anthscooby01

I have had nothing but problems with GMD Durham who to put it mildly are not very honest. Even the second car I got off them as 'compensation' turned out to have finance owing on it (£18k worth). I am about to Email BBC1's Watchdog programme as I am sure they would enjoy getting their teeth into probs I have had and was wondering if anyone else has had hassle off these people. Having spoken to numerous Scoob owners locally it seems that virtually every car they sell has 'history' and I have honestly yet to hear anything good about them. Prob best to PM me with any stories.
Cheers folks
Anth

Ninnybobs

Why not PM Evolution....... he's got plenty of history

Martin

C2forWRX

quite a few "comments" about them if you search...

Criss

Watchdog there *** off

anthscooby01

Well my aims are:-
1) 18k compensation as car was never mine and never could have been as on finance with Black Horse via first owner.
2) I want their Subaru franchise took off them as they blacken the otherwise untarnishable reputation of Subaru.
3) I want the whole country to see what a set of rogues these guys are. Unbelievable that they are allowed to trade under Subaru name. Arthur Daley was had better business ethics!!

mickywrx

iTrader: (29)

Andygreer is a bit pissed with them at the minute too.

anthscooby01

Its unreal that they get away with it. Salemans attitude was that GMD is a big co and I would be foolish to take them on through courts though he did sympathise (yeah right!!). Well I have just called time on these mothers and its payback time (hopefully in my direction lol!!)
Anth

speye91

Evolution is the man you need to talk to,also pm andygreer he got his last week and its been back already, and due to gao back in for major work

Wide Berth,bargepole and wont touch them with your's springs to mind.

Mick

stilover

Ah, GMD of Durham. Yes I bought my car off them. Never again.

Now I did get a very good deal on the car, and my trade in. Hence why I bought my brand new 05MY STI PPP off them.

Now, heres where the problems started.

Had to wait for the 1000mile service to get the PPP put on the car. Service manager was getting fed up of people complaining. Why? As people were having to leave there car there for 3 days.

During this time (3 days) I asked them to remove wax off the alloys that they missed during the PDI.

When I dropped my car off for the service and PPP to be fitted, the loan car they gave me had just enough petrol to get me a few streets away, and not even to the nearest petrol station. It took them 20 minutes to come out and help me. When they did, the guy didn't speak to me, even after I started talking to him

When I went back to collect my car, the wax was still on the alloys. I complained, and got them to remove the wax there and then.

I then got in my 3 week old car, and removed the paper floor mat which revealed that my brand new STI floor mat was covered in oil and dirt Some fcukwit had decided that I wouldn't notice if he covered it all up with a paper mat Naturally I ran into the office with my mat, really angry. All I was met with was a shrug of the shoulders and that they would clean it up for me.
After all that, only when I got home, I realized they hadn't even stamped my service book. I'm still not sure they even did the service. To this day, I don't have confidence that they even changed the fuel pump that comes with the PPP.

I always use S.G. Petch of Richmond now. Great bunch of blokes, great customer service, and the only Subaru dealership I'll ever use.

Just wish I'd bought my car off them instead

kgt

iTrader: (1)

Bought my 04WRX from aforementioned D'ham dealership, who to be honest were good enough to take my mid life crisis / hairdresser mobeel off me for more than I could have wished. So no real complaints with the sales guys.

The comedy club they refer to as "after sales service centre" (at a different location) is a completely different topic.

My car had 6k on it when I bought it and was 8 months old. They told me to bring it back in at 1 yr old and I paid £125 for a "service". Then then sent me a letter and insisted I brought it back in 5 months later for another service. I'd done 4k since the last one and therefore questioned their logic. They told me "they knew better", "dont always go by the service manual for intervals" and that I was "risking the validity of my warranty". I thought they were talking sh*te, so I rang up Petch in Richmond, who said theyd see the car that afternoon. They even offered a Scoob courtesy car if I needed it, not like the 1.2 Punto given to me by the other shower.

They told me the conversation with *** about service intervals was bolx and after inspection confirmed that the wheels had never even been off the car before !!! If they had, they'd have confirmed I'd slightly cooked my front pads and they needed replacing. I questioned the "joke shop" about this and they said, "oh yes, theres a note on the records to say we didnt check the wheels". I asked why, they said theyd "no idea"....I told them to take me off their mailing list.

I go to Petch now and cant rate them highly enough. Great bunch of lads. I stand and watch the guys work on the car, they give me coffee, have some crack, they explain whats going on and dont take the p*ss out of me if I dont understand.

As for the other jokers......I think you get the picture.

stilover

Christ. They've never offered me crack. All I got was some coffe and a smile. They must really like you.

kgt

iTrader: (1)

Maybe, but I still have to take my own pipe and promise not to drive home till I stop hearing the voices.

nik52wrx

I bought my STI from the above mentioned rogues but would never dream of taking it to their service department.
To have PPP fitted i went to SG Petch and they were top rank.
There was no way i was letting a bunch of Fiat mechanics anywhere near my pride and joy.
The only thing that concerns me now is whether or not there is any finance outstanding on my car.
How much i a hpi check these days
Nik.

kgt

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, how this slipped my mind I dont know, but I also had to get Petch to replace the 3rd and 4th gears, syncros and all associated mechanical bits (under warranty thankfully). They figured that someone with less inteligence that a grapefruit had been "at it with a hammer and chisel" by the looks of it....no prizes for guessing who that was.

kgt

iTrader: (1)

Ive had the car over a year now. I have swapped original reg for a private plate - does this make a difference ? Ive had no contact from anyone re finance and the garage has finally stopped sending me mail etc.

