I told you so ...again!
Discussion
As Joust said in an earlier thread if you post on a Public Fora you have to expect others will post saying it's twaddle etc
Well it looks like one of my earlier posts might be not that far off the mark after all....
"It seems that the factory are brill in looking after their customers but if/when they sell as many as TVR I am sure that will change."
I always thought that Noble's customer service would have to change as the marque grew. I applaud Simon for posting and replying but I am afraid this will become less and less as more cars are sold and with it more people start complaining about their problems through this forum.
I have seen this first hand as I got involved through a friend with CCM motorcycles that are made in Blackburn. As a small family run business their customer relations were second to none. They were then bought out by a couple of investors and are now owned by a financial investment company. They produce far more bikes and have a bigger turnover for sure but ask any long term CCM owner about ringing the factory nowadays for a chat with the service department or to speak to the proprietors about a problem!
Some Noble owners were rightly proud of their close relationship with the factory but methinks the days of ringing the powers that be for a chat about nothing are going to become less and less.
This is exactly the situation at TVR, it's very time consuming trying to speak to every customer and the more cars you make the more customers with complaints emerge no matter who you are.
I think it's a shame that owners are using this forum to try and contact the factory and/or complain as it will def lead to a severage of the direct public contact with them. But I do see a very similar trend now on here as happened on the TVR forums a few years ago....you know what I mean the happy customer telling a few sometimes and the p****d off one complaining to everyone...all the time!
I know I personally have complained about Nobles pricing and interiors but I do so hoping they will listen to complaints and do something about them. Then they would have a car that I and I am sure others would seriously consider owning. As I have always said the basic product is brill it just needs.....
1 a new/better laid out interior, with an oil gauge!
2 a track day sump as standard..Noble's design fault.
3 an alarm, fitted luggage etc as standard.
Now sell it for £50,000 all in and you got a cracking car!
Well it looks like one of my earlier posts might be not that far off the mark after all....
"It seems that the factory are brill in looking after their customers but if/when they sell as many as TVR I am sure that will change."
I always thought that Noble's customer service would have to change as the marque grew. I applaud Simon for posting and replying but I am afraid this will become less and less as more cars are sold and with it more people start complaining about their problems through this forum.
I have seen this first hand as I got involved through a friend with CCM motorcycles that are made in Blackburn. As a small family run business their customer relations were second to none. They were then bought out by a couple of investors and are now owned by a financial investment company. They produce far more bikes and have a bigger turnover for sure but ask any long term CCM owner about ringing the factory nowadays for a chat with the service department or to speak to the proprietors about a problem!
Some Noble owners were rightly proud of their close relationship with the factory but methinks the days of ringing the powers that be for a chat about nothing are going to become less and less.
This is exactly the situation at TVR, it's very time consuming trying to speak to every customer and the more cars you make the more customers with complaints emerge no matter who you are.
I think it's a shame that owners are using this forum to try and contact the factory and/or complain as it will def lead to a severage of the direct public contact with them. But I do see a very similar trend now on here as happened on the TVR forums a few years ago....you know what I mean the happy customer telling a few sometimes and the p****d off one complaining to everyone...all the time!
I know I personally have complained about Nobles pricing and interiors but I do so hoping they will listen to complaints and do something about them. Then they would have a car that I and I am sure others would seriously consider owning. As I have always said the basic product is brill it just needs.....
1 a new/better laid out interior, with an oil gauge!
2 a track day sump as standard..Noble's design fault.
3 an alarm, fitted luggage etc as standard.
Now sell it for £50,000 all in and you got a cracking car!
Joust
Do you seriously think that by selling the car with an interior that doesn't look like a kit cars, providing a oil gauge and an engine that allows you to take the car on a track with some very cheap bits (to Noble that is) as standard all for £50,000 is out of the question?
To do so Noble will go bust!!
Believe me they wouldn't but while people like you are prepared to pay nearly £2,000 for a track day sump on a "track" car and estimate what temp ya oil is before you give it stick Noble will always sell cars.
