Leonards Motors - I don't recommend this place

stcosmin

I had two experiences with Leonards Motors Limerick and I definitely don't recommend this shop:

1. In spring 2018 I book a test drive for a Mazda3 having the intention to buy a new or second-hand car from this shop. The test drive was a disappointment because I was allowed to drive for a very short distance/time on a crowded road. After the test drive, I had a discussion with the salesperson (Leonards in person) and I was so disappointed because he didn't have a computer to configure a car or give me more info regarding different options and specs. He had only the available cars printed on papers which is not something I would expect for a car dealer in 2018. Later I discovered that his prices were worse when compared with other Mazda dealers.
The worst part was when I asked him about second-hand Mazda cars. He was so upset that I booked a test drive in a new car and now I am interested in second-hand cars. His behaviour made me feel so bad and I realised that I don't want to deal with that person anymore.

2. Later I bought a second-hand car from another dealer and I gave a second chance to this shop since it is the closest to my house. I called the service to make an appointment for a normal service (oil, filters, etc). Because they were fully booked in the next 2 months, I searched for another Mazda official dealer to service the car (the car was almost 3 years old so I wanted to service the car as soon as possible for peace of mind). A month after I serviced the car on another Mazda dealer, I discovered some warranty issues (small ones) that I wanted to address before my warranty will expire. I went to Leonards Motors (this time to the service office) and I requested them to fix the warranty issues. After they checked the car, they informed me that they will not address the issues in my car without giving me any reason. I pushed back and at the end, they informed me that I should go to the shop that serviced my car a month ago. I was so surprised and mad when I heard this and I just walked away. As far as I am aware, this is an abuse since I had a valid warranty and the car was serviced only at Mazda authorised dealers.
These are the reasons why I don' recommend this shop/service and I will never go there (I can go to Charleville or Ennis although I need to drive a bit).

I hope this is helpful for others that are thinking to go there to buy a car or for a service.

Cookiemunster

I'm a customer and I have never had any issues with them.

Any dealer would be annoyed if after test driving a brand new car you then told him your were actually more interested in a second hand car.

I'm actually astounded that you think that Leonards should honour a warranty on second hand car from another dealer. It doesn't work like that.

I think that your expectations are above what is realistic from an Irish car dealership.

h3000

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I'm a customer and I have never had any issues with them.

Any dealer would be annoyed if after test driving a brand new car you then told him your were actually more interested in a second hand car.

I'm actually astounded that you think that Leonards should honour a warranty on second hand car from another dealer. It doesn't work like that.

I think that your expectations are above what is realistic from an Irish car dealership.

I've never dealt with them so I have no idea if they're good or bad. I'd imagine the OP was referring to the manufacturer warranty and not a dealer specific warranty. I don't really see the problem testing a new car if you're looking for a new or very fresh second hand car. I'd be annoyed if it was a much older car too though. I believe there is more profit in the second hand car for dealers anyway.

Hitman3000

Why would you expect one garage to honour the warranty on a vehicle from a another garage or have I missed something? Also test driving a new car only to buy a 3 year old car?

Mc Love

Not surprised - I've heard the same about this dealership tbh. Most dealerships are much the same, although I've experienced a lot better in Cavanaghs & Kerry Motor Works.

If the car is covered under a Mazda warranty, then any Mazda garage should be able to do the work, but would have brought it back to the Mazda garage that performed the original work. Did you ring HO about your treatment?

Mc Love

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Why would you expect one garage to honour the warranty on a vehicle from a another garage or have I missed something? Also test driving a new car only to buy a 3 year old car?

It's a manufacturers warranty

Cookiemunster

Mc Love wrote: »

It's a manufacturers warranty

That's not clear though. The OP said that that had work done in another garage and was advised to return to that garage. It may not actually be a warranty issue if work was done on it elsewhere.

Hitman3000

Mc Love wrote:

It's a manufacturers warranty

Ok but why not bring it to the dealership where it was bought. He already messed Lenords around with the test drive they were hardly going to be thrilled to see him back with a car from a different dealership for a warranty issue.

Hitman3000

Mc Love wrote:

It's a manufacturers warranty

Where does the OP state it's a manufacturer warranty?

JamesBond2010

Mc Love wrote: »

Not surprised - I've heard the same about this dealership tbh. Most dealerships are much the same, although I've experienced a lot better in Cavanaghs & Kerry Motor Works.

