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Old 24 January 2005, 09:51 AM
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NotoriousREV
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Default What the £$%^ is Holdcrofts problem?

I hope Danny is reading this because I reckon Holdcrofts could have had about £7500 worth of business off me in the last few weeks and instead it's gone to other Subaru dealers.

First off they made me hang around for about 20 mins for a price on a lambda sensor which when it came was more expensive than other official Subaru dealers were quoting.

On the same visit, we were looking for a used Forester and asked if they had any in stock and were told "look in the book". There were none in the book so we assumed they had none. Imagine our suprise when according to Subaru's website they had 2 suitable ones in! Luckily we bought one from Triangle Subaru in Chesterfield instead and it's a minter.

Finally, today I phone up for a price on a slave cylinder (which is the same part on every Impreza, Legacy and Forester with a manual gearbox up to 1998 regardless of destination market) to be told "if it's an import I'll have to call you back later" which implies that if it was a UK spec, I'd get a price there and then.

I'm still paying in UK ££££'s you know, I'm not going to offer yen.

Put it this way, the Forester will now be getting it's servicing done by Prosport to keep it's warranty. It's worth the extra drive a) to have the work done by professionals and b) not to have to deal with this crap.

And why does their page on the Subaru UK site say they have the largest parts inventory in the region when every part I've ever had from there has had to be ordered in?
Old 24 January 2005, 11:39 AM
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Abdabz
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Not sure how much we can moan rev without the thread dissolving thanks to over pc modding, but my experiences with that place (I could do a 10000 word post on them) have been shambolic...
Now a local Jap Sports garage does all my work and in 3 months time when I'm shopping round for a 14k ish replacement model its not going to come from there...
P
Old 24 January 2005, 11:55 AM
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redwrx
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Similar experiences here,

ive always found them less than helpful.... i wanted some kids subaru t'shirts for xmas ....where else to go than your local dealer.!! ... and guess what?? they have to be ordered in. Needless to say, my kids didnt get their t'shirt from them.

and if you have an import, yep, almost a reluctance to talk to you...

if i was looking for inspiration to keep my scoob, then holdcroft wouldnt be the place to go .
Old 24 January 2005, 12:59 PM
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LIDDO
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So, weres this Jap Sports place then?? Im after a good indepentant to do my 90k Service. Holdcroft want £600!!!!! And they are crap!
Old 24 January 2005, 06:30 PM
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John WRX
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I use CAS Motorsport in E.Port, have recommended them to a few people (one of which has posted above) and everyone including me is happy with their work

If you want their contact details give me a shout.
Old 24 January 2005, 07:26 PM
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julian N/W wrx my93
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i phoned em today to ask for a price for the Rev's clutch cylinder, as he asked me to get a price, so i thought i'd have a laugh at the main dealer price before going to my local friendly motor facors where i get all my bits,


(just pm me if you want anythink peeps and i'll see what i can do!)


anyway, i was asked for a chassis number as well, i said can't you give me a rough price, and why do you need the chassis number.
the reply was basically "no" to a rough price, and they need the chassis number "to get as much info about the car as nessisary".

So..... gave em my chassis number, (i have same year and type as The Rev) and got a price, simple as that!

oh and the price was £70+vat same as The Rev got from Andrew Page in warrington.
i'll find out my price in the morning!
Old 24 January 2005, 07:43 PM
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NotoriousREV
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Best price so far is £61.93 + VAT from Prosport and they have a return spring in stock plus the spring I need for my gear linkage so they're looking favourite so far
Old 24 January 2005, 08:11 PM
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julian N/W wrx my93
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i never got back to them..............

what time did you phone?


so thats £72.76

leave it with me!

