So I got the repairs done.

[qprdude]

At the service, they found a lower tripod joint knackered , a split CV Gaitor and a suspected fluid leak.
As I was off to Scotland the following week, I booked the car in and had the repairs done. The total bill came to £445 .
I have a 3 year warranty with the car from Ness Motors in Inverness (strangely enough)
On contacting them to see if I could squeeze anything out of the warranty, I was informed that they had just been taken over by Arnold Clark.
Ness warranty no longer existed, but the guy said he would try to talk to the new head office and sort something out.
Meanwhile, I fired off an Email to AC in Glasgow, asking what the score was regarding my now defunct warranty.
By now, everyone will be saying "Arnold Clark? say goodbye to any responsibility there mate", but hear me out.

The Ness motors service manager kept in touch with me and said he was still trying and would I send him the invoice for repairs. I explained that I knoew some of the work was not under warranty but he asked for the full bill anyway.
Meanwhile, again, I got a call from AC in Glasgow thanking me for my email and asking me to send the invoice to them, as they would now be dealing with Ness warranties.

I expected nothing and after three weeks without further contact I was sure I had heard the last of my warranty.

Ah, how wrong I was. On Tuesday this week, the service manager from Ness(Arnold Clark) Citroen phoned to say that he had been authorised to complete the warranty claim and forward a cheque for £374 to me. I was speechless, and told him so. He said, "Well be prepared to be speechless again". Arnold Clark has taken over Ness warranties and replaced it with their "Autocare" warranty, and as a thank you for your custom, they are extending your current warranty for a further year!!!!". That will be a 4 year warranty on a car that was 4 years old when I bought it.

Well I'll go to the foot of out bloody stairs! I've never heard the like.

This morning, the postie duly delivered an envelope from Ness Motors. I feverishly ripped it open with my sweaty little mits and found that I had been well and truly lied to.

There was NO cheque for £374 as promised

There was a cheque for £445 ! the entire amount of the repairs, INCLUDING THE PETROL FOR THE LOAN CAR, and for the CV gaitor which unless I'm very much mistaken, is not covered by the warranty

Sorry for the long winded thread, but in light of the terrible reviews handed out to Arnold Clark Motors, I felt that a little record straightening was in order.

[Lighty]

That's excellent service, & a great result for you , well done !

[qprdude]

That's excellent service, & a great result for you , well done !

Cheers Lighty, it was so very unexpected, which makes it even better.

[Stickyfinger]

Puts my s**t dealer warranty and service from Hartwells in Bath/Abingdon to shame....great result, well done..

[myglaren]

That is quite a startling result given all the negative experiences in connection with dealers and Arnold Clark in particular.
Credit where credit is due.

[dnsey]

Just goes to show the extent to which the outcome of these things depends on the attitude of an individual (in this case the service manager).

[Gibbo2286]

I was waiting for the punch line to be 'And the cheque bounced'

[vborovic]

That's what they call service with a smile ... when someone else does the service and you keep smiling ... ...

[qprdude]

The service manager explained that because I have no Arnold Clark dealership within 100 miles, I can use the same garage that did the repairs, for any future claim. The new method is:- Go to the garage and ask them to investigate any problem and then THEY will contact Arnold Clark warranty department and clear any repairs (or not). The customer (me) no longer has to have any contact with Arnold Clark Autocare, it is all done by the garage.

[myglaren]

That seems to be a very common-sense approach.

[qprdude]

Aye, it is. Last time I bought a car from AC, I had to call them in Glasgow, from Exeter where my Rover 75 gave up on the M5, to get permission to get the fuel pump changed. I then had to send them the invoice before they issued the cheque. It was all quite painless, but took a bit of time to get sorted. The new way seems much more sensible, given that the garage will most likely know better than me, whether a repair is likely to be under warranty.

[daviemck2006]

I'm quite gobsmacked. Good result Rick.

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[qprdude]

I'm quite gobsmacked. Good result Rick.

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I was waiting for you to read it Davie. It's astonishing really. You and I both would have laughed at the very thought of this outcome. Stevie Mitchell, the service manager at Ness was quite concerned when I first phoned . The receptionist just told me the warranty was defunct, but I insisted on speaking to her boss. I was firm but polite when I asked if he was refusing to honour the warranty. I kind of backed him into a corner as it was "Ness Motors" on the document, not Arnold Clark. I might have mentioned legal proceedings at one point, but fair do's, Mr Mitchell never lost control. He listened to what I said and kept his promise to get something sorted. Top marks for a top man.
I'm the very first person to kick up a stink when I feel hard done by, but when someone comes through when you don't expect it, they deserve the highest praise.
I will be writing to Ness Motors/Arnold Clark to let them know that their employees are pure gold.

[myglaren]

I will be writing to Ness Motors/Arnold Clark to let them know that their employees are pure gold.

I'm sure that that will be greatly appreciated.
I expect that most of the customer feedback is rather negative. A positive report will certainly put a smile on someone's face and I hope they let the people involved bask in the glory.
Could even give them an incentive to improve - the same way it did with Dell and Alienware - a very surprising outcome to that one that benefits everyone.

[daviemck2006]

I'm presuming that the staff are still the same staff you have dealt with in the past Rick? Also being in Inverness will help. I find on the whole that people in Inverness are nicer and more helpful than most other places I have been to.

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