[E60MKF]

Originally Posted by ripkord

Cool, yeah I spoke with HF a while back but they never followed through, shame as they seemed alright even though they're part of Arnold shark

A lot of people don't seem to like Arnold Clark.. Luckily for me I've had no problems (14 VWs and 3 BMWs). HF is very good. I think it operates somewhat independently of the Arnold Clark brand. The only downside with DP is they can never come close to HF on part exchange value or availability of stock. When I bought my F10 in March, HF were the only dealership in Scotland to have stock of brand new F10s. Also DP is a bit far out in Hamilton, I've never tried the one in the city though.

What is after sales like at DP?

[ripkord]

That's weird, when I went in to trade my mini in HF offered me £1500 less than DP... As for after sales, well I got a courtesy call the last time to see if I was happy enough with the car. Not much else I'm afraid, although for servicing and repairs etc they have been very good.

I didn't mean to sound that negative about AC, had a particularly bad experience once where a salesman single handedly ruined my credit rating by applying to 8 (!) different companies trying to get me a car, turns out I had dropped off the electoral roll!. That aside, when I got an Aygo for the Mrs. I got it in Milngavie and they were amazing. Renault dealer, recommend them to be fair.

[E60MKF]

I was just reading online one night about AC and so many people were complaining. I was shocked but I guess in your case its understandable.
My 1series has been dispatched to the dealer, how long till you get your car?

[ripkord]

Pickup on Saturday

[E60MKF]

My pick up would also be Saturday but I'm not here so its Monday. It's not my car (my car is a F10) either bought it for my wife... I can't wait to drive it though.
Post pictures please.

[ripkord]

Oh FFS, turns out the car I'm trading in wont be repaired today after all, so wont be picking the car up this weekend.

[E60MKF]

Sorry to hear that. When is the pick up now? I'm sure if DP are repairing your trade-in, they will let you take the new 1 series away?

My pick-up is wednesday

[ripkord]

Nah the pickup garage and repair garage are separate monday now

[E60MKF]

Got the car today. It's VERY NICE!

I even got a sneak peak at the 3 series GT too ahead of the release on saturday.

[Bob UK]

Originally Posted by E60MKF

Got the car today. It's VERY NICE!

I even got a sneak peak at the 3 series GT too ahead of the release on saturday.

The 3 GT seems to have the same Marmite looks that the 5 has.

[E60MKF]

Originally Posted by Bob UK

The 3 GT seems to have the same Marmite looks that the 5 has.

Personally I love it but then again I love the 5 GT too. Thing is why buy a 3 GT when you can buy a 518d for no more than £2000 more. The equipment level isn't great on the 3 GT.. Even worse in comparison to the 518d.

[ripkord]

Originally Posted by E60MKF

Got the car today. It's VERY NICE!

I even got a sneak peak at the 3 series GT too ahead of the release on saturday.

Congrats, picked mines up on monday, loving it. The interior seems a lot more modern than the 318d I had Better finish to most things.

I only have one annoyance: the inability to control the temperature of both sides of the aircon at once

I think I'll live though

Too scared to check for rusty seat bases! Ignorance is bliss!

[E60MKF]

Where about will this rust be if it is there?

[ripkord]

sitting in the drivers seat, its directly underneath the front part of the seat so if you stick your phone down there and take a pic youll see.

I checked - all clear

[E60MKF]

Just something which is bothering:

The radio sounds awful in the car, any station ranging from Clyde 1 to radio 4 sounds terrible on both FM and DAB. Have you had this problem? The aux and USB sound great!

On the F10 the radio sounds good too.

[ripkord]

Nah the radio is crystal clear, capital is like 80% louder than the other channels on DAB!?

I'm driving along the M8 every day though mate and since most of the DAB is coming from black hill I'd be amazed if I wasn't getting good reception!

[E60MKF]

I noticed that Clyde 1 was a lot louder than capital. Maybe I should have upgraded the system...

[mowflow]

Congratulations on the new cars Ripkord and Mrs E60MKF.

On the HF v DP comparison. I went to both looking for a good deal. HF were worse than useless, rude and purposely obstructive to the buying process all because they had a cancelled order which was nowhere near the spec I wanted that they tried to bully me into taking. I did talk to one good member of staff their (older guy, didn't get his name) The guy I was assigned to was unprofessional and the sales manager was worse. He was shiftier than any character I have ever met in any used car lot.

It's not the first bad experience i've had from one of Uncle Arnolds lot though so I don't know why I was surprised. The trouble with Arnold Clarke is that they run a monopoly on a lot of brands up here now. You won't get a good deal on certain cars because every single dealership is Arnold owned despite different names being above the door. It is not a healthy thing for any industry.

Anyway. It was the DP in the city centre that I used. Deal was smooth, staff were polite, friendly and they blew HF away with the deal they offered.

I also tried Menzies in Stirling. Good deals, good customer service, staff that actually call when they say they will, great follow up etc. I kind of wish i'd went with them but DP just worked that little bit harder and were closer for me to deal with. I will however be going to speak to them come time for a new car.

[ripkord]

Really impressed with the car so far, according to the journey computer I'm getting between 62 and 70 mpg on my daily 35 mile each way commute depending on traffic. Not bad for an engine that is sure to improve as it gets a bit older!!

Is there a way to have the speed displayed as figures in the extended (black panel) display?

[E60MKF]

I like the 1 series but compared to the golf there are some downsides:
Ergonomics are terrible in comparison (much smaller driver area, pedals too close together etc.)
Windows are small
Seat adjustment is very clunky
Middle seat is pretty much useless, the golf also had a transmission tunnel or something but there was more space

All that said against the golf here are the positives:
Much smoother ride
A lot quieter
Better finish
Better refinement
Quicker power delivery
No stupid touch screen but iDrive instead +10


Overall, the 1 series is a nice change and better value of money. On finance it is 20 cheaper per month for the 1 series even though it is a sport and a 1.6 (compared to the 1.4S golf we always buy).

[ovekvam]

I think the ergonomics is pretty much perfect in the F20. Maybe the ones with steering on the "wrong" side are worse?

[E60MKF]

I find in the F20 everything is too close together and it's very tight. The pedals are so close together that my feet rub against each or the footrest sometimes.