i'll find out in the morning!
Old 24 January 2005, 08:12 PM
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julian N/W wrx my93
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so

mainland £82
andrew page £80
prosport £73
Discount Motor Parts??????????(find out in the morning!)
(st.helens)
Old 25 January 2005, 08:30 AM
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Is Prosport and garage or a motorfactors????
Ive got the website for CAS on the Wirral now, so i'll be giving them a buzz, to see how much their 90k Service is. Wonder if they do courtesy cars
Old 25 January 2005, 08:38 AM
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redwrx
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Ask for Steve at CASmotorsport, he's the guy to speak to .


http://www.casmotorsport.co.uk/home.htm

Tel / Fax: 0151 357 3731

e-mail: x@casmotorsport.co.uk
Old 25 January 2005, 09:33 AM
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cw42
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LIDDO, mines in for the 91k service @ prosport on friday. Cost is £480 + courtesy car for the day.
Cant recommend them enough, excellent service, top garage.
Give John a ring on 0161 432 9999, tell him chris wilky sent you
They have recently branched out into doing more parts for scoobys, as they finally got the proper franchise status late last year.
chris.
Old 25 January 2005, 12:35 PM
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julian N/W wrx my93
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Originally Posted by julian N/W wrx my93
so

mainland £82
andrew page £80
prosport £73
Discount Motor Parts??????????(find out in the morning!)
(st.helens)


Discount Motor Parts price is £55 all in!
and hes only making a fiver on that as well

so they cost £50 to supply to the trade and then they sell them on.....
Old 25 January 2005, 01:58 PM
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Ohh dear, Holdcroft is getting worse,the whole reason i went for a SAAB was the trade in prices on the Subaru offered by the sales team and management was cr#p.

Now if they think how often i was in there paying £££'s for work to be done and on extras they could have kept a loyal customer.You know, discount on new, payback over 2 years with work and extras.

My main problems with them was their inconsistancy when doing work,the only one who was trustworthy was Dennis (Head Mechanic) if anybody else did the work there was always a comeback on the job, Gasket not fitted to up-pipe, nuts missing off downpipe installation, actuator arm 'C' washer wasnt fitted and car lost all boost.When Dennis left and set up on his own in Widnes i took my car to him to have all the main parts of the service done and over to Mainland/Holdcroft for the oil change and the book to be stamped.

Mr D was great when i first starting going but when i was constantly there on comebacks he started to treat me like a 2nd class citizen,it made me laugh that i always got the ' LONER ' wheeled out to drive and customers who had bought the cars direct got STi's and WRX's for the day. But i spent much more cash there than they did.

We all know that main dealers will always be a tad more expensive for parts but some of the prices i used to be quoted where a joke,now if you actually get the parts manager (Mark) he always did what he could to help and he was great.

They need to remember most Subaru drivers are **** about there cars and want them to be serviced at regular intervals and preferably at the main dealers but until they realise a little customer service is all that is required to keep them happy they will never reach the full potential of the dealership.

Zippy
Old 25 January 2005, 02:31 PM
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Here Here Zippy. We all love our cars to bits and ALWAYS want the best for them! Surely Holdcroft must see this, and see our cars GLEAMING everytime we take them in! FFS, I bet their never THAT busy to take a little extra care.
I bought a BM 523 before my 2nd Scoob, and took it in just to have the boot lock fixed. Whilst i waited, drinking the free coffee, they sorted the lock, AND replaced 3 bulbs that were out, whichi didnt know about, AND washed the bloody thing! I was only there 45 mins. Now thats Service.
I think I'll be travelling to either the Wirral or Stockport for my next Service.
Wish someone from Holdcrofts would see this thread, and get the staff to wake up a little, before they "shut down" again.
Old 25 January 2005, 03:54 PM
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minor_threat
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I've only been there once and will not go there again. My car failed the MOT a few weeks ago on worn bloody pedal rubbers so off I went to Holdcroft not expecting the Spanish inquisition, a 25 minute wait for nothing and staff with more attitude than Mister T.

