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Post by PetrolEd on Aug 10, 2020 8:48:16 GMT
Harry Fairbairns (part of the Arnold Clark Group) used to be good until they replaced the manager with a guy from the "shaft the customer" brigade. I think there is too much adherence to the targets from head office at the expense of good customer care. Unfortunately those that tend to come to the top in such an environment are those that care little for the customer in any case and they only care about their bonus. This seems to be something thats really crept in with the franchised dealers in the last few years. You just know your going to get a call when your cars in the dealers for a service with a list of consumables that need attention. Last time the Volvo was in, I had tyres, brakes and filters that all required attention as additional costs. Unfortunately dealers have now become more trouble then decent indy. |
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Post by johnc on Aug 10, 2020 8:50:49 GMT
I had my first drive in the car yesterday to go to see my Mum (about 40 miles round trip). It is effortlessly quick and gathers speed at a rate that leaves almost anything ICE dead in the water. The ride as I said previously is very good as is the flat cornering and the outright grip. The seats are comfortable, the cabin is well designed and it is generally a nice place to be. Gripes are that rear visibility is poor due to the small rear window and you have to get the seat height right to be able to see backwards for any distance. The cup holders are also odd - one large (fine for a coffee cup) and one smaller which is not - my daughter isn't pleased that she has nowhere to put her drink. The glove compartment is just about big enough to take a packet of issues and a torch so practically useless and the door bins are a bit small. However to compensate there is a large bin in the central consul - due to its size and shape it is likely to become the equivalent of a woman's handbag or a man drawer - full of all the things you need but bloody hard to find what it is you want!
I am going to have to spend a bit more time with the controls because there are so many of the functions operated through the screen that if you don't know exactly where they are, it is impossible to go exploring and adjust things safely on the move.
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Post by ChrisM on Aug 10, 2020 12:03:13 GMT
The glove compartment is just about big enough to take a packet of issues and a torch so practically useless ..... Many a slip..... |
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Post by Martin on Aug 10, 2020 12:09:20 GMT
I had my first drive in the car yesterday to go to see my Mum (about 40 miles round trip). It is effortlessly quick and gathers speed at a rate that leaves almost anything ICE dead in the water. The ride as I said previously is very good as is the flat cornering and the outright grip. The seats are comfortable, the cabin is well designed and it is generally a nice place to be. Gripes are that rear visibility is poor due to the small rear window and you have to get the seat height right to be able to see backwards for any distance. The cup holders are also odd - one large (fine for a coffee cup) and one smaller which is not - my daughter isn't pleased that she has nowhere to put her drink. The glove compartment is just about big enough to take a packet of issues and a torch so practically useless and the door bins are a bit small. However to compensate there is a large bin in the central consul - due to its size and shape it is likely to become the equivalent of a woman's handbag or a man drawer - full of all the things you need but bloody hard to find what it is you want! I am going to have to spend a bit more time with the controls because there are so many of the functions operated through the screen that if you don't know exactly where they are, it is impossible to go exploring and adjust things safely on the move. They are quick at legal speeds, I had several roundabout to 80 leptons runs behind a hard driven one about 6 months ago when I was in the 750i and I only closed about a car length. The mind boggles at how quick the fastest Tesla or Taycan would feel. Have you seen the video of a drag race between a Taycan Turbo S vs McLaren P1? |
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Post by johnc on Aug 10, 2020 13:44:05 GMT
I saw that video and it is impressive. What worries me is if electric becomes mainstream Jo Soap will get a car with this performance when he/she currently struggles to keep their 90hp hatchback on the black stuff: It's rapid. I had a bit of a Police escort yesterday - two Police bikes came off the Erskine Bridge just as I was passing the slip road in the outside lane at an indicated 70mph on cruise. They quickly cranked it up into the outside lane themselves and came up behind me, sitting, IMHO, a very unsafe one cars length behind me. Due to large queues ahead, I left the dual carriageway and went a different way and they continued to head north, probably up Loch Lomondside, perhaps to Crainlarich or maybe round to Inverary.
I was at my Mum's for perhaps 2 hours and about half a mile after leaving, as I was at the NSL sign I looked in my mirror and saw the distinctive green jackets a long way back. (they had obviously come back via Loch Long and the Gareloch). I accelerated up to 60 in what feels like about 2 secs and set cruise again. It didn't take long for the two warriors to attach themselves again to my rear bumper. They peeled off on an alternative route about 8 miles later but 3 miles after that, when I got back onto the dual carriageway and accelerated up to 70mph, I could see the familiar headlights and green in the distance behind me. Cue the same one car's length off my bumper for a few miles until they peeled off again and took the slip road for the bridge.
