Fontain experience yesterday?

[carpy]

Hi everyone. As some of you may know I've been on the lookout for a Noggy S4 Saloon for quite some time.

Anyway, I've spoken to Fontain quite a few time to see what they have it stock but they don't usually have anything of interest.

At the moment I own a tuned 300bhp 850R Volvo Estate but I can't get the Noggy S4 out of my head so I needed to make a final decision to either keep the Volvo and have some serious internal engine work done (450bhp) or sell and buy a Noggy S4.

With this in mind, I thought the only way to decide would be to test drive an S4 (B5). I phoned Fontain and explained but the guy I spoke to just didn't want to know. He just said they never get B5 cars. There was a long silence on the phone as I thought he would suggest something else but nothing.....Didn't offer to take my number incase one came in, or ask if I wanted to drive something else with similar power / trim.

Now maybe I'm reading a little to far into this but he was so off-ish with me I definitely won't be buying a car from them (or getting it serviced there)!

I'm not some chav in a Nova turning up asking for a test drive. I've been in contact with them many times about buying an S4 & I mentioned this right at the beginning......

Is this just an isolated incident or are they not very good at customer service?

[MarkB]

I've heard they don't like people driving the cars. Full stop! Not the way I would want to buy.

[Ads4]

I thought they were terrible when I was looking. They had a Black one in stock but not at their showroom so they gave me a date to come back and said they,d have the car there for me to look at. Needledd to say I wasn't too impressed when I went all the way back and they'd forgotten and the car wasn't there.

P.s. They've got a 40k mileage 'W' noogy avant advertised in this months audi driver though.

[DavidT]

Interesting. Fontain can of course post their side of the story.

[Dippy]

Reminds me of when I was looking for a used B5 about 7 years ago, but with Audi dealers. Trying to get a test drive was like getting blood out of a stone, and was part of the reason I decided to buy a new one instead (although the main reason I opted for a personal import was not dealer attitude, but rather the simple fact that I couldn't afford the Audi UK ridiculous price).

I remember in contrast getting a test driver of a 9-5 Aero from the Saab dealer. It was not a question of if, but a question of how long I wanted to borrow the car for!

[MarkB]

I've seen this with BMW and Audi. I guess the cars sell too well. VW just threw me the keys for one car I wanted a go in... Even TVR gave a better test drive than any I've had from Audi. Infact I've never managed to get a test drive out of Audi...

[DavidT]

My local dealer is Crewe Audi. They have always let me test anything, the RS6 (and I guess the new RS4, although I did not take them up on it) need to be with one of their staff present. I thought all dealers were like that. Seems odd for them to be difficult, it won't help them sell them, will it

BMW have always been off with me, I guess I just looked too poor to them, tried 4 dealerships when looking for M3/M3CSL. Their loss in the end.

[ZeroK66]

I have heard mixed reports about Fontain. As with most I only remember the bad though. Seems if dealers make Audi part of their business customer service no longer is a part of their business. A shame... great cars.

As for your choice, well hell GET A B5, ditch the volvo. If you can get hold of one with K04's ready fitted you are already off to hitting the 450HP mark you may be thinking about in the Volvo.

The only "downside" to the B5 is it can appear "boring" with big power. I have had a few people in my car now and they all say the same thing... FCUK ITS FAST... but I was expecting more. You put your foot down the car just kinda accelerates, no drama, no excitement, just a rush of power that presses you into your seat. On the plus side though it makes daily driving a doddle and the car a pussy cat to drive.

[GrahamS4]

I got the run around waiting for a test drive. I had got some attention but they lost interest after a while. I was literally there hours, so long I walked out went for lunch and returned. I got their attention back after stating ok, forget the test drive lets talk money!

[Jarv]

I had a very poor experience with Fontain when I was phoning around for prices on a cam belt service and cam tensioner oil seal replacement. I got given a price by a guy there, and then when I phoned back to speak to him again I could never get hold of him. Left about five messages in the end, none of them returned.

I won't be giving them any of my money in the future. Sounds like they need to sort out their customer service skills. It would be nice if they posted their plans to improve on here, but I won't hold my breath.

[carpy]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks they are lacking in the customer service department side of things.

Oh well their loss I won't be buying from them now!

[rallye]

I phoned Fontain about S6 avant last year and was promised a call back with the information I was looking for but never got the call so I bought elsewhere.
This year phoned about an rs6 avant and again they never rung back after several calls trying to get information.

[saf]

Dont get me started about Fontain!

F%4^&£ Blo$^*^ C85Ts $%^&*£$% £%&£""%&&*

Get the picture?

Trust me, go else where! Youll get better service and a better deal. Even if its bleedin Mcdonalds!!!!!

[bobjebb]

The MD is a member on here I think... He might be along in a bit!

[Alps]

Do Fontain also run the garage behind the showroom?

If so, I'll give em some credit and some criticism. They were great at fixing a problem I had on my old S2. BUT they were incredibley unfriendly, and everytime I called it seemed like I was putting them out. But the only reason I had to call em was they never returned my calls.

Also, for the work they carried out, they charged a borderline stealership price... and for the price they charged they didnt even carry out a VAGCOM test!