Nissan

...was still under guarantee with Nissan and the paper work for that was included in a nifty case supplied by the company. The case also held the finance papers, car manual and the codes that we might need in the future.

On returning home we did still have a couple of questions. So I rang Graeme who, I have to say, returned my call swiftly. He answered all the questions to my satisfaction. This was a rather nice touch and not a case ...
...I have come across on numerous occasions. I can’t praise his professional conduct enough. He didn’t employ the aggressive selling technique that some use and which would have been wasted on me, as I would have just walked away and not bought the car. Rather, he stated the facts then allowed us to make up our own minds and in our own time without any pressure. He even stressed originally that if we didn’t like or want the car then that was no problem, ... more

This opinion on Reg Vardy has been three months in the writing due to other assignments and daily hospital visiting trips. However, it is finally done…

Being a wary shopper of most things and taking with a pinch of salt what most salespersons tell me, I was dreading going to purchase a new car. Since the prospective new car was to be shared with my mother, it had to be a joint decision. We were at that time using just one car. I’d sold mine on developing excema, which unfortunately dictates, when I am able to drive. So we kept putting if off and when my mother’s car finally went to that great big scrap heap in the sky we knew we’d have to do something about it. Cowards aren’t we, but you hear such hellish stories about garages etc. and my last purchase hadn’t been entirely without incident.

However, my mother, not one to sit on her laurels (rather uncomfortable at best) decided to take the car by the bumper and rang Reg Vardy Nissan, at Wessyngton Way, Sunderland. Yep she just got on the phone and asked them if they had anything suitable small, economical and automatic. Now if you’ve ever looked for a small car with automatic transmission you’ll know how rare a breed this is to find! You would probably find the bones of an extinct Dodo before spotting one of these but it was worth a try.

We spoke to a man called Adam initially. He took down the particulars of what we were looking for and said he’d get back to us...yeah right, how often have you heard that before! Much to our amazement someone did ring us back called Graeme King. He informed us that he had two cars that might be suitable and gave us a description and specs of each of them.

They were both Micra’s but because this opinion is about a dealership and not a car manufacturer, I will concentrate on Reg Vardy.

So, once we decided which car to look at we encountered our first problem:

Problem 1: They had to get the car from wherever it was down to Reg Vardy in Sunderland. That would take about a week and they would contact us when it arrived. They duly did this, which brings us neatly too—

Problem 2: Getting to the garage in Sunderland from Washington, without a car. No problem said our professional Sales Executive Graeme King. I’ll bring the car to you!

Mouth dropping to the floor we agreed with alacrity and stopped frantically trying to get a hold of family to help us out. We agreed to pay the deposit over the phone, which would be refunded if we didn’t like the car. That settled we agreed on a date and time then sat back and waited like a group of kids looking for Santa Claus.

Now a Micra can in no way be likened to the size of the car we had been driving. That was a 2.9i fuel injection Granada and we were about to take a look at a 1.4 Micra that would fit into the old car twice! (My father being of the bigger the bonnet the more there is to smash before it gets to you philosophy)! I am used to a small car my previous one being a rather nifty Renault but my mother who drives like Schumacher on a good day, is not. She wanted something smaller and neater that would be easier to park but worried that it wouldn’t have the poke of a powerful engine. What Reg Vardy came up with had the added advantage of a “Sport Button” located on the transmission, which gives a bit extra power when overtaking, they had obviously listened well to her requirements so top marks here. You can imagine my mother was very keen on seeing this car.

At the time though, I was looking on the black side and hoping for better being very wary of garages and all they say, well once bitten twice shy as the saying goes.

Graeme without too much trouble found us and it only took one call on his mobile to get to the right house. He then showed us round and inside the car before biting the bullet and giving my mother a test drive. Brave man, but he came back in one piece and even had a smile on his face, if it looked a trifle fixed we didn’t comment.

It was my turn next and it only took a short trip down the street for me to decide whether I liked the car or not. So back we went to get down to the nitty gritty. He gave us all the information including the finance details and a rate that even our bank could not beat. So armed with all the relevant information we eventually made our decision.

We said yessss!

Graeme ever helpful did point out that all paper work had to be completed on Reg Vardy premises, a legal thing and quite understandable. Because the car then had to be serviced and valeted he said it would take a few days and he would contact us when it was ready. This he did and a time was arranged. He very kindly came all the way over to Washington again to pick us up and take us to the showroom.

The sale was completed with professional courtesy, efficiency and speed. The papers were signed, the financial side taken care of, the keys handed over and finally the car had found a new home.

Reg Vardy did supply the Micra with a full tank of petrol and six months tax. They also pointed out that it was still under guarantee with Nissan and the paper work for that was included in a nifty case supplied by the company. The case also held the finance papers, car manual and the codes that we might need in the future.

