READ HERE WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY
Grangemouth in December 2001. I was trying to get the car as soon as
possible, but was told I had to wait for the technicians to change a
noisy clutch release bearing. I have since checked and the gearbox has
never been separated from the engine. I have no complaints about the
car, it has been reliable up to now, it is AC themselves that are the
problem. I put it in for it's first annual service and was charged for
oil/plug/filter change plus all the usual annoyances (top up the washer
bottle, even though I know it was full before the car went in). A month
later, the car started mis-firing. I took the "new" plugs out and was
surprised to find that a "beard" of corrosion had grown out to short the
plugs against the cylinder head. I then examined the air filter and
found that in a month it had turned black and was full of leaves (in the
middle of winter), once I replaced that, I turned my attention to the
oil, this had been replaced (though I'm not too sure about the filter, I
had to puncture it to get it off, and I forgot to mention, when the oil
was replaced, it was filled to MINIMUM level). What really annoyed me at
the time of service though, was when I turned up to collect the car I
was presented with a list of faults that the "technicians" had found
while completing the service and a proposed price of £180 to do the
work. These faults included, a split CV joint boot (mysterious this one,
it was very cleanly sliced in a complete circle round the entire boot,
something that looked like a Stanley knife job), rear bump stops
detached to be refitted (these are rubber blocks that are "bonded" to
the metal of the rear suspension lower arms) how they were going to
re-attach them is a mystery, and a couple of tyres that were nearing the
end of their useful life (I replaced these 3 months later when they
still had 2MM depth left). What was a stunning omission from the
catalogue of work was the fact that the brake pads were down to their
wear indicator and the lead to the wear indicator was detached and the
cable chewed up. Also, during the "service" the handbrake was adjusted,
the adjustor is inside the car under a leather "boot" covering the
handbrake lever, the marvelous "technicians" seemed to have been unable
to undo the pop-stud that secures the top of the leather boot and ripped
it off instead. I determined then that AC technicians would not lay a
finger on any car of mine. A year later I received a phone call from AC
Grangemouth, asking if I had received the letter asking me to confirm a
date for my next annual service, I replied that I hadn't (the truth),
the person on the phone then asked if a date 2 days in the future was
suitable and when I said no, they just hung up the phone on me. Service
with a smile?
Congratulations on the site, an outfit like AC deserves it. 5.5.2003
brilliant site never had any dealings with the company except buying spares etc
but they are in general very unhelpful/don't care.
i once worked in a dealership in Glasgow as a 17 year old apprentice it was an
eye-opener to say the least.
we went to look at a renualt espace in Cumbernauld as it was a v6 model and i
wanted to try one although i wanted a newer one the car had bald tyres which
were painted to look good the engine overheated on the test run thats if you
could start it in the first place!
the worst bit is some poor bugger bought it a few days later!.5.5.2003
Yep, I appear to be another idiot sorry customer.
We purchased a Pug 306 from a Nissan dealership in Perth, Scotland. On
collection we heard a 'noise' from the front end of the car and took it straight
back to them. The garage was closing, so struck a deal that I could have
repairs carried out at home if we forward the bill. We had some work done and
forwarded the bill, we are still waiting to be re-reimbursed from January. The
car has developed may faults since; I contacted the manager who agreed to have
the car seen to on our next visit to the area (200 miles away). I wrote a letter
to confirm all faults with the car and told them when we would be in the area
for a week so the car could be booked in. I contacted the service department
prior to departure, they new nothing of the car or faults. I am going to the
garage again in a couple of weeks to see what develops.
Glad thats off my chest!!!!!.5.5.2003
My Fiat Brava was put into Arnold Clark Falkirk for a 36000 mile service and
came out with the exhaust in two pieces. The botched the repair so that now the
fumes come into the car but just to even things up they also burst the floor pan
so that water pours in as well. The must have magic mechanics because they can
also check the brakes without removing wheel trims. ALL in all they are the
biggest bunch of cowboys there is. 6.5.2003
the Peugeot franchise in Kilmarnock. Wife had a minor bump in a car park (under
2mph) - three months later I got the car back from AC. I'm assuming that because
they'd only just got the Pug franchise they hadn't a clue about my car (307) -
that's certainly how it appears. As if that wasn't bad enough - it came back to
me complete with a knock from the back suspension on left hand bends (apparently
the collision my wife experienced was so severe the rear nearside hub had to be
replaced!) and scratches and scrapes all over the body, wing mirrors etc.
Wouldn't buy a car from them if they were the last car dealer in the country.
Which they sadly nearly are....7.5.2003
sometimes. I was absolutely gutted..7.5.2003
