Wasted trip to Liverpool not to have fuel pump recall
Discussion
I'm lucky enough to live close enough to both Liverpool and Manchester Alpine centres, although Liverpool is about 20 miles opposed to 40 for Manchester.
When the fuel pump recall arrived, decided to book into Liverpool, who assured me they had the parts in stock for the recall and used a dedicated technician.
My booking was last Friday, but unfortunately I was stuck in Germany with work, so rang on Wednesday to reschedule. The very pleasant scouse lady said it wasn't an issue and she would move the booking to the Friday after. Again, she told me there was no issue with parts and that there was adedicated technician carrying out the recall.
My wife and I took the day off and decided to spend the time in the city centre.
We arrived to check in and were told that the car wasn't booked in, as I had cancelled.
I explained that the date had been moved to today and the lady was very abrupt and not only kept insisting I had cancelled but then claimed that because I had cancelled the parts had been sent back to Alpine!
Do Alpine really only have enough fuel pumps that they send out exactly the number required to each dealer when a car is booked in, and insist that pumps are sent back immediately if a customer does not show?
Because of this and her attitude, I declined to rebook and said I would instead book at Manchester.
As I was walking out, the lady had to have the last word and stated it wasn't her that I had spoken to and will have been the central Alpine call centre. When I explained that the lady who made the change was also from Liverpool, due to her accent, she simply shugged!
Very disappointing customer service from Liverpool, which is a shame as they are one of the newer branches.
However, it has simply confirmed the quality of service at Manchester, and makes the extra distance well worth choosing them over Liverpool.
Until now I have always had great customer service during my 4 years of ownership, and this really has left a bad taste
When the fuel pump recall arrived, decided to book into Liverpool, who assured me they had the parts in stock for the recall and used a dedicated technician.
My booking was last Friday, but unfortunately I was stuck in Germany with work, so rang on Wednesday to reschedule. The very pleasant scouse lady said it wasn't an issue and she would move the booking to the Friday after. Again, she told me there was no issue with parts and that there was adedicated technician carrying out the recall.
My wife and I took the day off and decided to spend the time in the city centre.
We arrived to check in and were told that the car wasn't booked in, as I had cancelled.
I explained that the date had been moved to today and the lady was very abrupt and not only kept insisting I had cancelled but then claimed that because I had cancelled the parts had been sent back to Alpine!
Do Alpine really only have enough fuel pumps that they send out exactly the number required to each dealer when a car is booked in, and insist that pumps are sent back immediately if a customer does not show?
Because of this and her attitude, I declined to rebook and said I would instead book at Manchester.
As I was walking out, the lady had to have the last word and stated it wasn't her that I had spoken to and will have been the central Alpine call centre. When I explained that the lady who made the change was also from Liverpool, due to her accent, she simply shugged!
Very disappointing customer service from Liverpool, which is a shame as they are one of the newer branches.
However, it has simply confirmed the quality of service at Manchester, and makes the extra distance well worth choosing them over Liverpool.
Until now I have always had great customer service during my 4 years of ownership, and this really has left a bad taste
Edited by Aladoro69 on Friday 24th May 11:40
To attempt to let the dealership respond to my complaint, I copied the contents of the above post onto their contact form from the website, filled in my details and hit send only to be shown a message that there was an error and emails cannot be sent.
To ensure that there is a chance for the information to be fed back the only thing available was to send a copy to Alpine UK via their WhatsApp service, including the detail of the error with the Liverpool website
To ensure that there is a chance for the information to be fed back the only thing available was to send a copy to Alpine UK via their WhatsApp service, including the detail of the error with the Liverpool website
Does seem crazy that they’d send the pumps back and only have one in when car booked in.
Hate the way some dealers have these so matter of fact attitudes sometimes. Take a day off etc and it’s just basically so what, not interested. If they fu#k up, at least be honest and tell me, I’d be more inclined to forgive then.
Hate the way some dealers have these so matter of fact attitudes sometimes. Take a day off etc and it’s just basically so what, not interested. If they fu#k up, at least be honest and tell me, I’d be more inclined to forgive then.
Caveat Emptor - We test drove, loved and bought a new GT for probably, lots of the same reasons we read about in the glowing reviews. Unfortunately, ownership and a test drive are very different experiences. After six months of banging our heads against a wall, we are utterly exhausted by the endless incompetence and lack of integrity at both Alpine Orpington and Alpine UK.
