Lime Garages, Leamington Spa

[smcf]

Hot on the heels of my other recommendation for the independent specialist Hallam & Sutherns, just thought my local dealer deserved a mention as well.

Lime Garages in Leamington seem to be small enough to be able to maintain good levels of customer service, and that personal touch.

In particular Dave on the service desk is, and always has been, very helpful, even with general queries over the phone.

Anyone else impressed as well?

[gixxer]

Hi Steve, you've just given me renewed confidence .....my Saab was originally supplied by Lime Garage and all the servicing apart from the last one was carried out by them........Don't know how it ended up in East Yorkshire

[smcf]

gixxer,

great Saabs go anywhere, and they also go on and on and on and on......well so I've heard!! Mine's only done 7000 miles in the 11 months I've had it, so there'a a whole lot more going on I hoping for!!!!!

[mikej]

Well while Lime 's work is good there attitude to me was not.

On my old 93s i had a leaking AC pipe and they said they would not fix it even though the car was 2 months old as it was an import with 1 year Saab warranty.

They did not like it when i told them ALL Saab's were imports

They did finally agree to do the work if i took all my paper work in.
The invoice which was half way through an inch thick pile of paper was on the top when i collected the car, so i guess all they wanted to know was what i payed.

Never used them after my first service as i wrote off(not my fault) there courtesy Corsa 1.0L 2 roads from the garage, they were not too happy.

Recived a much better service from BOND STREET SAAB in Leicester and used them ever since.

[wrighar]

My Scaero is a Lemington car.

I was the 5th owner when I bought it at 24 moths old 8 years ago.

Passenger door was full of glass, as were the rear speakers.

Andrew.

[robw]

Lime have been my local Saab dealer for around 15 years - even since I've had Saabs - and I've always had a love-hate relationship with them. I did have a serious bust-up with them once when they replaced a tyre without authorisation and then charged me *double* what I could get the local tyre place to charge.

Since I got my 9-3TiD new in 2001 I've got it serviced there and they've been great with the warranty problems too. But for the latest service (54,000) their quote was just silly: £440. Got a quote from Concept in Birmingham as a comparison who wanted about £310, but eventually went to WMSS who charge me *half* Lime's price.

[JFP]

I've purchased 2 older 9000's from Lime and have been very happy with the cars, they are one of the few "plate glass" dealers I've seen that are prepared to sell older (down to £500 in 1 case) SAABs.

They have always done a good job, got spares quickly, and treated me very well.

The only down side is that like all SAAB garages they are very (very) expensive to have work done there. £1200+ for a gearbox re-build and silly money to do cam chains. If I had to have my work done there I would have had to sell my 9000's long ago !!.

[smcf]

JFP,

I don't know about the cost of doing things on 9000s, but I know a main dealer (not Lime, but it was either Reading Saab, or Continental Cars in Stansted, Essex) told me that to replace a timing chain on a 9-5 2Litre would cost in the region of £1500. I've just had this done at a Saab specialist for under £400. I dread to think what a main dealer in central London might charge for this same job!!

I expect labour rates vary, and if you thought Lime was expensive, I bet further south it would be even worse!!

[arawson]

Lime are not my favourite dealers after they told me they were too busy to look at my gearbox and book it in for a Safeguard repair before I went off on holiday. My Safeguard, I thought, was due to expire while I was away so needed the problem registering so I could have it repaired on my return.

Luckily Bond Street, who I've used for many years, were happy to help and Steve, the service manager, sorted the paper work as I drove over from Warwick. When I arrived I only needed to sign the claim form - they also did a good job of fixing my gearbox.

On the other hand, and in the interest of fairness, my girlfriend has had her company Saabs serviced there since 1995 and has never had a problem and likes their customer service.