VW Cheltenham now gone - who to use?

YellowHound

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My van is now calling for a service.

With VW Cheltenham now gone the question is who to use?

My options seems to be:
VW Van Centre Swindon
Listers Droitwich
Vertu Hereford
Cordwallis Eynsham

I'm looking for recommendations as which of these is better than the rest. I've clearly got to travel anyway so I might as well go to a dealer that has some recognition for good work.

TIA :thumbsup:
 
I’ll likely use VW Cardiff as had good experience with them on my old T5 although as J14 M5 Cheltenham was not that local anyway.
 
So is mine, and an MOT and cambelt change. Seriously thinking of going to an independent.
i did email Swindon ( three times before the shutdown) asking for a price but they never bothered to reply.
 
FWIW, I used Swindon for the first service on my T6 150PS just before the lockdown. I'm not particularly mechanically minded and therefore have to take it as read that they did the job properly but I can say that the ladies on the service desk were nice and helpful. I booked an early slot for a 'while you wait' and had plenty of time to walk over to Sainsbury's for a leisurely breakfast and then back to VW for a complimentary coffee (or two!). They sent me the usual video about the state of the van (still as new!) and the price was competitive with the couple of other VW dealers that I called (Hereford and Bristol). It's just a shame that they were so far away from me as Cheltenham was quite local before it closed.
 
I have used Swindon and they were pretty good.

I’ll probably use them again in October, but I did have the last one done at Breeze Poole.
 
The van centre at Shrewsbury was removed a few years ago, my nearest now are Bilston (29 miles), Wrexham (47 miles) or Stoke on Trent (35 miles). I've experienced one of those in the past and will not darken their doors again!

Total pain in the ass now to visit any of them. I don't know what VW are playing at when there are so many VW Commercials on the road most of which are in fleet use and in need of fast turn around maintenance and/or warranty work. Not to mention the chance of sales!
 
You will need to talk with somebody there before doing anything else as I think they delivering a very limited service during the current crisis. See top of page: dccsearch
 
Mine has been booked in for warranty work and servicing since early March, they keep cancelling and rebooking a month later. Now booked for early June.
 
You will need to talk with somebody there before doing anything else as I think they delivering a very limited service during the current crisis. See top of page: dccsearch

They are doing nothing beyond emergency work at the mo.
I only wanted to decide who to use at this stage ;)
 
I will be interested to see how you get on with the Swindon centre.

They used to be on a large site that was exclusively for VW Commercials and won several VW service awards. They moved a few years ago to share a site (current location) with other franchises in the group. I picked up some parts from there once and, although they were very helpful, there was nowhere to park! Everything was elbowed in and I did not fancy the chances of my then new van emerging unscathed.

It put me off taking it there for the first service and subsequently for some warranty work even though they are closer and much more convenient to me. Cheltenham did a very good job but sadly are no more.

Please let us know how it goes when the time comes.
 
I will be interested to see how you get on with the Swindon centre.

They used to be on a large site that was exclusively for VW Commercials and won several VW service awards. They moved a few years ago to share a site (current location) with other franchises in the group. I picked up some parts from there once and, although they were very helpful, there was nowhere to park! Everything was elbowed in and I did not fancy the chances of my then new van emerging unscathed.

It put me off taking it there for the first service and subsequently for some warranty work even though they are closer and much more convenient to me. Cheltenham did a very good job but sadly are no more.

Please let us know how it goes when the time comes.

That's not too encouraging... :unsure:
 
The eynsham branch is very small. It's my nearest branch to where I am in Oxford. I tried to order my van from them but the service wasn't great. I ended up getting from Marshall's Didcot instead.
Personally I'd avoid and go elsewhere.
 
That's not too encouraging...

This is pretty much how I remember it. Even the road is crammed in bumber to bumber. It may have changed since then. This image is from July 2018. Maybe @Ayjay is the latest on here to visit and may throw some better light on the place.

VW SWin.png

Fish Bros Kia are on the same site and Fish Bros Honda are next door.

I would like to hear things are better so I can use them again!
 
Now that you mention it, I had forgotten how bad the parking was. When I first arrived, I drove straight down the left side of the building and saw one spot that was a bit tight. I then reversed out and spotted another between two brand new californias outside the front door (just behind the big VW sign in the picture above). That space too was tight but I was careful getting out and also reasoned that anybody opening the door of a spanking new cali was unlikely to risk damaging it against my paintwork! It might also explain why the receptionist woman took pictures of all 4 sides of my van before taking the keys off me.
 
All the dealers seem like this, when it comes to parking spaces Cheltenham had none!
 
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