"What's your registration?" "What's your chasis number?"
"I don't know what the chasis number is?!"
"Well I need it to look up the part on the computer."
"It's a UK car, it's parked outside if you don't believe me."
"OK, let's go and have a look."

I couldn't believe it! Then it took the ******* 20 minutes to find the part on the computer and tell me they didn't have any in stock. He could have gone and found the empty space on the shelf in 5 minutes! To be honest, the staff at Preston weren't much better either but they did at least show signs of having a pulse and a bit of intelligence.
Old 25 January 2005, 05:39 PM
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julian N/W wrx my93
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worn peddal rubbers????????????


my fell off years ago and hasn't failed yet!
Old 25 January 2005, 06:27 PM
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Originally Posted by LIDDO
So, weres this Jap Sports place then?? Im after a good indepentant to do my 90k Service. Holdcroft want £600!!!!! And they are crap!
I use Boundary Road Garage in St Helens now - or Julian for bits and bobs but he cant stamp my book ...

Theyre good but not worth travelling oe'r hill and vale for... Those guys in Stockport and highly regarded I believe - but BRG is a 5 minute walk away for me Vulnax has used them too
Old 25 January 2005, 06:42 PM
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This place is 5 mins from one of my houses, I pass it every day en-route to the gym.

My car has been in to the workshop once in 3 years, with a CEL light on.

Danny put it on the machine, free of charge, which was nice.

But then the trouble began......

The monitor gave numerous fault codes, so the car had to be booked in for further investigation.

I got it back and they said after an extensive seach it was a blown EGT exhaust probe thingie, and gave me a price inc fitting. They didnt have one in so I re-booked it back in at a later date.

In the meantime I popped the bonnet to fill up my washer bottle (the limit of my mechanical knowledge), when I noticed that there was a plastic cover missing from the relay box bit @ the top left of the engine bay.

So I phoned them and asked if the guy doing the job on my car could look in his tool tray for the cover.

I was told he wasnt in........

When I explained who I was the guy on the phone said, whilst you are on there had been an amendment to my quote, and promptly increased it by £40....to £160

So I cut my losses and bought a second hand sensor and a cover for £25 from the scooby scrappers whos name I cant remember.

The parts arrived the next morning and took 15mins to fit (both parts) it was so simple I did it myself, and everything has been fine for 20000mls.

I do still go in for service parts and find the young lad on the parts to be efficient at his job, and Danny is friendly and informative, Ive noticed that the bloke who seemed not too ar5ed, and totally anti-import isnt there anymore.

Shame really, Ive spent a few bob servicing my car elsewhere, and the garage I use is further away from my homes.

Its funny how one **** up, or unhelpful conversation can put you off a particular service for life.

I have spoke to Danny since the event and to be fair he said I didnt give him the opportunity to replace the cover or re-view the quote, but there you have it.

Later Yoza

Editted to add, it was Mainland, not Holdscroft at the time...

Last edited by yoza; 25 January 2005 at 07:06 PM.
Old 25 January 2005, 06:59 PM
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Do you want my story ?? but this was when it was Mainland not Holdcroft

I bought some Eibach Springs, and had them fitted along with a 30k or 3 year service (the bigger of the two)

Anyway got the car back, Bob went to open my boot to put the old springs in, and everything had just been thrown back in, carpet all messed up etc

Bob said he would have a word, also noticed my bill had increased by 25 quid, they charged me extra for the Eibachs (Danny offered my 25 quid off my next service, as Holdcroft, as a gesture of good will, but I have never been back, other than for the odd parts)

Driving the car was a nightmare, so I took it back, and said the suspension wasnt right, they aslo told me one of the strut bolts had sheared off, when in fact it was two bolts, plus a socket had been left on the intercooler

Basically on one side of the suspension at the front, they hadnt lined it back up, so they did it whilst I waited, and off I went

the next day the car was even worse to drive, and I jacked it up on one side to see what was wrong, and the wheel stayed on the ground with the jack on full height !!