But lets wait and see I believe they will change the things I complain about....
Do you seriously think that by selling the car with an interior that doesn't look like a kit cars, providing a oil gauge and an engine that allows you to take the car on a track with some very cheap bits (to Noble that is) as standard all for £50,000 is out of the question?
To do so Noble will go bust!!
Believe me they wouldn't but while people like you are prepared to pay nearly £2,000 for a track day sump on a "track" car and estimate what temp ya oil is before you give it stick Noble will always sell cars.
But lets wait and see I believe they will change the things I complain about....
I have a few problems with your post.
Firstly, I think that under no circumstances is it unreasonable for Noble to charge an extra £500-£1,100 to safeguard your car against oil-surge problems. This modification means that your warranty remains intact when using your car on track.
There was an article in Evo magazine a while back, which caused some controversy. Many manufacturers will void your warranty if they suspect your car has been on track - even Caterham!! Noble are very reasonable to offer an upgrade in the first place. They would be perfectly within their rights to only warrant cars for road use, where oil surge will never really be a problem.
Secondly, you’re the only person that seems to have a major issue with the interior, so why, when many of the current and potential owners already like the interior, should need a “new/better laid out” interior is beyond me. I personally think the interior echoes what the car is about – it’s focussed and purposeful.
Thirdly, we’d all like to name the price we’d like to pay for things, but welcome to reality – where things (whether they be Lee Nobles experience with performance cars, or the basic car components) cost money.
Laurence
Firstly, I think that under no circumstances is it unreasonable for Noble to charge an extra £500-£1,100 to safeguard your car against oil-surge problems. This modification means that your warranty remains intact when using your car on track.
There was an article in Evo magazine a while back, which caused some controversy. Many manufacturers will void your warranty if they suspect your car has been on track - even Caterham!! Noble are very reasonable to offer an upgrade in the first place. They would be perfectly within their rights to only warrant cars for road use, where oil surge will never really be a problem.
Secondly, you’re the only person that seems to have a major issue with the interior, so why, when many of the current and potential owners already like the interior, should need a “new/better laid out” interior is beyond me. I personally think the interior echoes what the car is about – it’s focussed and purposeful.
Thirdly, we’d all like to name the price we’d like to pay for things, but welcome to reality – where things (whether they be Lee Nobles experience with performance cars, or the basic car components) cost money.
Laurence
DanH said:
Hmm disagree about the sump given the original sales literature!
Done to death me thinks! True, the original sales literaturehad the word "track" on it, but then BMW recon the X5 will climb mountains
Rule is of course to not always believe everything you read in sales literature..... (Apparently according to a dutch judge in the Wilkinson Sword and Gillette "best a man can get" he ruled that "the commercials by both companies were within the boundaries of poetic license granted to advertisers, and most listeners won't believe them anyway" - go figure that! 
) The thing is that the documentation that came with the car clearly outlined the warranty situation with regards to track use. Of course owners, upon taking delivery of the car, were quite within the law to reject it if they didn't like the T&C's and they would have had to have a full refund.
Also, despite the few days when a bit of chaos reigned on the owners list, Noble replaced all of the engines that had issues without drama or major direct cost to the owners, and have contined to uphold all warranties (engine or anything else) without any issues known to me, and once you have paid for the track day sump will cover absolutly everything except normal accelerated wear & tear - something that, as you say, Caterham apparently don't do.
As for the interior, I have to agree with Laurence.
J
>> Edited by joust on Sunday 9th May 09:36
Don't get it. If the car had everything you want it would be a Ferrari 360, which costs twice as much to buy and run (and doesn't look or drive any better).
I reckon the interior is fine for what the car is (i.e not a gin palace), apart from a few bits and pieces. TVR? Well the interiors look great new...but I've been in a few 1-2 year old cars where thing are coming apart at the seams. For what it's worth, I don't think it would cost a great deal to vastly improve the interior with better handles, winders and switchgear.