If the car is covered under a Mazda warranty, then any Mazda garage should be able to do the work, but would have brought it back to the Mazda garage that performed the original work. Did you ring HO about your treatment?

i have heard the same thing as well about them & thats was from a person who bought a new car/suv off them. Not very Good.

Cookiemunster

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

i have heard the same thing as well about them & thats was from a person who bought a new car/suv off them. Not very Good.

I bought a new car off them and have had no issues. I'd have no problem buying from them again. The thing is I've heard at least one bad story about nearly every dealership in Limerick. Sometimes people expect more than they're entitled to.

JamesBond2010

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I bought a new car off them and have had no issues. I'd have no problem buying from them again. The thing is I've heard at least one bad story about nearly every dealership in Limerick. Sometimes people expect more than they're entitled to.

ya i think you are right.

bigpink

Actually how do they get away with parking all the cars on a public road

TheShow

I don’t see what the issue is with a test drive. It’s not a commitment to buy. New cars are not cheap, surely you’re entitled to take a test drive to make a informed opinion on a car. If you decide not to buy so what. Any dealer that gets annoyed over this is not someone that is worth dealing with, not very good customer service.

If the warranty issues are manufacturers warranty then the Mazda dealer should have honoured the warranty, if just standard warranty then there’s no onus on the Mazda dealer to sort out.

nim1bdeh38l2cw

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Where does the OP state it's a manufacturer warranty?

He states the car is a nearly 3 years old, and he also states it's a Mazda. Correlating the two together, and knowing that Mazda give a 3 year warranty with new cars, it's a given that it's a manufacturer's warranty.

Hitman3000

Jamari Lazy Dollar wrote:

He states the car is a nearly 3 years old, and he also states it's a Mazda. Correlating the two together, and knowing that Mazda give a 3 year warranty with new cars, it's a given that it's a manufacturer's warranty.

Still seems odd he didn't ask the dealer he bought it off to address the warranty issues. Usually 2 sides to a story. We have only one.

colm_mcm

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Ok but why not bring it to the dealership where it was bought. He already messed Lenords around with the test drive they were hardly going to be thrilled to see him back with a car from a different dealership for a warranty issue.

Whoa, he hardly messed them around by taking a test drive and not buying.
The job of the salesperson is to sell. OP was clearly in the market for something seeing as they bought elsewhere.

Ive only had one interaction with this garage, and it wasn’t positive either, nothing major, just a completely different style of service to what I’d expect. They’re in business a good while so probably have their own way of doing things.

If the OP has a Mazda under manufacturers warranty and live in Limerick city, why should they drive to Ennis or Charleville to get warranty work? Mazda Ireland pay the dealer to do the work and it’s one of the functions of a dealer network.

Reminds me of the guy in the bike shop who refused to fix punctures for kids or do any work on their Halfords supplied bikes. Sour grapes.

Hitman3000

colm_mcm wrote:

Whoa, he hardly messed them around by taking a test drive and not buying. The job of the salesperson is to sell. OP was clearly in the market for something seeing as they bought elsewhere.

He got his test drive then said to the salesman he was looking for a secondhand car. Seems to me the salesman thought he was messing around.

h3000

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Still seems odd he didn't ask the dealer he bought it off to address the warranty issues. Usually 2 sides to a story. We have only one.

Maybe it was a lot closer. I for instance bought my car in Fermoy. My car still had a manufactures warranty on it (just ran out ) I would definitely bring it to my local dealership for warranty work rather than trying to get the car to Fermoy.

h3000

Hitman3000 wrote: »

He got his test drive then said to the salesman he was looking for a secondhand car. Seems to me the salesman thought he was messing around.

He bought a two year old car. I think it’s reasonable to think he was genuinely considering a new one too.

nim1bdeh38l2cw

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Still seems odd he didn't ask the dealer he bought it off to address the warranty issues. Usually 2 sides to a story. We have only one.

Why would he, when Leonard's is the nearest to him?

Hitman3000

Jamari Lazy Dollar wrote:

Why would he, when Leonard's is the nearest to him?

Maybe Leonard's were too busy to do work within the warranty timeframe or after inspection they weren't warranty issues. How knows as the OP has disappeared since his first and last post.

