Carl Mills from Southern Car Sales in response to Very average service

Hi, Firstly, I'd like to thank you for your feedback, without this sort of detailed feedback we can't improve. I would, however, like to make some notes on a few of your comments. You are correct that we rarely negotiate on our prices, because we work on slim margins and as you rightly said, we price our cars very fairly in the first place. We did however, if you recall, give you a very strong price on your part exchange and well above the market value. I must note though, that it was a very nice, clean car that you've clearly cared for, which is why we suggested you take it back as a courtesy car whilst we carried out the repair to your car, as we don't have courtesy cars of the same prestige as your car. There was also the fact that you were going on holiday for a week, so you said the car would only be sat on your drive. You advised us that you'd need to reinsure/tax it, so we said, let us know how much it is and we will cover the cost, It wouldn't be feaible to cover this cost upfront, as neither you nor us knew the cost. But I'm sure you will agree that we paid the £83 without fuss or quibble. In regards to a test drive, not going out alone is an insurance matter. If a customer asks for an extended road test, we never refuse, we're here to sell cars, so if that's what a customer wants, that's what they get. But most customers find a couple of miles enough to get a feel for the car. In your review you state "When I picked up my new car the offer of a goodwill gesture was pay a discounted price for a 2 year warranty or take your money and part exchange back and walk away" I beleive we both know that this is not how the conversation went, and it is unfair to suggest that this is how we presented your options to you. We would never address a customer in such a manner. What we did say was, that we were not in a position to compensate you financially (beyond covering your expenses) as you suggest we should and that we would totally understand if you did not wish to proceed with the purchase. You had previously expressed an interest in the warranty, so Tim said he'd get you a great deal by way of apology if you liked. Which you gladly accepted, because the price offered was so low. On parting company, you shook Tim's hand and thanked him for sorting matters out, without airing any of your views that have been expressed in this review. If you felt the car was not cleaned well, I wish you had let Tim know and we would have put it straight back in the valet bay for you. I am personally upset to hear this, because i was the one that put it in the valet bay with the exact instruction of "This car needs to look better than the day we advertised it because this customer has had a bad time with us". So if you don't feel it was not of a good enough standard, I sincerely apologise. Your car going into limp home mode within just 20 miles of collecting should never have happened, it was both unfortunate and embarrassing, So i very much appreciate your understanding that these things can happen. As you know, it turned out that the DPF soot level was near to full and just needed to be programmed for a regeneration. Sadly, this did not surface during our 15 mile road test. We can't turn back time, but we can learn. So due to your experience - and another customer having the same issue with A DPF on the same week! - we have invested in some new software so that enables us to check the DPF soot level on every diesel before we sell it. Finally, I'd just like to say, that despite your beliefs, i actually don't feel that your review is unjustified. I believe, that with the experience you had, a 3 star review is all we deserve, we're human, and on this occasion, we dropped the ball, you got a 3 star experience, I accept that. However, I do feel some of your comments are unjustified. I understand you felt disappointed, collecting your new car should be exciting, this experience created an anti-climax for you. But to suggest that we have a ˝we’ve got your money now so get lost and stop bothering us˝ attitude is nothing less than unreasonable. We were very apologetic and embarrassed when you came back with your car and at no point have we been rude or dismissive towards you. We are not legally obliged to provide a courtesy car, we are not obliged to reimburse expenses, nor are we obliged to sell a 2 year warranty at a loss. If our attitude was as you suggested, would we really do all those things? We did them to try and right a wrong. So if i were to ask you to reflect on any of your review and perhaps retract something, it would be this. I'll always admit when we get things wrong, but i can assure you that we do care. Despite your disappointment, I'm glad we managed to get it sorted promptly for you and that you're very happy with the car itself. Should you wish to discuss this further with me, please contact me via the main phone line or you can email customercare@southerncarsales.co.uk. Regards Carl Mills Director