Sadly Leaving the Fold.

[V6Matty]

If the company you work for is coping well then that's fine, I was talking about what seem to be the lower standards of general customer service etc, which in far too many cases, DVLA and to a slightly lesser extent Mercedes UK, seem to have fallen through the floor. How quickly is your Company answering the phone if they're even answering it at all, responding effectively to customer queries etc? If you think you're all doing well, then I'm very pleased to hear that.

We are doing well in light of things, call times are slightly affected but within acceptable limits (5 minute hold time compared to usual pre COVID 3.15). In some areas we’ve even seen efficiency improvements as well as productivity. We’re a large ish company too of around 11k so it’s been challenging to keep things at a high standard but the credit really go to the staff themselves and how they worked out how to work differently

 

[Srdl]

I had to call my local MB Dealer in November with a routine query. The phone was answered promptly and a message taken. No one ever called me back but that “Business as Usual” and nothing to do with Covid!

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

My local MB seems no better, never call back when they promise to, don’t complete jobs, they even happily told me they had washed and cleaned the car AND written the same on the invoice.
I had told them not too wash the car, luckily they hadn’t as could clearly be seen when pointed out to the service manager whom was handing over the keys. Just rubbish..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Jimbo1959]

There are five Red TT manual diesels on AutoTrader at the moment so they are not that rare

Funny, when I was looking for mine I couldn't find one for love nor money. Almost every one available, and I do mean one, was always at the extremes of the country for me. Then all of a sudden two became available in Scotland in the same week. Weird or what?

 

[Jimbo1959]

Noticed it the other day parked outside the hairdressers / nail bar along Love Street ,.

RE , your other post - recently a chap at work was searching for an identical car as yours , it also had to be red. It took months to locate the right one and he ended up going to Ireland to get it. He absolutely loves it as it has been his realistic dream car for around 20 years but mortgages and kids got in the way , as they do.

Enjoy your new motor it looks a nice one.

Kenny

Thanks Kenny. I still have those pipe clamps you gave me, if you ever need them or, just want them back, give me a call and I'll return them sir. I feel guilty about keeping them now I no longer have the Coupé.

 

[Srdl]

There's a particular roundabout quite close to where I live that I had to be very careful on, when driving the Coupé when it was wet. Last night I just blasted right through it, I didn't even lift on the exit, the Quattro just dug in and flew in and out of it like it was on rails. Yes, the road was wet and a fair degree of negative camber too.

Four wheel drive, don't you just love it?

I had an early morning, solo trip to our nearest M&S Foodhall yesterday. Several almost deserted urban roundabouts and no passengers were too much temptation to resist! I can reconfirm that 4matic is impressive!

 

[Jimbo1959]

And the best of luck with that. The plate transfer process has just taken me five months, FIVE. The reasons were the near impossibility of contacting DVLA, and an unimpressive, "Couldn't care less once we've got your money" performance by the supplying dealer, Mercedes-Benz Brentford, the only bad MB dealer I've ever encountered, check out their website feedback, unimpressive to say the least.

Sorry to rub salt in the wounds Rob but, the V5 for the Quattro fell through the letter box on Christmas Eve, and I had all the retention paperwork a couple of days previous to that too, so, the only thing holding me up from putting my private plate on now is, the actual Christmas holiday because no-one's in at the insurance company or DVLA to do the switch over.

I think I can do the DVLA switch on line, now that I have the paperwork but, I'm pretty sure I need a body at the insurance company to physically do something at their end.

The company I bought t'Quattro from even gave me a new set of plates with my private reg on in preparation for the swop, nice of them I thought. I'm just waiting for Tuesday now to set the ball rolling and get it all sorted.

 

[Jimbo1959]

On Jimbo's comment on what kind of idiot would buy a car without driving it first,

I didn't write that Rob, I didn't even think it, in fact I double checked to make sure I hadn't.

It goes against my personal ethic of good manners and treating others as I would like to be treated.

It's just something that I couldn't bring myself to do and, at the time of writing, I couldn't imagine anyone else being so trusting to do, after all, it's car salespersons we're dealing with and sadly they're not all on the level.

There are good ones, BUT, we've all met at least one that you couldn't trust as far as you could throw them, eh?

 

[00slk]

Nice to have known you Jim, forum wise and hope you had a good Christmas and enjoy your TT.
I used to work for Audi/VW hopefully the TT has come along way since I left in '84. All the best.

 

[Blobcat]

Sorry to rub salt in the wounds Rob but, the V5 for the Quattro fell through the letter box on Christmas Eve, and I had all the retention paperwork a couple of days previous to that too, so, the only thing holding me up from putting my private plate on now is, the actual Christmas holiday because no-one's in at the insurance company or DVLA to do the switch over.

I think I can do the DVLA switch on line, now that I have the paperwork but, I'm pretty sure I need a body at the insurance company to physically do something at their end.

The company I bought t'Quattro from even gave me a new set of plates with my private reg on in preparation for the swop, nice of them I thought. I'm just waiting for Tuesday now to set the ball rolling and get it all sorted.

You can move the plate across very easily on the DVLA website - I just did it for my Porsche.
I was speaking to my Insurance company about the renewal as I wanted to do the plate and Renewal at the same time (so no admin fees...).
Very nice lady advised no charges for changing number plate so I did it there and then.
Only challenging thing was finding where I’d put the plates after emptying the garage to get the Porsche in...

