I’ve had mixed reactions from dealerships so now I don’t go back to those. I’ve found it’s not the manufacturer that’s the problem, it’s the dealership. I live around halfway between Peterborough and Cambridge with Bedford and Northampton not too far away. I’ve visited many dealers as I love looking at cars and often pop into dealerships just to see what’s new. When I lost my X1 due to pip I found myself in the situation of being a disabled customer buying a “normal” car. I must have visited more than 20 dealerships looking for a new car in only a handful was I treated like a “normal” customer. I had dealerships where I was approached straight away with “sorry MATE!!!!!, the Motability guy isn’t in today”, others where salesmen deliberately kept their heads down so as to avoid my gaze, others with a receptionist who called the salesmen, only to be told their Motability person was out on a test drive and would call me later. In one dealership (Fiat Peterborough) the receptionist calls a man at his desk, I heard him answer her call with “Just tell him I’m not in today”. At no time in any dealership did I mention Motability.
Those were the bad ones, in the handful of others I was treated like any other customer, with sympathetic salespeople who went out their way to help, with s special mention to Wings Skoda in Peterborough, Marshalls Volvo in Peterborough (also Volvo in Northampton and Cambridge) every Kia and Hyundai dealership and finally Sycamore BMW in Peterborough.
I ended up with a fantastic PCP deal from BMW, pity the car has not been that fantastic and has had a few issues, however, every issue is sorted without fuss, Chris Hudson (Motability salesman) has gone out his way to make sure I always have a courtesy car and coffee ready for me, even for non warranty repairs, he has called numerous times over the time I’ve had my car, with the last call just before lockdown to check on my recent PIP renewal. With a salesman like this I am finding the decision to move to a different make difficult but even there he’s said it’s my call and he understands if I want to choose another make.
So, it’s not all bad out there, I would say ignore the ignorant dealerships, move on and find the car and dealer that suits you even if you have to travel a bit.