Southend Audi - Rayleigh

Alix M.

Worst Audi garage I have ever dealt with.

Where do I even start? From the day I reserved the car (4th March, three weeks ago) the person I dealt with - Ben - left me hanging nearly every step of the way. I paid the deposit/reservation fee as requested and then received no further acknowledgement that day as Ben was out of office for the rest of the day. I only discovered this when I received an automated email (7mins later) after I had asked about part ex. A heads up regarding this, or passing my details on to another team member, who could acknowledge my hold on the car, would have been ideal. He was aware I had the day off and needed as much info as possible that day as I don’t have the time to do all this during my working day. This was extended the following day after I raised it which I was very much happy about.

I decided on third party finance this time and as soon as this was mentioned I received nothing but appalling customer service and bad communication. The tune changed.

The initial bill I was sent to sign contained items I specifically said I didn’t want. I was also sent a document I had to sign saying I was purchasing a NON APPROVED USED AUDI. Saying the car hadn’t undergone any checks etc etc. I may ‘only’ be a 26 year old female but I’m certainly not stupid enough to not read documents I’m signing. I don’t quite understand how you can do these things in error either. When I called to raise this issue I was told these were just a rough draft (something along those lines) and it would get changed in the morning. When I raised the issue of the car now being described as non approved used, I was hung up on. If this was the case, I don’t understand why you’d send me these documents and request I sign them.

The next morning came and my promised documents didn’t arrive, in fact I didn’t get any response or communication for almost 48 hours. I couldn’t get through on the phone and left 2 notes for a call back over those two days and got NOTHING. When I did get an email, all it was asking is what the reg of my part ex would be. Nothing else. Again, no amended documents.

The external finance company had now sent over the information to the garage for the invoice to be done (7th March) and ended up having the exact same issues as me. Their team couldn’t get any contact for days and were getting nowhere. They reassured me that I was still getting the car and updated me more than the garage did. By the end of that week, I phoned and a different team member picked up and informed me that I wouldn’t be getting the car that week as admin staff are not in to sign off on cars over the weekend. Again, this is fine as people have their non-working days, but ANY idea of timings from the beginning would have allowed me to stop chasing and worrying.

I ended up feeling as though the sales person was essentially asking me to do his job once the third party finance became involved. The finance company would be surprised when I’d call to update as they were getting nothing! I was the constant middle man between the dealership and finance as they never wanted to speak to them or answer them. It was draining and flared my anxiety up an incredible amount, I was ill for 4 days straight not knowing what the issue was or what was going on. I’m self employed and can’t just stop what I’m doing at the drop of a hat.

It took a WEEK just for an invoice to get filled out and sent over to the finance company for them to submit and pay out. This is funny because the garage was quick enough to send the wrong paperwork a week before. Even the finance company were chasing up 2/3 times a day for answers and were the ones who encouraged me to put forward a complaint as it shouldn’t take this long and they (also) felt I was being treated unfairly. They basically had to demand a call for answers as to why we weren’t getting anywhere and threatened they would pull out.

Rest of the shambles is in the photos as it’s too long to fit in here along with the photos of the condition it came in.

Kathrin

Kevin is absolutely amazing. From the day i sent my enquiry to helping me purchase the car. Absolute top man!!!! After sales Michelle is fantastic and lovely! Thank you for taking care of me

M. S. J.

Excellent customer service. Every one on the flow is very hospitable and ever willing to help. Michelle is expceptional in her customer service and has been following up and updating the progress time to time.
They made me feel so homely.
Thanks team

Csaba C.

I need to share my experience.
I took my car for a gearbox service. After that my car loss power and went to limp mode. "They upgraded the software." Then brought back the car several times (3-4). It took 1.5 months. Finally they gave me an appointment to solve the problem that they caused. Then they did nothing just messaged me: Car is ready for collection
Car still in limp mode, they didn't even read the fault codes. 5 star service? I only chose 1 star as 0 doesn't exist. Never-ever!! Please do not waste your time with answer, had absolutely enough from Southend Audi.

Richard S.

I visited Audi Southend for the first time as I had a warning message on my car to say that the key fob battery was low and needed replacing. I had already changed the battery so didn’t know why the message was still appearing. Michelle and her technician couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly - they gave me a seat whilst they went out to take a look. When they returned they have identified and fixed the problem - this was done free of charge. Wonderful experience. Thank you. They’ve gained a new customer.

E S.

Thank you Jordan for a fantastic experience today. Very polite, well-mannered, courteous and friendly. Explained very well, went the extra mile to explain the car’s features.
Very impressed by Jordan.
Bubbly personality and understanding worker.
We really appreciated your time and efforts.
Highly recommend Jordan!

Bandit M.

Very poor service. Made an appointment and the sales guy never turned up. Even the receptionist was surprised....Spent ages waiting for someone to deal with me after being told to go and sit around the corner. He then bored me with no enthusiasm at all. Not interested in selling me a car. Was so keen to purchase a SQ5 but decided to walk away. Got a call from the Manager a few days later but he just wanted was to sell me a car. Must of been a really bad for them. They lost a sale which they wanted to reach as end of month and quarter target. Shame really.......

brooke S.

I have been a customer at Audi for 8 years and have recently dealt with Jordan at Southend and I cannot thank him enough for giving me the best service and support through the whole process of part exchanging my car. He was efficient and helpful and made me very comfortable with repurchasing due to past issues I experienced with Audi themselves. He has regained my faith in Audi as a dealership and was very competent. Thank you again Jordan for everything you’ve done see you in the future for the next purchase x