5th Ave = Mod Shop?

[bart]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

Hey Bart,
I don't understand why you continue to come back to fifth ave and then continuously hammer our business practices on a public forum. Its seems that everytime you have an issue here so why do you keep coming back? If Northland is so fantastic, then stay there!!
Derek

derek,

i havent been to the 'new' 5th ave yet. so i decided to go and see whats changed. sales and parts at your dealership is awesome, it's the service i do not like. i want to make sure this is clear. i am not putting the dealership down as a whole, just in that one department.

the point of a forum is to share information, i believe i have done just that. everything i said is reasonable, if you do not agree, you have the option of reporting the post to a moderator.

i hope what i have said will not prevent me from maybe coming in and test driving a new car... lol but ya, until any other dealership makes radical changes in staff for example, northland gets my vote, in service right now.

like merdenoms said, no dealership is perfect. northland has their downs, like:

1) taking f**king forever to get through service on the phone, and nobody returning calls
2) having no loaner cars for U21 people, as i said this about them in a long thread somewhere else on this board.

however, with all of that, for me anyway, it all comes down to getting the service done reasonable and fairly with all the mods i have done on the car.

-bart

[GINCH]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

derek,

i havent been to the 'new' 5th ave yet. so i decided to go and see whats changed. sales and parts at your dealership is awesome, it's the service i do not like. i want to make sure this is clear. i am not putting the dealership down as a whole, just in that one department.

the point of a forum is to share information, i believe i have done just that. everything i said is reasonable, if you do not agree, you have the option of reporting the post to a moderator.

i hope what i have said will not prevent me from maybe coming in and test driving a new car... lol but ya, until any other dealership makes radical changes in staff for example, northland gets my vote, in service right now.

like merdenoms said, no dealership is perfect. northland has their downs, like:

1) taking f**king forever to get through service on the phone, and nobody returning calls
2) having no loaner cars for U21 people, as i said this about them in a long thread somewhere else on this board.

however, with all of that, for me anyway, it all comes down to getting the service done reasonable and fairly with all the mods i have done on the car.

-bart

Bart,
By saying " Why would you want an alliance with thieves" portrays to me that Fifth Avenue Auto Haus as a business is shady! Separating departments into their own entities is fine but the bottom line remains that we are all under the same roof as a business! You are right, no business is perfect but it seems that you continually have nothing but good things to say about us!
Derek

[R_Ethug]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

My only complaint with the dealers here is sometimes at NL i get treated like a dumb kid for some reason and others they treat me great. Barry and Paul are the best SA for me and usually are cool with me. No charge on my SKC kinda thing. And NL parts seems to be the best price wise. SCFC and 5th always are like 10-50 bucks more for some reason. I go to NL simply because its where i bought my car and its like 5 minutes away from where I live. If I lived in the NE or S i would go to SC or 5th

[Kor]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I did not want this thread to be a my dealer vs your dealer thread. I am sorry I added my own responses.

My post was:

(1) to inform everyone about the platinum jetta we had heard about
(2) to tell everyone that aftermarket parts are now available at 5th ave
(3) possibly to look into group affiliations with a new aftermarket retailer

Lets face it, the club members buy a LOT of aftermarket parts, and a large number of people in southern alberta will continue to ask us for advice or recommendations on where to buy parts. Those people who do not know about the club now are probably going to be approached by the club if they have a modded VW or at least chat with club members eventually -- this is a small city.

This is an open forum and we should be able to post if we have an issue with service no matter where it is. However, this thread is just a rehash of old gripes and to be honest it makes us look a lot less respectable and less professional.

No business or sponsor is going to be interested in any kind of relationship with the club if they are just going to get their name (or the names of other places or companies) thrown around and tread upon at every turn. If we were a little more discreet, we would have more business people like Derek on the forum regularly to address problems and questions in a professional way. I don't really care about this one case of 5th ave, I am talking about other retailers as well including C1 and Tunerworks for example.

You may be thinking that we don't really need any kind of relationship with other organizations, and you don't care what others in Calgary think of us. But this is false if at the same time you would like to reap the rewards of an organization, including shows, events, and hookups with services and products in our area. Just look at the great relationship we have started to form with Rudy's.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

Well I was intending on having a discussion with the parts manager and such to see what kind of things perhaps we as the big new model VW club in town could develop with a mod selling and installing dealer. I understand people have issues with some service departments in town, but with perhaps something like this we can help get through those problems and develop a lasting relationship. There are not a lot of places that we can go for aftermarket part installs and think it would be nice to have the ability for VW techs in a brand new facility to help us out with the modding of our cars.