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Post by Tim on Aug 10, 2020 13:49:15 GMT
Have you checked to see what sort of car the chief of police drives?
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Post by johnc on Aug 10, 2020 13:52:06 GMT
Have you checked to see what sort of car the chief of police drives? They didn't salute me so I'm not sure there was any mistake. The intimidation didn't work though. |
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Post by Martin on Aug 10, 2020 16:48:41 GMT
You made it a long way South!  |
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Post by Boxer6 on Aug 10, 2020 21:29:27 GMT
I saw that video and it is impressive. What worries me is if electric becomes mainstream Jo Soap will get a car with this performance when he/she currently struggles to keep their 90hp hatchback on the black stuff: It's rapid. I had a bit of a Police escort yesterday - two Police bikes came off the Erskine Bridge just as I was passing the slip road in the outside lane at an indicated 70mph on cruise. They quickly cranked it up into the outside lane themselves and came up behind me, sitting, IMHO, a very unsafe one cars length behind me. Due to large queues ahead, I left the dual carriageway and went a different way and they continued to head north, probably up Loch Lomondside, perhaps to Crainlarich or maybe round to Inverary.I was at my Mum's for perhaps 2 hours and about half a mile after leaving, as I was at the NSL sign I looked in my mirror and saw the distinctive green jackets a long way back. (they had obviously come back via Loch Long and the Gareloch). I accelerated up to 60 in what feels like about 2 secs and set cruise again. It didn't take long for the two warriors to attach themselves again to my rear bumper. They peeled off on an alternative route about 8 miles later but 3 miles after that, when I got back onto the dual carriageway and accelerated up to 70mph, I could see the familiar headlights and green in the distance behind me. Cue the same one car's length off my bumper for a few miles until they peeled off again and took the slip road for the bridge. Couple of mates of mine were out on their (motor)bikes at the weekend, in different places. Seems that most routes North from us, on both days, were so jammed they were often at a standstill. One fella was out "just for a wee bimble" (on an R1 - riiight!) and thought he'd stop at the wee Tesco in Callander for a coffee. Car parks were so mobbed, he gave up and headed for home; the road going the opposite direction was pretty much at a standstill all the way to Doune!  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2020 21:47:09 GMT
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Post by johnc on Aug 11, 2020 7:15:40 GMT
The new wheels and dechromed windows look good... They do but unless you get the air/adaptive suspension the ride on the 22's is a bit harsh. I am afraid that I had very little choice in cars at the special price I was offered so I will just have to put up with the satin aluminium finish. A saving of £200/mth (before tax relief) is too much to ignore. |
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Post by Martin on Aug 11, 2020 8:10:53 GMT
I didn't notice the differences, just saw a black iPace and took a quick picture before anyone noticed! It had gone when we got back to the car and there was a Golf GTE in its place, which was also plugged in. I was surprised to see about 50% of the electric spaces (and there are a lot as it's a new development) were occupied. There are suddenly a lot of Model 3's around here.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2020 12:38:48 GMT
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Post by Martin on Aug 11, 2020 12:42:13 GMT
And here. Very rare to see one that isn't white though. That's because pearl white is standard and they want £1,000 for solid black, metallic grey & blue and £2,000 for metallic red |
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Post by alf on Aug 11, 2020 16:14:56 GMT
I'm another one viewing your social experiment with interest. We talk about EV's a lot at work (for our customers not us) and getting one would have made sense when I swapped XFR's, but I'm addicted to the noise. i Paces were silly money then as well. I see plenty around and they look good - something I can't say about the model 3 which I think is a total pig's ear.
The Jag dealer I used in Basingstoke was average to fair, but the one I use now is really very good - I'm sure its more down to the dealership than the brand.
Good luck, and keep updating us!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2020 16:55:58 GMT
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Post by Martin on Aug 11, 2020 17:05:15 GMT
That's the one.
