First Post for a soon to be Scooby owner..

To purchase a new Scooby, can you please give recommendations/criticisms for these 4 dealers. B&Colvill and SGT are the obvious choice as I have a Lotus Elise to PX and they are both Lotus dealers.

Thx
RoyW
Bracknell

 

Personally never gotten on well with B&C, although other on here report good things. I have used Sevenoaks (ok), Gatwick (just below ok) and Cheam (seem good). But I was in the Sevenoaks place and there was a guy trying to p/x his Elise and was having all sorts of trouble pinning them down to a price, so you may be better off with a Lotus specialist etc.

Piers LoFi

By the way, welcome, hope you get a scooby sorted soon. Friend of mine went from an Elise, tried to get him in an Sti but he brought a TT, oh well.

 

Worth having a chat with Mill Lane. I have nothing but praise for them! I bought both my UK cars from them.

I use to travel an 80 mile round trip for a service which I think speaks volumes, despite living in Surrey!

 

Another thumbs up for Mill Lane, and also Bell & Colvill.

 

Was far from impressed with Mill Lane last time I went Off to Subaru 4 You this time for servicing

 

Hmm - only dealers I've used have been Listers in Worcester (excellent parts desk), Cross Country Vehicles in Witney, Oxford (friendly sales & parts people), and Lancaster Pangbourne (Reading).

Actually bought my MY98 Turbo from Lancaster a couple of years back and had completely the opposite experience from scooby-new. Who was your salesman? I dealt with a guy called Vaughan King - bit of a wideboy on occasion (IMHO - hello Vaughan if you're still there!) but both myself and my girlfriend got treated properly.

It was a used car, but the checks seemed to have been done propely - even had new discs & pads all round and two new Bridgestones fitted on the back when I pointed that the tyres were a bit short on tread.

Best bit was when going round checking that all the right bits were there. Open boot, lift carpet to check spare, and there's a mag tucked right at the front - salesman nearly sh@t himself as he thought it was Razzle or somesuch that their cleaner had missed - it was only a mountain bike mag though. LMAO at that.

Good luck in your hunt though Wolfey.

Cheers,
Steve

 

Cheers for your replies!

So far there has been thumbs up and down for B&C, Lancaster and Mill Lane in almost equal measures. Has anyone had any experience of SGT Taplow?

Thanks again!

RoyW
Bracknell

 

Standards must have dropped at Lancaster- my salesman was a chap called Alan- very friendly but the car was not good. I'm pretty sure the discs and pads need changing on my car and they didnt do it. All in all the car seems OK but has loads of faults that an inspection should have shown up- I'm not even sure they serviced it before I collected it as the service history they supplied runs only until Oct 2001 (I bought it 27/12/02)- I think that they decided to fob me off because they know I'm only in England part time and it will be hard for me to return. I would advise anyone to STAY CLEAR of these people. Would you want to go to a garage that lets you drive off with a car running on 20 psi (ish) in the worn out tyres they left on? They also missed a gallon of water in the boot under the spare- after I pointed it out I was told "it was from valetting or maybe when the car was on display" - as if that was an excuse- they didnt even remove it! Turned out that the rear lense was cracked and leaking-missing a screw. In addition the front indicator lens was cracked, interior lights didnt work, tyres were worn , brakes squeal, car misfires , sunroof was faulty, cigarette lighter broken, wires dangling from console,service history is incomplete+questionable- is that the Subaru proven standard?

The service dept were very good in sorting out the problems I found up to that date but overall I would say the level of preparation and service received were the worst I have ever had. 2 weeks later and I'm still waiting on another set of keys!

 

thumbs up from me for SGT. Have now bought 2 Imprezas from them and always used them for servicing. My only complaint is that they always have too many nice cars on the forecourt. I popped in one weekend while passing and bought my current RB5 on a whim. Then when I took it in for a service they had a beautiful Elise 111S just begging to be bought. And how I have resisted the yellow Esprit GT3 I just dont know!!! But above all I am determined not to take them up on a test drive of an EVO 7.
Give them a go. One thing that has always impressed me is the salesman (Rob) always remembers my name the second I walk in.

Steve

 

Bought my STi Prodrive from B&C and very pleased with them. They sorted out everything and were very helpful. Would certainly recommend them so far but then I haven't had any major issue to resolve so that will be the big test.

 

Roy,

Firstly, welcome to scooby ownership. Theres a few of us in Bracknell, keep an aye out for a MY99 green saloon with 17s and a scoobynet sticker - thats me, and a MY00 green wagon with pimp tints, thats Scott W. Also Graham Stocker in a MY98 STi4 Type R in Sonic blue! We hold a meet every last thursday of the month just outside of Bracknell on the A3095 towards Maidenhead - come along and join us - we don't bite Keep an aye out in Southern section for details, a post should appear in the next week or so

Is the car new and in warranty? If not, I'll highly recommend Subaru 4 You, scooby specialists just off the M4, 20 mins from Bracknell. Len knows what he's doing and is a good bloke, only ever been good reports on SN about them! www.subaru4you.co.uk

Cheers
Neil.

 

I used B & C to service my P1 once.

I didnt go back

I wanted some advice about something & the service guy (who was a older ginger guy) was stuck soo far up his own *** I nearly knocked him out...

I use Mill Lane (mitubushi) now as I have an evo & they couldnt be more helpfull

Could only assume the scooby division is as good as

Chris

 

Mill Lane, even tho they service scabby mitsi's too now

 

Thanks all for your feedback!

After reading your comments, I will be taking my first (test) drive of a Scooby (Forester XT) on Saturday @ SGT. I'll probarbly take a look at the WRX while I'm there too.