JamesBond2010

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Maybe Leonard's were too busy to do work within the warranty timeframe or after inspection they weren't warranty issues. How knows as the OP has disappeared since his first and last post.

He has only posted 5 times since he joined & they have all being question type/looking for help posts.

Hitman3000

JamesBond2010 wrote:

He has only posted 5 times since he joined & they have all being question type/looking for help posts.

Just referring to this thread he has clarified nothing since his op.

Irish_rat

Did a test drive on one of their cars and the lad is in the car with you the whole test-drive, where other dealers let you drive the car around for a few mins and inspect it.

Avatar MIA

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

He has only posted 5 times since he joined & they have all being question type/looking for help posts.

Don't think that's breaking any rules.

colm_mcm

Irish_rat wrote: »

Did a test drive on one of their cars and the lad is in the car with you the whole test-drive, where other dealers let you drive the car around for a few mins and inspect it.

Perfectly reasonable for them to stay in the car with you to be fair. You’re taking a big risk handing over €25k of a car to a stranger.

Cookiemunster

Irish_rat wrote: »

Did a test drive on one of their cars and the lad is in the car with you the whole test-drive, where other dealers let you drive the car around for a few mins and inspect it.

Not with a new car. They generally don't have plates so someone from the dealership goes with you.

Avatar MIA

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Not with a new car. They generally don't have plates so someone from the dealership goes with you.

Aren't they Demos? I was given one for a weekend and the salesman didn't come home with me (not from Lenords).

naughtysmurf

It might be a Leonard's motors thing but I've test driven two used cars with them over the years & both times a sales person came along for the ride, they didn't put me under pressure as regards the length of the drive, bought twice, got a great deal with one, the other was a bit of a lemon, never had any rudeness or anything like that in fairness to them, would buy again from them if they had the right car at the right price.

Skuxx

Friend of mine traded in his car with them, about 2 years later he started getting phone calls and letters stating the car he gave them in the trade had been previously crashed!! All completely out of the blue and unbeknown to him!! Nothing ever came of it but it sounded like they were trying something on if I'm honest!!

chicorytip

bigpink wrote:

Actually how do they get away with parking all the cars on a public road

There is some kind of exemption for car dealerships and garages that allows them to park vehicles in this fashion as long as a garage sign is displayed on the car.

mgbgt1978

And of course you have some evidence to back this up ???????;)

phill106

from laois but should be an all over
Unauthorised Vehicles on Public Road – Section 71 Roads Act 1993
Laois County Council wishes to advise that it is an offence under the above Act to
erect, place or retain a vehicle used for the purposes of advertising, the sale of
goods, the provision of services or other similar purpose on a public road without the
authorisation of the Roads Authority.
This includes the placing of vehicles “For Sale” on the public carriageways.
The owner of any such unauthorised vehicle is instructed to remove the vehicle with
immediate effect. Failing such removal, the Council will, without further notice,
arrange for the removal of the offending vehicle in the interests of public safety and
amenity.
A vehicle removed and stored by Laois County Council under this Section shall be
given to a person claiming it, but only if he makes a declaration in writing that he is
the owner of the vehicle or is authorised by its owner to claim it, and pays the costs
incurred by Laois County Council in removing and storing the said vehicle.
Laois County Council will retain any such removed vehicles for six (6) weeks. If at the
end of this period the vehicle remains unclaimed and not removed, Laois County
Council will dispose of the vehicle as authorised under the Ac

Deagol

phill106 wrote: »

from laois but should be an all over
Unauthorised Vehicles on Public Road – Section 71 Roads Act 1993
Laois County Council wishes to advise that it is an offence under the above Act to
erect, place or retain a vehicle used for the purposes of advertising, the sale of
goods, the provision of services or other similar purpose on a public road without the
authorisation of the Roads Authority.
This includes the placing of vehicles “For Sale” on the public carriageways.
The owner of any such unauthorised vehicle is instructed to remove the vehicle with
immediate effect. Failing such removal, the Council will, without further notice,
arrange for the removal of the offending vehicle in the interests of public safety and
amenity.
A vehicle removed and stored by Laois County Council under this Section shall be
given to a person claiming it, but only if he makes a declaration in writing that he is
the owner of the vehicle or is authorised by its owner to claim it, and pays the costs
incurred by Laois County Council in removing and storing the said vehicle.
Laois County Council will retain any such removed vehicles for six (6) weeks. If at the
end of this period the vehicle remains unclaimed and not removed, Laois County
Council will dispose of the vehicle as authorised under the Ac

Agree. Near where I live a garage takes up and blocks a large amount of the hard shoulder with their cars. No idea why they think it's ok to do this.

chicorytip

mgbgt1978 wrote:

And of course you have some evidence to back this up ???????

