Worse than useless these people. I waited a while till there was perhaps a possibility of something being sorted with my car, but it's still ongoing.

Basically, it surrounds a clip for the inner NS CV boot. They used a cable tie to secure it when it should obviously be a metal clip. Only discovered this when I was looking to re-fix what remained of my undertray.

Took it in after all the grease had escaped and got told the proper clip isn't something they normally keep in stock. Was later told by the manager that they don't get many Stilo's in the Fiat dealership, so they don't normally carry them. So, they replaced a cable tie with a cable tie and told me that this was standard practice. Nothing about it being a temporary solution, which the manager said it was today. This by the way cost £28.06, oh and I got a nice greasy, oil covered foot print on my driver's floor mat for free as well.

So, after a mile of travel, the grease escaped again. Bit the bullet and went to a motor factor and bought a CV boot clip. It wasn't made for any specific vehicle and would be tightened with pliers or something similar. They fitted it and though they said they weren't affiliated with them in any way, didn't seem that bothered about fitting it.

Then, after travelling to and from Glasgow (30 miles), I parked up and surprise, surprise...grease everywhere. Took it in today and I got the whole story of the fact that I should have been told the cable tie was only temporary and that I'd brought in an "unsuitable" clip. They also said that the original cable tie that caused the problem WASN'T put on by them even though the last work carried out in that area was BY THEM.

The manager even brought out an invoice showing the work that was done that time (£633 odd for an MOT(!)) and sure enough, it was shown there as CV boots and clips being replaced. He tried to say it was the MOT centre I'd last taken it too that for some reason had removed a perfectly good clip and replaced it with a cable tie. Why? Why the feck would they do that?

So, basically, they've denied all responsibility and are ordering the correct clip, which should be in next week. They'll also charge me £37 to fit the damn thing.

I'm now going to write to their head office, not that'll get me anywhere. The joke of it is that there's a bloody sign as you walk in saying that customer satisfaction is a high priority or words to that effect. With the experiences I've had of them, I don't think it is. I was patronised and basically called a liar by that manager.

Serviced in Feb...grease marks on the car. New light bulb fitted to rear plate...couldn't get the old screw out, so wedged it off damaging the cover...etc, etc. Can't wait to get shot of this finance and get something else

Oh and by the way...if you're CV joint goes, ask to see what kind of clip was holding it in place. There's a very good chance apparently that your dealer decided to cost cut for their own future financial gain.

Avoid!

maybe one day i'll hear something good about arnold clark

Lot of good feedback on the forum, have a look a round.

And no I don't work for Arnie.

I have heard of cable ties being used before bit if they arent on dead straight then they leak, I made the local motorfactors buy in metal clips for me to use!

If its a job your going to be paying for, I'd find a propper independant garage.

The only thing I associate Arnold clarke with are car sales.

Its true that Arnold Clark are mainly sales focused, the workshop side is a nessasary(sp?) evil that has to go along with it, which is a pity as they have loads of good techs but unltil the day management become more customer care focused & not profit focused they will always have a bad name/reputation.

There maybe some Arnold Clarks that get good feedback, but this place are useless. If there's a way for them to squeeze money out of you, they'll find it. And many times, I've had to go back and get something redone.

Without fail for example, every service they forget to reset the service warning on the onboard computer. Makes me wonder if they bother servicing it properly if they forget something so obvious EVERY time.

The manager in that place is a total spin doctor. If he can shirk the blame for something bodged, he will and he'll make the customer feel as belittled as possible. As I said, I don't plan on returning to them after this job is eventually finished. I say job, it's a bloody clip not an engine overhall or something

Related to this is my overall sales experience with them. Originally got a 1.2 8v Mk2 Punto in 2004. At 23, it was my first car I'd ever actually owned. Well, I say owned, it was of course on finance.

Eventually in 2006, the head gasket blew due in part to lack of oil. They had mentioned it to me, but didn't go into any detail and didn't say I should top it up ASAP. They just let me drive away. Couple of days later...boom. They asked over £800 over the repair.

So with this and half way through my finance, they "offered" to swap me out of the Punto and into another car. I was shown a few and the Stilo jumped out BUT I didn't want the extra finance. The salesman was pushy like most are, saying he couldn't understand why I didn't want to go for it and wouldn't let me go after a good 20 mins of me saying I wasn't sure about continuing with a deal.

He said though that he'd wave the £800 engine work on the Punto and keep the £100 a month payments for a year, with the dealership paying the other £99 if I took the Stilo. So I agreed and put £100 deposit down.

Went back the next day and noticed in the finance papers that the £800 for the engine work had been added on. I queried this and he suddenly got confused saying he had made no such deal. He then got his manager and 2 other colleagues who reiterated this and said they would never agree to such a deal, making me feel rather uncomfortable in the process. With the £100 deposit taken, I felt half way into the sale and intimidated by the people there, I signed everything and took the car.

With hindsight, I should've walked away with the Punto repaired. I'd have paid the finance off this Feb I think and could've got a car I really wanted. Now I'm stuck for another 20 months or so with the Stilo and continuously having issues that could be avoided. I never use the dealership for MOTs now as I know everytime they'll ask for £100s to repair loads of things and now I don't want it service there as I'm cynical as to whether they do the job properly.

Hell, when I picked up the Stilo NONE of the things which needed fixed on the car had been done. None of the body work issues were done, which I argued, but they said it was sold as seen. There was an annoying seat squeak which was eventually sorted (for a few months) and the clutch pedal creaked, which they greased eventually. This kept returning and they regreased it at some of the services, but last service they said they couldn't do it and I'd have to live with it

I'm sure there are Arnold Clarks that are decent. This place is DEFINITELY not one of them.

why go back there

T14086 said:

why go back there

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Because it was THEM that screwed this whole CV clip up in the first place and I wanted them to sort it out. Now that they've write royally screwed it up, I would still have to pay another mechanic to sort it out, so it doesn't really make a difference where I go to get this fitted.

I will never go back there again though. It's just been too much with just a simple clip flummoxing them completely and their arse of a manager being a cheeky bastard to me. There's perhaps one other place I can even mildly trust to get minor servicing done in the town I live and even then I'm not sure about them as they managed to damage my wheel centre caps doing a simple wheel tracking (they used probably a philips screwdriver to remove them, thereby scouring them on the lift up bit)

Only place I would go to get proper mechanical work as I said is 20 miles away or so. Shall only be going there from now on, even though a service will end up costing me more, I feel more confident the work will actually get done. Saying that though, my experiences with this place have seriously tested my trust in any garages whatsoever

And I have to say, when you're tied into a finance deal, you feel tied to the place you got the car. Or at least, that's how I've felt. At no point have I been made to feel like they "need" my custom. They simply don't give a damn about the customer in the slightest and turn a blind eye on the shortcomings of their mechanics. But because I'd bought the car there and they're the only Fiat place for miles around, I felt almost obligated to use them for many things, including the first few services (the last of which was the one they left grease all over my car) and MOTs, the last of which in 2007, they asked for that £633 of work to be done.

So yeah, not a fan and I apologise if I've come across as naive. I guess I was too trusting to believe they may actually do something properly and give a damn about doing a job they're paid to do. I guess it's a rarity in anything remotely retail these days to actually get good service anywhere