So off it went back, but this time for two days, the result, they had put the rubber top caps on upside down when re-fitting the front suspension, Danny apologised, and said 'i really dont know how that happened, its not like we havent done them before'

and that was pretty much it, after that I wont trust the mechanics there

Mark is pretty good on parts (and I dont always need a chassis number )

Steve
Old 25 January 2005, 07:09 PM
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Chassis number ?

Wheres that then.
Old 26 January 2005, 08:16 AM
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I guess people from Mainland dont look at this site much!!! No response from them!!!!!!!
Anyway, just booked my car in at CAS on the Wirral. Because my mate at work is taking his too, they are gonna do my 90k service for £275+Vat and my mates 120k service for £200+vat!!! What a bargain eh!!!!!
Old 26 January 2005, 03:21 PM
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what do you get in the 90k service?
and same for 129k?????
Old 26 January 2005, 03:26 PM
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The 90k is the works! Cambelt, Aux Belt, ALL the fliuds and filters. Its the lot!
The 120 Service is excatly the same, barr the Cambelt.

Cheap as Chips
Old 26 January 2005, 03:28 PM
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it is cheap!

wonder how much for just the cambelt...........
Old 26 January 2005, 04:59 PM
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Not like me to stir these things up lol but I've emailed the link to this thread to Mark at Holdcroft and asked him to show it to Danny!!!
Let's see if Dan makes any comments!! lol
Maybe he'll bar the lot of us!!
Zippy mentioned about us with imports being second class citizens?? I thought we were!!
Old 26 January 2005, 05:25 PM
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Originally Posted by LIDDO
I guess people from Mainland dont look at this site much!!! No response from them!!!!!!!
Anyway, just booked my car in at CAS on the Wirral. Because my mate at work is taking his too, they are gonna do my 90k service for £275+Vat and my mates 120k service for £200+vat!!! What a bargain eh!!!!!
Liddo, CAS would be my first choice for a 90k service as well. I was talking to the guy from CAS at the promenade stages rally last year. They had a few cars running there and I was quzzing him about servicing and rally prep on the imprezas. I couldn't believe their charges - brilliant! I've not heard a bad thing said about them either.
Old 27 January 2005, 08:32 AM
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Minor, I've heard nothing but good things too! They rebuild engines for Holdcrofts. I'll get the Service done, and let you know how it all goes. Gotta be worth a try at that price. It'll be nice to have experts working on my car for a change
Old 27 January 2005, 02:41 PM
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Default keeping your warranty with Prosport services

Originally Posted by NotoriousREV
I hope Danny is reading this because I reckon Holdcrofts could have had about £7500 worth of business off me in the last few weeks and instead it's gone to other Subaru dealers.

First off they made me hang around for about 20 mins for a price on a lambda sensor which when it came was more expensive than other official Subaru dealers were quoting.

On the same visit, we were looking for a used Forester and asked if they had any in stock and were told "look in the book". There were none in the book so we assumed they had none. Imagine our suprise when according to Subaru's website they had 2 suitable ones in! Luckily we bought one from Triangle Subaru in Chesterfield instead and it's a minter.

Finally, today I phone up for a price on a slave cylinder (which is the same part on every Impreza, Legacy and Forester with a manual gearbox up to 1998 regardless of destination market) to be told "if it's an import I'll have to call you back later" which implies that if it was a UK spec, I'd get a price there and then.

I'm still paying in UK ££££'s you know, I'm not going to offer yen.

Put it this way, the Forester will now be getting it's servicing done by Prosport to keep it's warranty. It's worth the extra drive a) to have the work done by professionals and b) not to have to deal with this crap.

And why does their page on the Subaru UK site say they have the largest parts inventory in the region when every part I've ever had from there has had to be ordered in?
If I get my services done at Prosport does it keep its warranty?

regards
Old 27 January 2005, 02:43 PM
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Yes , they are now listed as an approved garage on the Subaru UK website.

*****


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