12miles away).
Then at lunchtime I get a call to say its done, and then another call 3ish apologising because noone could pick me up and bring me back. I explained I didnt expect them to and that I had arranged a lift with our kid... :)
Got there at 16.45, car had been cleaned and the invoice matched the quote, oh, and the fault had been fixed :thumb:
So in short, the best customer experience I have EVER had at the hands of a garage and yes I shall definately be going back there for anything else that arises :thumb:
Thanks again holdcroft - you exceeded customer expectations by a country mile yesterday and I hope others read this and take note :luxhello:
Pabs

Well Well Well Paul, sounds interesting.

Seems you had a good time and good service.

Who's still there - Danny and Mark ?

See ya at the micklehead - not a meet just a drink and a chat. TONIGHT!

Colin (the service manager) is a good guy.
Mark is still doing parts

I've been in there a few times recently and the service has been excellent. I would definitely go back for future services.

Got there at 16.45, car had been cleaned

Bloody hell,there's a first - Holdcroft washing a car!!! (Mind you I bet they left it to dry and the thing was covered in water marks!!) ;)

we only cleaned the car cause we knew it wasnt yours nick lol

Another happy person.
I took my 03 wrx ppp to holdcroft about 4 weeks ago.
Got a top service from colin and the guy.They even came close to Prosports price :luxhello:

To top it off the new sales manager gave me a wiz in the new 06sti ppp...
top bloke:)

100% happy with them, Colin is a really nice guy, explained everything to me and couldnt have been nicer about it !

No question, they'll get me again in 6 months

I popped down there yesterday for a couple of things and they are definately a different place to how they used to be. Bearing in mind it was obvious that we weren't buying anything, we got better service than we did when we originally started to look for our Forester.

The Forester is due a major service and thanks to 5 minutes of friendly chatting I'd happily take it to Holdcrofts now whereas I'd previously sworn never to darken their door again ;)

Went past holdcroft subaru on way home from work and it was boarded up and all cars been taken away on a transporter.