Auto Express – July 30, 2019

50 SpecialIssue

THE DEALERS

ULTIMATE GUIDETO

BUYINGACAR

PEUGEOT dealersputinamid-ranking

performancein2019,justastheydidlast

year.Lookingatthegraphtotheright,it’s

clearthatoutletsareprettydecentinmost

areas:thestaffarereasonablycourteous;

thestandardofworkcarriedoutonyour

carspassesmuster;andcommunication

isprettydecent.ButwhilePeugeotdealers

areneitherherenortherewhenitcomes

tovalueformoney,andtheirfacilities

arefelttobedistinctlyaverage,thelow

availabilityofcourtesycarsdragsscores

downsignificantly.Givenhowmuch

inconveniencethatthiscancausewhen

itcomestoservicingtime,thisisan

areathatcoulddowithattention.

ABIGslidefromlastyear’sresults,which

sawthebrand’sdealersfinishin10th

place,Mitsubishi’sperformancein2019

isboundtodisappointthefirm’snetwork.

What’scausedthisfallfromgrace?Well,

we’refeaturingthreemorenetworksthis

yearthanin2018,soanycomparison

needsthatcaveat.ButMitsubishi’sdealer

facilitiesarelesswellratedin2019,while

communicationseemstohavegotworse

overthepast12months.Therearedefinite

positives,though:ninthplaceforthetime

ittakesMitsubishicentrestocarryout

workisadecentresult,whilestaffwould

seemtobecourteous,anddealersarefelt

toofferreasonablevalueformoney.

CONSISTENCYisthenameofthegame

inFiatdealerships–evenifthatrevolves

aroundsomefairlyaveragescores.Being

17thinfourofoursevencategoriesshows

thatFiatoutletsareneitherdisastrous

norimpressive.Thefacilitiesthemselves

wouldn’tseemtobethatspecial,with

scarceparkingandunimpressivewaiting

areastheworstoffenders.Fiatdealers

couldalsodowithhavingmorecourtesy

cars,butthereisnodenyingthatyoufeel

theseoutletsofferstrongvalueformoney;

seventhplacehereisanimpressiveresult.

Itshowsthatifyou’rewillingtoputupwith

thedownsides,maintainingyourFiatatan

officialdealerneedn’tcosttheearth.

SEAT maybepartofthesamegoliathVW

GroupasAudi,butthebrands’dealersare

markedlydifferent.SowhileAudigarages

havegreatfacilities,yousaySEAT outlets

arelessimpressive.Courtesycarscanbe

hardtocomeby,too,youtoldus,while

you’renotsatisfiedwiththestandardof

workcarriedoutbytheSpanishfirm’s

workshops.Still,you’reprettyhappy

aboutthevalueformoneyofferedbythe

franchises,and15thplaceforthetimeit

takesstafftofixfaultsandservicecarsis

reasonable,ifnotexceptional.Ingeneral,

however,SEAT dealers’scoresareafairly

humdrumaffair–althoughatleastthe

proportionofcomplaintsyouraiseislow.

85.08%

85.02%

84.67%

84.49%

16. Peugeot
    17. Mitsubishi


17. Fiat

19. SEAT

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

RATINGS

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

“Iwastoldverybluntlythatnocourtesycarwasavailable.

Therewasnodiscussiontobehad,justaveryrudestatement.”

“Ittookmorethanamonth-and-a-halftorebuildtheengine.

Theydidn’torderanewpumpuntiltheenginewasrebuilt.”

“Youparkinanarrow,overcrowdedlotattheback,which

ishardtogetinto;there’snotenoughspaceatthefront.”

“Thetoiletshadn’tbeencleanedrecentlywhiletheteaand

coffeeareawasdirty,withtired-looking,unwelcomingchairs.”

%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...

%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...

%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...

%OFOWNERS WHOHAD APROBLEM...

31 1

31 1

31 1

31 1

Mostpeoplehadnocomplaint,but

aquarterofthosewhodidhadissue

withcarsnotbeingreadyontime

Lowishproportionhadagripewith

dealers;issueswithfindingand

fixingfaultssawmostcomplaints

Nineoutof10Fiatownershadno

issueswithdealers;discourteous

staffwerebehindmostgripes

Lowproportionofcomplaints;

impolitestaffandcarsnotready

ontimeweremostcommonissues

8 %

12 %

10 %

8.4%

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

OWNER’S

VIEW

Dealer facilities

Availability of courtesycar

Staff courtesy

Communication

Standardofwork

Speed to completework

Value formoney

Dealer facilities

Availability of courtesycar

Staff courtesy

Communication

Standardofwork

Speed to completework

Value formoney

Dealer facilities

Availability of courtesycar

Staff courtesy

Communication

Standardofwork

Speed to completework

Value formoney

Dealer facilities

Availability of courtesycar

Staff courtesy

Communication

Standardofwork

Speed to completework

Value formoney

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