532 replies to this topic

[LJ]

OK, Victoria Hyundai, bought a new car off them a few years ago, terrible experience, totally unprofessional. Had a coupon for 5 free oil changes, wife took the car in for it's first service, they brought out some board comparing fluids and tried to scare her into having a whole bunch of fluids changed. She called me and I told her to leave immediately. Never went back. Took the car to Duncan Hyundai for service, great shop, great service. Always gave me a loaner car.

 

Campus Nissan, bought a used car from them a month ago. Deal was subject to me having another test drive the next day as the car was pulling to the left, and a couple of other minor problems. Went back the next day and the young salesmen took me out for a ride, and see it isn't pulling anymore. I asked him to let me drive it, it was still pulling. The salesman also out and out lied to me about one of the other minor problems saying it couldn't be fixed. Went back to the dealership and he said we will refund your deposit. We did, but the car was for someone else and they had access to an alignment shop so we bought it anyway. We called the sales manager the next day and he agreed to re-do the alignment and fix the other "unfixable" minor problem. They did the re-alignment, I fixed the other problem with a $10 part from Lordco.

The young guy should not be a salesman, you can't blatantly lie to somebody and not expect to get found out, and he had a chippy attitude. Would I go back, definitely not to that salesman, probably not to the dealership.

 

Graham Kia, nice folks, good service department, no sales tricks or nonsense, have bought from them twice.

 

Victoria BMW, nice dealership, no high pressure sales, good service department, expensive service once you are out of the free maintenance agreement time.

[VicBooster]

Few Victorians speak highly of Victoria Hyundai. My friend had to threaten writing Hyundai Canada for them to take on warranty work. Unacceptable.

[LJ]

They are owned by the Canada Auto group, all their stores have the same reputation.

[JanionGuy]

THE GOOD

Victoria BMW Mini have always had the best service and low pressure sales staff.  But if you buy one, get ready for the service costs once out of warranty.  Nevertheless, a good bunch of friendly people.

 

THE BAD

GlenOak and Suburban Ford, on the other hand?  You're better off driving to Duncan or Nanaimo.

 

AND THE UGLY

And thirdly, as a Volkswagen owner (various cars and vans) for over 40 years, I would suggest to everyone: avoid Speedway at all costs.

[RFS]

Jim pattison Toyota formerly known as metro was straightforward and easy to deal with

[VicBooster]

I will never buy from Metro after my last purchase. The vehicle came with a litany of problems (that I eventually fixed on my own dime) but which were hidden from me during the purchase process. The way they conducted themselves after the sale chipped away at any respect I held for them.

[VicHockeyFan]

it was still pulling. The salesman also out and out lied to me about one of the other minor problems saying it couldn't be fixed. Went back to the dealership and he said we will refund your deposit. We did, but the car was for someone else and they had access to an alignment shop so we bought it anyway. 

 

 

Why buy it after a bad experience?

[lanforod]

I'll recommend Pacific Mazda. Nothing but great service and help both in parts and service departments. I have not yet bought a car there though. However, one of the salesmen used to be at Mitsubishi, and we did work with him there, he is great.

[rjag]

JP Lexus service. No comment about sales as we bought our GX and RX elsewhere. We have dealt with them for 8 years, Brian and Owen (who just retired) always treated my wife like a princess and made sure she was looked after (either a loaner or unlimited 2 way taxi fare). A few years back I told her I wanted to take over her GX470 (Best bang for the $ suv ever!!!) and I would buy her whatever she wanted. I tried to get her into an Audi Q3 OR 5 as well as other makes, she demanded another Lexus simply due to the quality of the service and her comfort factor..hence we purchased a slightly used RX.

 

Campus Infiniti. Last year I helped my son purchase a 2003 QX4. It was in great condition for the age and mileage (200k but you wouldn't know it) A week after he bought it, he was t-boned at Douglas/Tolmie, 100% other guys fault. Minimal damage to his front end, headlight, bumper and grill but enough for ICBC to write it off. They offered significantly lower than what he paid even though they had seen it and noted the A+ condition. The sales manager from Campus Infiniti went to bat for us, he wrote a letter to icbc and provided a compelling argument as to why their number was out of sync. Back and forth over 6 weeks and the end result ICBC paid my son out in full including taxes. They helped him source another QX4 in Vancouver (private sale and they didn't get involved, just helped him find it)

 

I was so impressed by their efforts I purchased an older g35 for my daughter from them and would highly recommend them.

 

Used to be a fan of Audi, (had 4 over 8 years) but since they moved, the attitude from the sales team has changed....maybe its something to do with no more V8 wagons....:-(

[Mike K.]

I'd love to learn more about your experiences with the GX470. I've heard it's a tank, and in a good way.

It's tough to find capable mid-size SUV's these days. Unless you're going for the full-size Expedition or Tahoe (and their luxury ilk) there's virtually nothing out there.

