Recommendation

[Scaf]

Do you ever recommend dealers / suppliers / mechanics etc on this or other forums ?

I frequent another car forum and am often amused when people recommend someone yet when questioned its clear they have never used them personally or had direct experience of the services they provide.

Often the recommendations made are based on “forum” reputation or such like or some digital pictures of restorations etc. - not real experience.

I would never recommend someone that I did not know from personal experience, without making it clear I had not used them.

Some people have made expensive mistakes acting on “forum reputation” recommendation rather then “actual” recommendation.

Would you ever recommend someone to buy a car from a dealer you had never bought a car from ( I wouldn’t) although I would point them in them direction of known dealers - making it clear I had never used them.

Thoughts .......

 

[MGT]

I recommend those I have used and/or make it clear if I have heard good things but never used (hardly).

Probably the dealers cousin, friend or fan club who are recommending them with no experience.

 

[Navcorr]

There's a lot to be said for a "forum opinion" when, such as here, the members are obviously enthusiasts. As far as a recommendation is concerned I tend to temper opinion by researching a variety of sources and making the best informed decision possible. That way, if it all goes tits-a-kimbo, you've only yourself to blame.

 

[rockits]

I couldn't or wouldn't ever recommend someone if I hadn't used them, had first hand experiences with them or had any means to judge in any way to be able to recommend them. How can you?

My name and reputation is just as important to me and possibly moreso than the person I am recommending. I would not do so lightly. Not many get my recommendation!

 

[Wanderer]

I can recommend Autoshield in Manchester and Ken Plant in Ballymun, Dublin

 

[FIFTY]

I am very happy with who looks after my car currently as they meet/exceed my expectations; they tailor their service to suit my needs which is the main thing. We are all individuals who have different expectations...

 

[redsonnylee]

I only recommend a business I have used or know someone who has used them with a positive experience.

 

[dunnah01]

I've never had a good experience at a garage, even one that is probably the most recommended on here. They simply don't have the time to do a proper job due to having to pay for all the special tools to do resets of fairy lights and set up pis points or whatever.
What's the deal with clutch wear % on c/c or d/s boxes and having to spend £100s to plug in to the SD3 random percentage generator - just look at the clutch plate from underneath to see how worn it is. Rant over..

 

[conaero]

I would personally not hesitate to recommend any of our sponsors on here despite only using half of them.

Reason... they are part of an open forum and bad reports will end up on here...as you would expect.

So looking at this from a commercial perspective this would be suicide so all sponsors are under scrutiny so thus will maintain the correct level of service as you would expect.

Sure, occasionally things do go wrong but with the forum acting as the middleman, issues are seemleesly and quickly rectified..

 

[Felonious Crud]

Sure, occasionally things do go wrong but with the forum acting as the middleman, issues are seemleesly and quickly rectified..

For those who haven't met Matt, he's a terrifying hybrid of Kofi Annan and Reggie Kray.

 

[BuckRog64]

I would personally not hesitate to recommend any of our sponsors on here despite only using half of them.

Reason... they are part of an open forum and bad reports will end up on here...as you would expect.

So looking at this from a commercial perspective this would be suicide so all sponsors are under scrutiny so thus will maintain the correct level of service as you would expect.

Sure, occasionally things do go wrong but with the forum acting as the middleman, issues are seemleesly and quickly rectified..

Have to disagree. I know of several Maserati owners who have had bad experiences with a forum sponsor but I can think of only one example where this was mentioned on the forum.

 

[MGT]

Have to disagree. I know of several Maserati owners who have had bad experiences with a forum sponsor but I can think of only one example where this was mentioned on the forum.

Which sponsor is that?

 

[GeoffCapes]

For those who haven't met Matt, he's a terrifying hybrid of Kofi Annan and Reggie Kray.

More like Reggie Perrin!

 

[zagatoes30]

As above i would only recommend from personal experience.

I also believe the service you get is built from your relationship with that supplier, I always try to build a rapport, discussing my short & medium term plans for any vehicle I own and then working with them to deliver against those plans. This helps the supplier provide good advice and guidance on how to progress.

In the Alfa world I have had great service from some suppliers who other Alfa owners think are difficult and obstructive and I am convinced it is down to having such a relationship, a bit of investment more than pays off over time.

In the Maserati world I have only really dealt with Emblem and I have nothing but praise for the work and advice they gave me during the time I had the Spyder

 

[GeoffCapes]

When I get another Maserati I will only use AV Engineering, not only because they are just up the road from me, but because they are meticulous with their work.
When I had an Alfa I always used A for Alfa, even though Paul is a 2 hour drive away from me. I used him, purely because the quality of his work is A1 and he is honest with you about anything that needs doing..

 

[EnzoMC]

I tend to agree with BuckRog64
I only recommend guys I've used and had great experience with... and I've must be one of only a few that have used alot of indy, MD, SM Partners (about 10)

 

[zagatoes30]

When I get another Maserati I will only use AV Engineering, not only because they are just up the road from me, but because they are meticulous with their work.
When I had an Alfa I always used A for Alfa, even though Paul is a 2 hour drive away from me. I used him, purely because the quality of his work is A1 and he is honest with you about anything that needs doing..

Totally agree about Paul he looks after all my Alfas and has done for sometime but beware if you try to talk to him when he's hungry like a bear with a sore head

 

[Vince2]

I used Shiltech in Loughborough for an annual service and belt change. Very reasonable and Jeff who runs it has a great reputation. Very personable - a nice setup. Recommendation is everything. I probably would have worried about buying my present car if i hadn't talked to Jeff first as he'd serviced it regularly and new the car and owner well.

 

[Oneball]

I don’t generally use garages for anything other than routine servicing to keep the service book up to date but Marios and Russell at Autoshield have always been helpful to talk to despite so far never having put any money their way.

I got my car from Richard Grace and to be honest it’s been a bit of a pain but often you can’t judge people till things go wrong. Things have gone wrong and Richard has sorted them.

Would I recommend Richard to someone looking for a car? Yes

Would I buy another car off Richard? Yes

 

[Lavazza]

A quick note to share my positive experience of dealing with Marios at Autoshield.

Having only recently bought my GTS I had some troublesome warning lights and I wanted a few things sorting out at the same time (new badge, replace a broken seat lever etc), plus a fresh service.

Despite not working on Saturday's, Marios picked me up from the railway station in a GTS and he was a complete gentleman, taking the time to share driving tips and his passion for Maserati, not to mention a shared enthusiasm for old Mercedes and Lancia.

I'm very pleased with how my GTS is driving and even happier having sorted out some details, and a bill that wasn't as scary as it could have been!

Great service, thoroughly recommended.