[QuA]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I like Northland because of that damn tight little a$$ receptionist. She's foina' than butta' mmm mmm

QuA

[gaffer]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

examples:

1) scfc wanted $35 to grease my doors, - northland free
2) 5th ave charged me $50 to tell me wheel bearing busted, no warranty, because 'race city' sticker on window, car lowered, etc, - northland, maybe would have fixed it
3) my worst problem, busted cv joint, brought my car lowered to northland as was, except the rims, and they replaced it under warranty, saved myself $500 or so.

so taking all that into consideration, with their nicer people who work in service, a guy who is an enthusiast, i will be going there for now.

see when my engine blows, i'd like another for free, rather than saving 10% on some bumper lenses

Maybe what is happening here is a bit of that loyalty kicking in, only the other way. Look at it from the dealers standpoint. Guy drives in with a busted wheel bearing, or some other problem. They dont know the guy, and have never (or seldomly) serviced his car before, and probably didnt sell him the car. Do you think that they are going to be as willing to cut a guy a break who has not given them business in the past?

This probably the reason why you (and others) have had good experiences with Northland. They have seen you before, and you are a repeat customer of theirs, so when things are iffy, they may give you a break in your favour. I am loyal to 5th ave, and they will continue to be my dealer, and hopefully when there is a call to make, they will consider my business there, both past and future.

Gaf

[GINCH]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I did not want this thread to be a my dealer vs your dealer thread. I am sorry I added my own responses.

My post was:

(1) to inform everyone about the platinum jetta we had heard about
(2) to tell everyone that aftermarket parts are now available at 5th ave
(3) possibly to look into group affiliations with a new aftermarket retailer

Lets face it, the club members buy a LOT of aftermarket parts, and a large number of people in southern alberta will continue to ask us for advice or recommendations on where to buy parts. Those people who do not know about the club now are probably going to be approached by the club if they have a modded VW or at least chat with club members eventually -- this is a small city.

This is an open forum and we should be able to post if we have an issue with service no matter where it is. However, this thread is just a rehash of old gripes and to be honest it makes us look a lot less respectable and less professional.

No business or sponsor is going to be interested in any kind of relationship with the club if they are just going to get their name (or the names of other places or companies) thrown around and tread upon at every turn. If we were a little more discreet, we would have more business people like Derek on the forum regularly to address problems and questions in a professional way. I don't really care about this one case of 5th ave, I am talking about other retailers as well including C1 and Tunerworks for example.

You may be thinking that we don't really need any kind of relationship with other organizations, and you don't care what others in Calgary think of us. But this is false if at the same time you would like to reap the rewards of an organization, including shows, events, and hookups with services and products in our area. Just look at the great relationship we have started to form with Rudy's.

Well said Kor,
I think that as VW enthusiasts, we should all work together to acheive the end results: modding our cars and enjoying the brand! I for one don't really give a **** where you prefer to do business. That is something that everyone decides for themselves, however like Kor said, I don' think it is fair that everytime one thing happens that someone is not happy with that that business (whatever it maybe) gets trash talked! We as dealership need your help just as much if not more than you need us!!
Derek

[R_Ethug]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

ooh yea toight like a toiger

[James]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

back to the topic at hand.....Yeah Mike, you should get that grill..would look damn hot..like the olsen twins, only in a more...grill-ish way.

If you guys dont like the service anywhere, why not take matters into your own hands and:

a- Start a riot.
b- Build your own uber garage and pay for your own grease monkey.

Personally I like a, but thats a life dream of mine...

[Simon]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I haven't been to the new 5th ave, but I lived in the NE for 2.5 years and serviced my car there regularily and was happy everytime. They would give me a ride home and then a ride back to the dealership to pick up my car when it was done. (because i lived in the NE).

Just thought I would share some positive experience.

[James]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I think every dealership does that these days...even Varsity *shakes fist*

[volksdragonn]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

whine, *****, moan
threads like this one make me glad i own old vw's.
why should the dealers screw the manufacturer for your
warranty, so you can get free parts, when you screw them
up.
welcome to the new and exciting world of car modifying
you break it, whoops now you know for next time.

yes this is mostly aimed at you Bart

congrats to fifth ave for stepping up to the plate
and helping to keep the scene alive...

[QuA]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

I think the scene is getting more alive then ever, hence the need of 5th ave trying to steal customers away from other gay service managers.

QuA

[1.8Trip]

Re: 5th Ave = Mod Shop?

Yeah, this is all a good thing in the end. More competition, better prices, more brand options.