Yes. The evidence is visible on Mulgrave Street every working day. They are long established main dealers at the site so would hardly be engaging in a prolonged, flagrant breach of parking regulations - as some may see it - without incurring the wrath of the powers that be. Perhaps they just pay the daily parking fees to the council.

black & white

I bought 3 cars from Leonards, 1 second Hand and 2 new, between '95 and '06 and thought they were decent to deal with, I dealt directly with the boss on 2 of the 3 and couldn't say a bad word about him.

realdanbreen

stcosmin wrote: »

I had two experiences with Leonards Motors Limerick and I definitely don't recommend this shop:

1. In spring 2018 I book a test drive for a Mazda3 having the intention to buy a new or second-hand car from this shop. The test drive was a disappointment because I was allowed to drive for a very short distance/time on a crowded road. After the test drive, I had a discussion with the salesperson (Leonards in person) and I was so disappointed because he didn't have a computer to configure a car or give me more info regarding different options and specs. He had only the available cars printed on papers which is not something I would expect for a car dealer in 2018. Later I discovered that his prices were worse when compared with other Mazda dealers.
The worst part was when I asked him about second-hand Mazda cars. He was so upset that I booked a test drive in a new car and now I am interested in second-hand cars. His behaviour made me feel so bad and I realised that I don't want to deal with that person anymore.

2. Later I bought a second-hand car from another dealer and I gave a second chance to this shop since it is the closest to my house. I called the service to make an appointment for a normal service (oil, filters, etc). Because they were fully booked in the next 2 months, I searched for another Mazda official dealer to service the car (the car was almost 3 years old so I wanted to service the car as soon as possible for peace of mind). A month after I serviced the car on another Mazda dealer, I discovered some warranty issues (small ones) that I wanted to address before my warranty will expire. I went to Leonards Motors (this time to the service office) and I requested them to fix the warranty issues. After they checked the car, they informed me that they will not address the issues in my car without giving me any reason. I pushed back and at the end, they informed me that I should go to the shop that serviced my car a month ago. I was so surprised and mad when I heard this and I just walked away. As far as I am aware, this is an abuse since I had a valid warranty and the car was serviced only at Mazda authorised dealers.
These are the reasons why I don' recommend this shop/service and I will never go there (I can go to Charleville or Ennis although I need to drive a bit).

I hope this is helpful for others that are thinking to go there to buy a car or for a service.

Well you do know that the car trade has a reputation for being a bit shady at time. Why I have even heard that some dealers will go on social media with the sole intention of bad mouthing the opposition, can you believe that! :eek:

yop

*Mod Note* Not sure why OP is posting threads and not responding. Not the 1st time.
The thread has gone all over the place and in fairness to Leonards Motors, lets park it.

yop

**MOD NOTE ** - Update from the OP asked the mods to post this in relation to the questions.


1. Yes, I am talking about the manufacturer warranty which is available worldwide so any Mazda dealer should deal with it. Leonards Motors refused to do that.
2. I bought the car from a UK Mazda dealer so going back was not something easy and desirable to do. Mazda worldwide warranty applies even in this case.
3. When I did the test drive I was not decided on a new or second-hand car and there are not so many differences between a 2015 and a 2018 Mazda 3. Is normal to do a test drive on a new car in this situation and then decide what to buy. After I tested the car I didn't tell the guy that I actually want to buy a second-hand car, I just asked him if he has any almost new Mazda 3 to check. As you can notice I bought a car in the end so my intention was to buy not to waste time.
4. After I bought the car I wanted to do a regular service (oil, filters, brake pads) and because Leonards Motors was busy I had to go to another Mazda dealer and service the car. I don't see anything wrong here. The warranty issues were not related to the service (i had a damaged passenger seat cover and an issue with the infotainment wifi).
5. I don't have any connection with another Mazda dealer so this bad review is an honest one and this is exactly what happened.

As a side note, I solved all my warranty issues at another Irish Mazda dealer and now the car is just fine.
I hope this clarifies all the questions.