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Drove past this today - Tonbridge Audi's new dealership - looks like it's getting ready for opening this month. It's a monster. It has a space age looking mesh covering. Not sure what Tonbridge Audi is like for Service - their parts guys are actually very good...

Sorry about the photos - I was in moving traffic and it was overcast.

From the Courier newspaper:

The showroom will provide a premium location in west Kent/East Sussex where visitors can browse new and used cars and receive the highest levels of customer service.

In a first for Audi in the south east, the new Tunbridge Wells Centre will offer a charging point for the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid car, due to go on sale in the UK later this year.

It will also be a fully approved, high performance Audi RS and R8 sales and technical centre.

Tunbridge Wells will be one of the first centres to offer a Private Customer Configuration Lounge, where buyers can use a touch screen technology to choose the complete specification for their new vehicle.

The results are on a high definition 80-inch LED television screen.

There will also be a café lounge area, plus a Direct Service Reception where they can watch their car being serviced via a monitor and interact with the technician carrying out the work.

I've been using Tonbridge Audi for many years now and never had any issues - the service department is very good and the mechanics seem to be decent chaps with the master chap there being very friendly and knowledgeable.
The branch used to be part of the Lindbrook group but was sold to Inchape a couple of years ago, but most of the people appear to be the same - give or take.

The sales team aren't looking forward to the move tho - the new site on the Tunbridge Wells industrial estate is an absolute pig for traffic come the weekend due to the ineptitude of the local planners. So if you are taking a car out, 30min could well be eaten up getting in and out of the car park!

Also, as mentioned, a sales chap did say about getting an RS room for clients spec'ing the top models... not sure what that means - possibly the seats, finish samples of dash/paint work etc.. available to touch and see in the flesh before you buy.

Should be open this month if they are still on track.

GLM wrote:I've been using Tonbridge Audi for many years now and never had any issues - the service department is very good and the mechanics seem to be decent chaps with the master chap there being very friendly and knowledgeable.
The branch used to be part of the Lindbrook group but was sold to Inchape a couple of years ago, but most of the people appear to be the same - give or take.

The sales team aren't looking forward to the move tho - the new site on the Tunbridge Wells industrial estate is an absolute pig for traffic come the weekend due to the ineptitude of the local planners. So if you are taking a car out, 30min could well be eaten up getting in and out of the car park!

Also, as mentioned, a sales chap did say about getting an RS room for clients spec'ing the top models... not sure what that means - possibly the seats, finish samples of dash/paint work etc.. available to touch and see in the flesh before you buy.

Should be open this month if they are still on track.

GLM - the traffic is the worse I've seen around there. They've only just finished it and the planners need a bullet. With the new houses being built by the Odeon, the single file traffic lights under the bridge to High Brooms it's all a nightmare - I avoid it like the page or go at 10am on a Monday.

I spoke to their master tech once - and he did a decent chap. If Neil Figg in the parts department is anything to go by,. then it should be a good experience - he's a top bloke and always throws me a bit of discount and is very good when ordering anything - especially sale or return if I;m not sure I need it with zero restocking fee.

All looks on track when I past last...

neilparf wrote:I spoke to their master tech once - and he did a decent chap.

The new Audi in Oxford looks identical, shame the sales/parts morons inside ruin it (not tried service), I hope Tunbridge is better staffed!

SuprSi wrote:

neilparf wrote:I spoke to their master tech once - and he did a decent chap.

Seemed a decent chap!!!! If that's possible!!!!!

IanH755 wrote:The new Audi in Oxford looks identical, shame the sales/parts morons inside ruin it (not tried service), I hope Tunbridge is better staffed!

Parts are good, service I've not tried. Is Oxford Inchcape?

It's Oxford Business Park North just opposite the BMW factory/Tesco's Retail Park.

My Parts issue is with the older moustached gent who works there. He now gets someone else to serve me after he ordered the wrong part 3 times despite me showing him the number on VagCat so after the 3rd time I got a bit annoyed with him. He also wouldn't order C6 brake pads because I had a C5 (understandable) not even after I explained several times that I'd swapped to C6 calipers and therefore needed C6 pads "but these aren't for your chassis type" he kept saying again and again (also didn't know B5, C5, C6 etc).

Happily now he gets one of the young lads to sort out any parts and I've not had any issues since.

IanH755 wrote:"but these aren't for your chassis type" he kept saying again and again

Computer operated parts chap say's NO!

Tonbridge soon to be Tunbridge Wells parts guys are actually top notch - phew!

IMO Tonbridge's (i.e. imminently Tunbridge Wells) parts guys are very good, yes.

And, errrr, that's about it.

3 years ago their service team were very very good; since then though the entire customer facing team has gradually moved on, and some of the techs as well. Their knowledge of specialist stuff, namely RS etc has become limited to say the least, to the point where even the after sales manager thinks a B7 RS4 has turbos..... say no more. My gut feeling is that they're geared up more for A1s these days but beyond that it's pot luck.

Agreed it is a nice looking building though - just a shame it'll be hell on earth to get to until the whole local infrastructure is upgraded. Strikes me as a bit odd that the area's now turned into car city; VW, Nissan, Lexus, Suzuki, Mazda, and now Audi all on the same road, with Vauxhall, Fiat, Alfa BM, Mini (+ some others I can't be bothered to notice) just round the corner - yet it all turns into a complete car park on the weekend - genius idea for test drives!

Rant over!

DALO wrote:IMO Tonbridge's (i.e. imminently Tunbridge Wells) parts guys are very good, yes.

And, errrr, that's about it.

3 years ago their service team were very very good; since then though the entire customer facing team has gradually moved on, and some of the techs as well. Their knowledge of specialist stuff, namely RS etc has become limited to say the least, to the point where even the after sales manager thinks a B7 RS4 has turbos..... say no more. My gut feeling is that they're geared up more for A1s these days but beyond that it's pot luck.

Agreed it is a nice looking building though - just a shame it'll be hell on earth to get to until the whole local infrastructure is upgraded. Strikes me as a bit odd that the area's now turned into car city; VW, Nissan, Lexus, Suzuki, Mazda, and now Audi all on the same road, with Vauxhall, Fiat, Alfa BM, Mini (+ some others I can't be bothered to notice) just round the corner - yet it all turns into a complete car park on the weekend - genius idea for test drives!

Rant over!

Massive +1 on all that...