Neil, I live not too far away from the bridge over the railway line @ Martins Heron. I can't normally hear any cars but regularly hear the distinctive throb of scoobys going over it!

RoyW

 

Hi Roy

You're just down the road then

Those scoobies going over the bridge you will find is me, Scott and Graham, all with rather loud exhausts and that bit of roads a favourite of ours due to the sound reverberations Ain't we sad?

I've put a thread up in the Southern section about the next meet, its on 30th Jan, directions in the thread - you'll be more than welcome

Cheerio
Neil.

 

I recently bought my MY00 classic from Lancaster sevenoaks, we agreed that the car would be presented to me serviced/valeted/steam clean of the engine and the brakes checked and replaced if neccesary. Well they serviced the car, so they say. But what really got up my nose was the state of the car inside, soapy residue by the gearbox and long strands of hair on the back seat, soon after the brakes started squealing. To their credit they replaced one of the tyres that was worn out. I'm still waiting for a couple of things for them to get back to me about. All in all not a good start. And the cheeky sods get you to sign a mountain of paperwork inside before they show you the car, one of which includes paperwork to say you are satisfied with the presentation of the car.

Sorry but i don't think i would go back to them.

 

You found the same as me mate- Lancaster Subaru are useless- they don't seem to care about their customers! No doubt I will have to spend the best part of £500 on some new discs and pads not to mention a service. They really are the worst garage I've ever dealt with- promise the earth then deliver nothing. I'm still waiting for my second set of keys nearly 3 weeks later!

 

More bad news from the nice people at Lancaster Subaru.....they supplied my car with loads of faults- most of which they havent rectified...it now turns out that the second set of keys for my car have been sent to an auction house! If they can get them back I might be lucky and have a second set of keys. More likely is that I will have to take the car back to them for another set. This isn't much use to me as I'm in Paris!

So much for peace of mind buying through a dealer- as I've said before DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THESE PEOPLE- they just don't care.

 

I think service at Lancasters has gone down hill, called Mill Lane to give them a try, apparently they have lost their Subaru dealership, so whats next B&C is a right royal pain for me location wise.

Perhaps sell the UK300 and get a new Jap Import ?

andyjd

 

Just to add my tuppence worth..i have had dealings with Mill Lane (scoob and mitsy), B&C and SGT....

SGT...

Bought a Golf GTI 16V from them a few years ago now.. and they were quite good.. so when had my scoob went back to try to buy a Black Evo6 from them.. up themselves.. wouldnt even let me take the car for a test drive even though i could plainly afford it.. i think the saleman even said prove you have the finance and insurance and we'll let you have a test drive... wouldnt buy another car from them... however when talking to service department they seemed very good on evo's though i never went back...

B&C...

My father bought 2 scoobs from them and i bought 1... Sales at the time were really good guy called Charles.. he was funny... though servicinh was non too impressed by.. i mean they even managed to lock the keys in my car... the car never really felt right from them and they were expensive too and as other people have said their approach to customer service was cack... needless to say both my father and I moved over to Mill Lane.. apparently you can always tell a car serviced by B&C... say no more !!!

Mill Lane...

What can i say about them,... on a scoob front both the service guys (Charles) and sales were great... Charles always was very helpful and chatty and him and Graham knew their stuff for sure.. shame they have lost the scoob franchise. After the crap service of SGT i bought an Evo 6 from Mill Lane Mitsy (now at the scoob site) and whilst the servicing wasnt great, the sales guys (now at Basingstoke selling scoobs i think) were always helpful and chatty...

And as for Len from subaru4u.. i believe he used to work at Mill Lane Misty as he worked on my Evo sometimes... and if its the guy i think it is he solved a problem that no one else could.. so top vote for him !!!

Hope thats of some use

Jason

 

If the car wasnt still under warranty i'd be going to Subaru4U its a shame all the local main dealers seem to be pants

 

Lancaster Subaru of Sevenoaks-

total waste of time- expensive labour charges, poor workmanship and a couldn't give a t055 attitude. I would rather use kwik fit (joking but that's how bad these jokers are). they also lack social skills and the guy I talked to was covered in dandruff and actually smelled!

edited to remove expletives!

[Edited by NACRO - 05/06/2003 13:09:41]

 

I bought my P1 from Lancaster Pangbourne and they were OK.
Both sales guys I spoke with seemed enthusiasts.

I too, reckon there's just too much paperwork to go through but part of that is so you DO NOT have to sign if there's something wrong with the car.

I have a service and a warranty replacement of bits this month so I'll keep my eyes and ears open.

Vindaloo.

 

Mail me mate , I got a horror story and a half before you go making decisions

 

YHM

 

Lancaster Subaru: hmmmmn what can I say.I recently bought an "Subaru Proven" used Turbo from them. The preparation the vehicle received was less than I expected. It had a bad water leak, various electrical systems didnt work,consumables were worn, tyres were knackered and there were various missing paperwork/keys problems.
The service dept was very good in sorting these problems when I pointed them out but it does ask the question was the car ever really checked properly? The proven standard is in my experience a very low one that cost me over £120 in fuel and god knows how much in lost time.

When they finally replaced the worn tyres (after some wrangling on my part)they used poor quality budget "Stunner" tyres that I will now have to have replaced again at more cost to myself. It may as well have been a private sale!

If this is the level of preparation and care that goes into a used sale I can only imagine the same will apply for new vehicles too.

Overall I wouldnt buy anything again from this dealership/franchise

[Edited by scooby-new - 1/7/2003 5:56:21 PM]