I reckon the interior is fine for what the car is (i.e not a gin palace), apart from a few bits and pieces. TVR? Well the interiors look great new...but I've been in a few 1-2 year old cars where thing are coming apart at the seams. For what it's worth, I don't think it would cost a great deal to vastly improve the interior with better handles, winders and switchgear.
This is the interior of a £65,000 car which most owners like and do not think looks like a kit car's...
This is the interior of a £40,000 car that a lot of the owners of the above don't like....
Beauty is in the eye of the nobleowner!
Anyone cut their arms yet on edge of that central console while leaning over to turn on the stereo???
Just having a bit of fun lads calm down!
This is the interior of a £40,000 car that a lot of the owners of the above don't like....
Beauty is in the eye of the nobleowner!
Anyone cut their arms yet on edge of that central console while leaning over to turn on the stereo???
Just having a bit of fun lads calm down!
" pay nearly £2,000 for a track day sump "
It was £600 IIRC
"Anyone cut their arms yet on edge of that central console while leaning over to turn on the stereo??? "
I have a remote control and many owners haven't even bothered fitting a stereo at all. Ever punched the stereo while changing from 2nd to 3rd?
I guess the 2 cars have different owner demographics, the Noble owners demographic is made up of people who want to drive the car hard and don't care about image (lets face it I didn't buy the car for it's beauty ). TVR owners demographic is made up largely of 45-50 year old chestwig & large gold chain wearing people trying to recapture their youth and who rarely break the speed limit or use more than 3k rpm (which is lucky considering the fragility of the speed six)
It was £600 IIRC
"Anyone cut their arms yet on edge of that central console while leaning over to turn on the stereo??? "
I have a remote control and many owners haven't even bothered fitting a stereo at all. Ever punched the stereo while changing from 2nd to 3rd?
I guess the 2 cars have different owner demographics, the Noble owners demographic is made up of people who want to drive the car hard and don't care about image (lets face it I didn't buy the car for it's beauty
). TVR owners demographic is made up largely of 45-50 year old chestwig & large gold chain wearing people trying to recapture their youth and who rarely break the speed limit or use more than 3k rpm (which is lucky considering the fragility of the speed six) 
I've recently sat in a 288 and a Stradale. Both fabulous cars and race oriented for the road like the Noble. What struck me, was the relatively minimalist style like the F40 above. But, this is clearly the way Ferrari wanted these cars to look. When I decided to buy the Noble, the fact that the inside resembled the Ferrari's, not in style, but in content (ie lack of), was an attraction.
Loadsa leather, 10 speaker, 10 stack CD player, GPS, In Car TV, you can stick it, you know where. Noble please keep it.....Light weight, bring it on.
Loadsa leather, 10 speaker, 10 stack CD player, GPS, In Car TV, you can stick it, you know where. Noble please keep it.....Light weight, bring it on.
I recently went to Maranello in Egham, and after getting out of a 355 I thought "It's like an upmarket TVR". I'm not sure if that's worse for Fezza or Trev! I'm more than happy to pay half the money compared to Ferrari, even if it means a functional, less than Gin Palace spec interior, and then see it off on the road, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank (looking back at the Fezza in the rear view mirror).
m12-nathan said:
I have a remote control and many owners haven't even bothered fitting a stereo at all. Ever punched the stereo while changing from 2nd to 3rd?
Bloody hell what sort of hands do you Noble owners have!? I might punch the stereo with my knuckles if I breaked really hard, but at least I won't leave a Sony imprint on my passenger's forehead!
And when I change from 1 station to another I wont punch my own face with the windscreen!
TVR charge £4,000 for my Red Rose conversion which is engine up to 400 bhp, lighter body, different manifold and exhaust, bigger brakes. So on my reckoning if I want it to look like this...
I would be paying around £6,000 for the decals!!!
Ooops sorry I forgot the oil gauge...
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