Pleased to see the Taycan getting dealt with from the start by a couple of petrol engined Porsches! I love the 918 Spyder, would much rather have one than a P1 or LaFerrari, or any other Hypercar.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2020 18:22:24 GMT
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Post by Boxer6 on Aug 11, 2020 22:04:10 GMT
And here. Very rare to see one that isn't white though. That's because pearl white is standard and they want £1,000 for solid black, metallic grey & blue and £2,000 for metallic red Jeez! ki saw two Model 3's in our local Tesco in Sunday, noe white and the other metallic red. Must admit, the red one looked much better (to me) than the white - not 2-grand's worth though! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2020 14:08:13 GMT
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Post by Martin on Oct 6, 2020 11:57:35 GMT
Sticking with the model 3....my boss has managed to pass his 2 year old high spec 530e company car onto someone else and has just picked up a Model 3 performance. It's all about saving money to upgrade his wife's car to something he'd be happier driving, the 18 month old X Trail fits everyone in but it's a manual and "gutless". The Model 3 was in stock so he could get £3k off which meant he could have the performance within budget, but he had some difficulty persuading the lease company to do the deal, in the end they said yes but only if he picked it up the next day! That was a poor experience, he was told to arrive at Park Royal for 3pm, they then handed over all the Model S and Model X and kept him waiting until 4pm. The handover was just that, they gave him the credit card key and told him instruction videos were online and sent him on his way....with 50 miles range! He's quite impressed with it so far, but will be interesting to see how he feels when the novelty of the performance wears off. I'll have a go in it next time I see him.
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Post by bryan on Oct 7, 2020 14:41:08 GMT
That is really poor, especially the battery range
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Post by Martin on Oct 7, 2020 14:48:29 GMT
That is really poor, especially the battery range Very poor. But on the positive side, he took my advice and went for the Tesla rather than a basic e-Tron or I-Pace because he regularly does 250+ miles journeys. Will be interesting, as I've now got 2 colleagues with electric cars that do a decent number of miles per year (the other is an I-Pace). |
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Post by PetrolEd on Oct 7, 2020 15:37:12 GMT
Sticking with the model 3....my boss has managed to pass his 2 year old high spec 530e company car onto someone else and has just picked up a Model 3 performance. It's all about saving money to upgrade his wife's car to something he'd be happier driving, the 18 month old X Trail fits everyone in but it's a manual and "gutless". The Model 3 was in stock so he could get £3k off which meant he could have the performance within budget, but he had some difficulty persuading the lease company to do the deal, in the end they said yes but only if he picked it up the next day! That was a poor experience, he was told to arrive at Park Royal for 3pm, they then handed over all the Model S and Model X and kept him waiting until 4pm. The handover was just that, they gave him the credit card key and told him instruction videos were online and sent him on his way....with 50 miles range! He's quite impressed with it so far, but will be interesting to see how he feels when the novelty of the performance wears off. I'll have a go in it next time I see him. This is standard for new Tesla owners and one of the key things to stop their dominance in the sector. Tesla is a tiny business in the UK with a few Admin/logistics folk. Retail customers still like fancy glass showrooms but the retail model will change soon enough and customers will get used to picking up their own cars at the docks if it means saving some money. |
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 7, 2020 16:29:13 GMT
Numerous Model 3s popping up in Warwick - very popular choice.
I really like them - aside from the fact that I think the header rail height is out of proportion to the rest of the car (giving it that slightly weird goldfish bowl look from the front), it's a smart look machine, especially from the rear 3 quarters.
For now at least, their unbeatable charging network and the efficiency of their powertrains (compared to other EVs) make them the default choice. It's the only brand I would consider if I wanted to run an EV within a single car household.
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Post by Alex on Oct 8, 2020 19:32:25 GMT
I saw a baby blue one in the car park at Canary wharf today, that must be special order or a wrap.
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Post by Martin on Oct 8, 2020 19:53:16 GMT
I had a look at the Model 3 performance today but didn’t have time to drive it. It’s a bit bigger inside than I expected and the interior is better quality than the Model S/X, but still not great.
He’s done 1,200 miles in a week and only had the charger installed at home yesterday, so that’s all on 3 pin charging + supercharger. He’s been to Lowestoft, Warrington, London and a few other places and the longer return journey only needed a 10min Supercharger stop (it tells you how long to stop for) to complete it. Initial view on range is about 280 miles at proper motorway speeds (80 leptons), 370 potential in urban driving and he’s getting just over 300 on average despite enjoying the performance. He’s really pleased, says it’s easily his favourite car he’s ever had and he’s just come out of a well specced 530e and had a 3.0d A7 before that.
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Post by LandieMark on Oct 8, 2020 19:56:58 GMT
I just can't warm to the looks.
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Post by michael on Oct 9, 2020 21:41:56 GMT
I see quite a few Model 3s around now. Most are white but I did notice a megabucks red one recently. The roof is a bit too high for the body.
I only recently learnt that Tesla wanted to call the 3 the model E but Ford had already registered it. The plan Model S. E. X. Y.
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Post by PG on Oct 12, 2020 7:41:13 GMT
I never knew that as to why it was the model 3. Oh well, S 3 X Y . A git plate of car names.
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