December 2023 , 12 days after collecting the new GT, we ran over a pot hole which ruined the nearside front tyre and buckled the wheel (fair enough perhaps). Unfortunately it also destroyed the (sacrificial [see French forums]) front suspension. Literally no one (including Lamborghini, Aston, Ferrari approved repairers) was willing to take the car in for repair. NFU put pressure in Alpine Orpington and they eventually agreed to repair the car. Four months later (no parts !) when we collected the car up, the job sheet described how the nearside wheel and offside front suspension was replaced ? We now avoid country roads (isn't that supposed to be the GT's element) because we are terrified of potholes. We want to give the car back asap but are not willing to take a £20K hair cut for the privilege. Unknown to us at the time, Orpington had sent the wrong finance details to Mobilize Financial services (aka Renault finance) to set up a four year deal (we originally discussed) rather than the the 3 year deal we subsequently discussed (the next day) and signed BEFORE collecting the car. We have documentary evidence of the 3 year deal which Orpington don't dispute. The salesman who 'forgot' to send through the 3 year deal, originally told us the dealership would pay the £350 to have the agreement amended. However, that option has elapsed. We escalated to Nicola Burnside over the past few months but despite her assurances to 'sort it out', we still seem to be unable to make progress. Orpington are not registered with the Motor Ombudsman so mediation is not possible. Our next step is Trading standards and if that doesn't work, the small claims court. Seems ridiculous for an issue which had someone at Alpine taken ownership, could have been sorted out in a couple of days.
December 2023 , 12 days after collecting the new GT, we ran over a pot hole which ruined the nearside front tyre and buckled the wheel (fair enough perhaps). Unfortunately it also destroyed the (sacrificial [see French forums]) front suspension. Literally no one (including Lamborghini, Aston, Ferrari approved repairers) was willing to take the car in for repair. NFU put pressure in Alpine Orpington and they eventually agreed to repair the car. Four months later (no parts !) when we collected the car up, the job sheet described how the nearside wheel and offside front suspension was replaced ? We now avoid country roads (isn't that supposed to be the GT's element) because we are terrified of potholes. We want to give the car back asap but are not willing to take a £20K hair cut for the privilege. Unknown to us at the time, Orpington had sent the wrong finance details to Mobilize Financial services (aka Renault finance) to set up a four year deal (we originally discussed) rather than the the 3 year deal we subsequently discussed (the next day) and signed BEFORE collecting the car. We have documentary evidence of the 3 year deal which Orpington don't dispute. The salesman who 'forgot' to send through the 3 year deal, originally told us the dealership would pay the £350 to have the agreement amended. However, that option has elapsed. We escalated to Nicola Burnside over the past few months but despite her assurances to 'sort it out', we still seem to be unable to make progress. Orpington are not registered with the Motor Ombudsman so mediation is not possible. Our next step is Trading standards and if that doesn't work, the small claims court. Seems ridiculous for an issue which had someone at Alpine taken ownership, could have been sorted out in a couple of days.
Macan, sorry to hear the problems you've had
For me, coming up to 4 years of ownership I have enjoyed everything about ownership
From experience, Manchester have been great and provided above the level of service I'd expect from a dealer.
Similarly, Alpine UK have been great - very professional, sorted issues out and always followed up and done things when they have said they will.
Unfortunately, the issue I had with Liverpool was why I was upset, compared to previous experiences.
Having fed back my issues to Alpine UK (due to issues with Liverpool messaging on website), Frankie from Alpine UK handled my concerns and made sure everything was booked for recall and discussed the matter with Liverpool.
Having now had chance to discuss my experience with Liverpool's service manager, my Alpine feelings have now been built back up and hopefully my feedback will help Liverpool improve and get better
For me, coming up to 4 years of ownership I have enjoyed everything about ownership
From experience, Manchester have been great and provided above the level of service I'd expect from a dealer.
Similarly, Alpine UK have been great - very professional, sorted issues out and always followed up and done things when they have said they will.
Unfortunately, the issue I had with Liverpool was why I was upset, compared to previous experiences.
Having fed back my issues to Alpine UK (due to issues with Liverpool messaging on website), Frankie from Alpine UK handled my concerns and made sure everything was booked for recall and discussed the matter with Liverpool.
Having now had chance to discuss my experience with Liverpool's service manager, my Alpine feelings have now been built back up and hopefully my feedback will help Liverpool improve and get better
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