On returning home we did still have a couple of questions. So I rang Graeme who, I have to say, returned my call swiftly. He answered all the questions to my satisfaction. This was a rather nice touch and not a case of “we’ve done the sale now get lost” attitude which I have come across on numerous occasions. I can’t praise his professional conduct enough. He didn’t employ the aggressive selling technique that some use and which would have been wasted on me, as I would have just walked away and not bought the car. Rather, he stated the facts then allowed us to make up our own minds and in our own time without any pressure. He even stressed originally that if we didn’t like or want the car then that was no problem, despite the trek to Washington

A few days after buying the car we received a call from Graeme telling us that he would pop over to our home and fit acrylic headlight protectors that had somehow been overlooked. He duly arrived and the fixing of the cover’s took less time than the trip to our home. His attention to all the details was greatly appreciated and did inspire complete trust. That he bothered to point out they had not been fitted did surprise me and it is this, which shows the excellent level of service that both Graeme King and Reg Vardy are prepared to offer. It’s always nice to know that, as a customer, the seller will go that little bit extra to make the deal sweeter.

We also received a couple of telephone calls a week or so later from the customer service department asking if we were happy with everything. We were and four months later still are, extremely pleased with the car.

I am aware that not all Reg Vardy dealerships have come out with good reviews but this could be said of many of the garage chains some are really good and others mediocre. I don’t claim that all will have the excellent service that we received but I can’t fault this branch or Graeme King in any way. I do know that on Ciao there is another opinion on Reg Vardy and it is little short of a warning but it is NOT this branch.

This company also has a pretty good website. It lists cars available both new, used, specials and ones to lease. There is also other details about the company it’s policies, career opportunities and more Important the many finance options available. They appear to be very flexible.

***History***
I thought I’d give you a brief history about the company since its home grown in the North East of England. It actually started with Reg Vardy selling coal, then progressed into the haulage business until finally breaking into the car dealership market (no pun intended here). They went from one garage in the North of England to become one of the biggest motor retailers in the UK and Europe.

They own over 70 dealerships nationwide at the moment and aim to increase that total to over a hundred very soon. They claim they have a passion for the business and all who work for Reg Vardy must share this to be better, to do better and be the best in the business. I can’t argue with the later having received exactly that on purchasing from them.

***Deals on Offer***
They have various deals on offer from being able to drive your car away for a deposit of £99.00 to leasing on a personal or company basis.

The three are:

Hire Purchase
Pay a deposit and the balance is repaid by fixed, equal monthly payments. Agreement is from 1-5 years in length. You can change your car during this period and a settlement figure is agreed, saving some of the interest charges.

Personal Contract:
This (they say on the website) gives you greater flexibility. Affordable monthly payments that might be lower than traditional finance.

This section is quoted from the website for accuracy:

“At the beginning of the contract a 'balloon payment' or Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) is agreed, which is paid at the end of the contract. This amount and the deposit you choose to pay are set against the invoice price and your monthly repayments are based on the balance (plus interest).

At the end of the agreement you have the following choices:
Return to your Reg Vardy dealer and choose a new car using any excess value over the GFV towards your deposit on your next Reg Vardy car.
Pay the GFV and take ownership of your car.
Return the car with nothing more to pay, subject to having made all monthly payments, the car being in good condition and having not exceeded the agreed mileage.”

Log onto the website for an example of this

Personal Leasing:
With this option you don’t have to worry about maintenance or depreciation costs. You pay for the use of the car then change it at regular intervals this is apparently very popular in the States.

My Final Verdict:
What I expected to be a very stressful and worrying purchase was actually painless and over the last month has proved to be a very reliable and economical necessity. Would I buy from this particular Reg Vardy dealership again...definitely? I trust them more than any other dealership I’ve been too and that is not something I say lightly or indeed about many companies and never before about a garage. Again I think it largely depends on the staff each branch employs and this branch certainly have the best judging by the response from Adam and Graeme King. I am not sure about this but I think Adam is actually the General Manager though we only had brief contact with him. If that is the case then fifteen out of ten to Adam and his branch.

Reg Vardy Head Office take note of how these two gentlemen conduct their business and their attention to detail, if you employed more like them then there would be no warnings about any of your branches on this site!

I have marked accordingly below but not having dealt much with their after sales service I err on the side of caution. I have given them an overall excellent rating because that was my personal experience with them. Others may disagree with that. I shall of course update these ratings if I have anything new to report both good or bad for I consider this opinion to be ongoing since we have only had the car for aproximately five months.

Oh, just in case you were wondering. We named the car Marty!

 

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