 

[Jimbo1959]

Nice to have known you Jim, forum wise and hope you had a good Christmas and enjoy your TT.
I used to work for Audi/VW hopefully the TT has come along way since I left in '84. All the best.

Thanks Peter. Me too, I've been away from VAG for about eight years now, fortunately I still have my contacts and still work in the trade.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and bought a warranty (something I never usually do) and GAP insurance for the car too, just to be on the safe side.

I'm getting cynical and more cautious in my old age, because basically, I'm getting to old to be rolling around on the floor repairing cars these days. Service work and detailing's fine but the heavier stuff just takes too long to recover from now a days.

So far so good, the car handles like a dream and is almost as quick as my Merc was, a remap should take care of that. I'll wait untill I've had it a while so that the novelty doesn't wear off, lol.

 

[Rob7seven]

I didn't write that Rob, I didn't even think it, in fact I double checked to make sure I hadn't.

It goes against my personal ethic of good manners and treating others as I would like to be treated.

It's just something that I couldn't bring myself to do and, at the time of writing, I couldn't imagine anyone else being so trusting to do, after all, it's car salespersons we're dealing with and sadly they're not all on the level.

There are good ones, BUT, we've all met at least one that you couldn't trust as far as you could throw them, eh?

No problem Jimbo, and I wasn't getting at you, but in a case like mine, I can't see much risk in buying a new, or even fairly new "MB Approved"car unseen. Also, in times like these, we often don't have a lot of choice. I was pretty fussy about what I was buying, some features I definitely wanted, and some I definitely didn't. For instance, it had to be an AMG petrol C300 with the Premium pack or better, and it had to be available from stock. Definitely not wanted were dark glass in the back, 19" wheels, and runflat tyres. It also had to be a good colour. There didn't seem to be all that many new non-black ones available, more than half on the stock availability list I saw. I wanted hyacinth (red) but couldn't find one, silver was OK, and now I've had the car for a few months, I really like it.

I knew that MB Brentford weren't the best, but wasn't expecting problems with a new car, especially as the dealership is Mercedes owned. Little did I know, their feedback should have warned me, but I had no trade-in, and they came up with the best price

On the DVLA problems, you'd be OK if they had all the info already on computer, the car, your details etc, then you can do it yourself online. If they have to input some info from scratch, that's where the problems seem to be at the moment, though I can't believe that my case was typical.

 

[Blobcat]

@Jimbo1959 I must say it’s getting plenty cold here with the door open... if you’re going go, if you’re staying stay. But please put the wood in the hole either way

 

[Jimbo1959]

@Jimbo1959 I must say it’s getting plenty cold here with the door open... if you’re going go, if you’re staying stay. But please put the wood in the hole either way

I'm pretty sure I said I wanted to stay Russell.

I suppose I'd better start a new thread about something then.

I don't think I've ever had six pages of thread before it was quite going to my head.

 

[Wighty]

I'm pretty sure I said I wanted to stay Russell.

I suppose I'd better start a new thread about something then.

I don't think I've ever had six pages of thread before it was quite going to my head.

I see you changed your user pic buddy , just to hammer home the horror

 

[Jimbo1959]

I see you changed your user pic buddy , just to hammer home the horror

Need to tell the truth and stay true to what I actually own and drive Wighty.

It would have been a lie to leave the Coupé on show.

Plus, in a rather perverse manner, I'm proud of the new Coupé (the TT).

 

[Jimbo1959]

Jimbo, don't forget, you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave.....

Just dawned on me , "Hotel California, the Eagles" jeez, I was slow there.

 

[sonic]

My son had a petrol TT Quattro, then he progressed onto a VW Golf Type R.

 

[Jimbo1959]

Someone will be round for you to start the re-education process we don't allow people to leave the fold.

You will be collected and sent for training, no replacement is available for your family to encourage compliance.

Sounds like “the Borg”

I had communist China or Russia in mind, the book, A Day In The Life of Alexander Solzhenitsen immediately sprang to mind for some reason.

 

[Jimbo1959]

That is very true, it's you that has to open it. I have a Grandson at Uni doing Film and Media Studies and sadly he thinks doors will just open automatically for him I have a contact in Anglia TV, the Father of one of the presenters, and have tried to get him to get in touch with but to no avail. I have spoken to the friend and laid the path, but still nothing from the boy. I do worry about what the future holds for him.

I have one like that too Andy, got him an apprenticeship at Audi when he was sixteen, through one of my contacts in the trade, wee blighter wasn't interested and left me to tell my friend he wouldn't be taking up the offer.
I could have murdered him.

Some months later I got him a different apprenticeship in a bodyshop which, he thought, so he told me later, "I'll give it a go."

The day he got his 'O' level results in he was chatting with his boss (my contact), who casually remarked "Wow with results like that, I sure as hell wouldn't be working in the motor trade", ungreatful little bu**er handed in his notice at the end of the week.

I've never came so close to murder in all my life. Up until that point he was doing great and getting on with his colleagues and boss like a house on fire, he even told me that he enjoyed the job!

I told him then I'd never help him again as, twice, he'd made me look like a twat, with people who trusted me as, I had vouched for him.

He found a job in a restaurant as a KP and worked his way up to commi chef, he's now jacked that in and gone back to Uni (Open), studying computers now, 'coz he doesn't like getting his hands all grungy, be it with car oil, bodyshop catty, or foodstuffs.

I was ready to kill him again at this point as, we will be subsidising him AGAIN, children, who'd have 'em?