Does everyone advise I still do an HPI check ?

Jimpreza

Bought mine from there with 9000 miles on the clock. the bloke who sold it to me (short **** with black hair) said they'd service it for me as it had 9200 miles on it. Picked it up a week later with an extra 700 miles on it said they'd performed the 10k service on it. Got home and checked the oil and it was just showin on the dipstick. I too had no petrol when i picked the car up was lucky theres a petrol station next door or i'd of been fu***d.

kgt

iTrader: (1)

It just amazes me that two garages who represent the same manufacturer can be so completely different, and that this kind of feedback never reaches the people who could do something about it, namely Scoobaru.
I'd actually forgotten about the day I picked the car up, minus its faithfully promised "full tank of petrol". As Jimpreza says there is a shell station 50 yds away so it wasnt exactly a hassle for them.
When I asked why they hadnt done what they promised, they said "come on mate, everyone knows thats just a turn of phrase" ????????
I said I wouldnt take the car away till they filled it up....they said that aint gonna happen and I should get my skates on as they were locking up !!!!!
I was so shocked I just drove away and hoped I'd calm down in a few days.
So come to think about it, when I said the showroom guys were alright, it was a rose tinted specs moment, I was so won over by the car, I didnt notice them being a set of kents.

scoobynutta555

Did any of you guys kick up a fuss or anything?

collierm

Hi

Just joined and thought I'd add my own.

I've owned an 03 STI for about a month now and first impressions are good. It went for its 40K mile service about 2 weeks ago at Subaru Jennings in Middlesbrough. Must say, I'd heard some bad things about them, but my experience was fine. The staff were friendly, did the car in about 4 hours, advised me on some things that needed doing outside of service and one of the mechanics pointed me in the direction of this site and some online shopping places for aftermarket bits.

Personally, although never having used SG Petch in Richmond, I'll be sticking with Jennings for now as they are closer to me and I'm happy with the service.

A friend of mine has prior experience of so named garage in Durham and got to the point where he had to be restrained from burning the place down, they had upset him that much and totally screwed him over. Needless to say, we all avoid that place now.

Cheers

Matt

kgt

iTrader: (1)

I suppose I should have kicked up more of a fuss, but I was that p*ssed off with them I just decided to take my business elsewhere. And as mild mannered as I am nowadays, I know Ive still got the potential to go completely nuts with someone if I think they are ripping me off. In the end I'm sure I'd have come off worse, one way or the other. Maybe Ive just grown up a bit (oh god, there's a sobering thought)
I did however advise 3 people from the D'ham area who were thinking of buying scoobs from them to go elsewhere, which they ultimately did. Not exactly Terminator stylee payaback, but a small grin of satisfaction did display itself, knowing they didnt pocket another £50,000 and change in sales.

jimbo54

Wait until you see some potential customers viewing cars in the forecourt, drive slowly past roll down your window and shout, hes a crook, lt has the desired effect.

leericho

bought my 02 sti in january this year it went back in for an mot 3 weeks later,another 3 weeks after that the engine blew they blamed me for a lack of oil,to which i argued that a car should not use all of its oil in a 3 week period covering 600 odd miles.
got a new engine on warranty had no bother since with engine but front strut knocks at low speed, have not got any where with a replacement/cure yet been told twice that its been lubed up? and fixed but its still the same got to the stage where i just cant be arsed with them anymore and warn others off too.
have to agree with other threads ie courtesy car with no fuel(tuppence hapeeny panda) what a joke they should stick to what they know best
ie ****ty italian rust buckets

leericho

by the way good luck Anth hope you get some where for all those many others who feel ripped off by this bunch of crooks

kgt

iTrader: (1)

leericho, have you now started taking your elsewhere for work ?
I'm going to Petch in Richmond now, but wondered if you've found anywhere else. I live in Bishop but work in Spenny and regularly travel over to Boldon, so I'm easy as to alternative garage locations.

Ninnybobs

There is a similar thread on TyneTeesScoobies in the general forum

Martin

Jimpreza

That's the problem i didn't kick off with having no petrol because i was so excited about picking up my new car, this is probably the same with others on here. At least if current or future Subaru customers read this thread thay will realise what a pack of con merchants they are.

rooter75

sorry to bring up old thread, just got back from barbados . i echo just about everyone who's posted. GMD are s**t. had lots of problems ranging from unstamped service books to refusal to replace rear struts under warranty.
i now use SG PETCH for any work i need doing, even though the wife works in durham, and it was handy to drop car off at the arnison center. its not much further to travel to richmond from bishop though, and the lads at petch are a decent bunch.

rob