[sebberry]

Campus Infiniti. Last year I helped my son purchase a 2003 QX4. It was in great condition for the age and mileage (200k but you wouldn't know it) A week after he bought it, he was t-boned at Douglas/Tolmie, 100% other guys fault. Minimal damage to his front end, headlight, bumper and grill but enough for ICBC to write it off.

That's the problem with older cars, especially ones that have been well taken care of - the size of crash that's likely to write it off gets smaller and smaller. Hence why I think our region's approach to having people crash less hard is misguided and should be replaced with an effort to have them not crash at all... Smaller crashes are better than no crashes, right?!

maybe its something to do with no more V8 wagons....:-(

The dogs will never experience the thrill and pleasure.

[GabriolaGirl]

Campus Honda service dept has been great.  Not expensive, price matched Costco on tires.  When they couldn't diagnose a problem, they sent us to a shop that they said they would just take our car to & have to put their markup on.   They are on time, price quoted is price paid.  If they screw up, they don't charge you.  They forgot to check something that we asked them to do, next service they did it, no charge.  Not a big thing, but customer oriented. 

 

We bring both cars down to Campus because of terrible service & bait & switch at Nanaimo Honda.  We ordered tires from NH, took the car in & after 4 hours they were finally finished at 5 pm.  After we paid the bill they said "Oh yeah & we didn't have the tires you ordered so we put these other ones on." 

In retrospect we should have ordered that they put our old ones back on, but didn't, we left, but we will never, ever, ever go to NH again.

[VicHockeyFan]

 

We bring both cars down to Campus because of terrible service & bait & switch at Nanaimo Honda.  We ordered tires from NH, took the car in & after 4 hours they were finally finished at 5 pm.  After we paid the bill they said "Oh yeah & we didn't have the tires you ordered so we put these other ones on." 

 

That happened to me once at Scotia Automotive.  I spent 10 minutes with the guy, going over tire options, and we settled on a brand.  I come back at the end of my work day, and the wrong tires are on.  The guy insists that we had decided on those, I insisted we did not.  Anyway, I had them put the old ones back on.  Neither party was in a good mood after that.  Can't remember where I went the next day.

[Rob Randall]

  We ordered tires from NH, took the car in & after 4 hours they were finally finished at 5 pm.  After we paid the bill they said "Oh yeah & we didn't have the tires you ordered so we put these other ones on."

 

I assume the replacements were better quality or if not they refunded the difference?

[jonny]

Buying a car at Pacific Mazda was a good experience. Bought my car there three years ago. The purchase process was painless. Sales guy was honest and low pressure. They let us test drive several vehicles on our own for hours.

 

I have had zero problems with the car, but the Service Department has been fine. Pricing isn't too bad and they always finish up on time with no surprises. My only complaint is they don't always give the car a quick wash.

[sebberry]

I have a love-hate relationship with Saunders.  Been using them for nearly 15 years so it can't be that bad, but I feel that's because I have good knowledge of cars.  The Subaru community is pretty close, so I do hear the bad and try to mitigate those concerns.

 

Free brand-new loaner cars for oil changes?  Hell yea!  But that's because an oil change there takes about 2 hours.  Though they did let me keep the loaner car for a couple more days after some major engine work while they sent the car up to a totally unrelated bodyshop to correct some paint that was damaged during an unrelated incident.  They didn't have to, but they did. 

 

I get a friend of a friend to do oil changes now but I can do basic stuff like brakes, but I'll still take it there for anything bigger.  I'm a bit apprehensive about the upcoming airbag recall work...

 

I think Saunders is fairly active in the community as a whole, but they need to do more to connect with the enthusiasts. 

[sebberry]

My only complaint is they don't always give the car a quick wash.

I always request that dealers don't wash the car. Have you seen how much crud is on those brushes they use?

[Szeven]

Bought a Volvo last fall at Pattison.  First time I was in I thought the sales guy had very weak knowledge of the new XC90. Next time I went in I met Roland who was fantastic.  He casually mention guy #1 didnt work there any more, which made sense to me.  Some people just are enthusiastic about sales and when they do it right it really makes the experience pleasant and you can confidently make a decision. Sales manager Trevor was great too.  Our car arrived with a missing option due to some order date/cutoff confusion and they made it right by giving us some accessories as a sorry.  Highly recommended and love the car.

[jonny]

I always request that dealers don't wash the car. Have you seen how much crud is on those brushes they use?

 

Fair enough

[insanelydeadlydisease]

Plus 1 on the Victoria Hyundai front. I got a call from a salesman after putting a wanted ad out for a very specific vehicle. The sales person claimed they had one that just arrived so I booked an appointment to come and see it. So after taking time off work to come and see it turns out low and behold they don't have that vehicle but how would I feel about this kind of vehicle. I didn't even say anything and just stormed out. Did I mention the flunky wasn't even waiting for me when I arrived even though I made an appointment?

Edited by insanelydeadlydisease, 06 June 2016 - 02:12 PM.