Woods Motorcycles Abergele

**paulsant** · 29 Aug 08, 09:40 PM

Hi all,
Purchased a new Monster S4RS from these good people.
I can not recommend their collective service enough,
Sales, accesories, advice, parts.........service dept unknown as yet.
Its a 200mile round trip for me and all the people met at this dealer including the BOSS have been a pleasure to deal with. Nothing seems too much trouble and the staff are very helpfull a six star dealer give them a look see.
You will not regret it,

Paul (not employed by Woods)

**Neal750ss** · 30 Aug 08, 09:06 AM

Hi, I've always found them very helpful and would recommend them!

**d_ean** · 30 Aug 08, 10:10 PM

I had my old monster worked on by them 5 years ago (my only experience with them). My contact was with Andrew (Wood, owner i believe & recollect). Unfortunately it wasnt a pleasant experience for me, overall they had my bike for a month (i was promised 2 weeks maximum).The work requested consisted of a service and some investigative work on my carbs (i had flatsliders on it suffering from flat spots and i was looking for a loving mechanic to weave some magic). The initial responses were good when i dropped the bike off so i left feeling re-assured after driving for 4 hours to get to them (south wales to north wales is a mare), however things dipped off fairly promptly after that.

Basically it was the usual, i was calling them but they weren't calling me, i was asking questions but they weren't answering them. On an interpersonal level i was concerned at Andrew's demeanour and felt it patronising, i felt like i was being patted on the head.

To cut a long story short it ended up in a confrontation which resulted in them delivering my bike back via courier a few days later. I had to pay for the work they did otherwise they wouldnt give it back, there was an exchange of letters, we put our handbags away and it all fizzled out. My bike appeared to be much the same..

On reflection i think that i sent my bike to the wrong people, What i mean is that main dealers perform main dealer functions: They sell bikes and maintain warranties, nothing more: To ask anymore of them is an unreasonable expectation.They are not loving caring mechanics who are curious about your bike and want to get it right for you, they are a franchise, they do what they have to, nothing more. However there are loving caring mechanics out there, i know, have met them.

My advice for anyone with a bike out of warranty looking for some work to be done is to STAY AWAY from ANY main dealer!

My advice for anyone with a bike in warranty is get to know your dealer, be nice to them. Once you have bought your bike from them and if you have a problem it is a simple case of you need them more than they need you, therefore develop a relationship with them so in the event that you need help they have a degree of personal interest to respond.

Sorry for the rant, in reality i am sure most of you guys know all of the above(I also accept that you might disagree!)and have plenty more experience of the issues than i do, however i am new to the site so i wanted to try and act big.

Right, i'll get off my soapbox now as you might start chucking tomatoes at me.

Dean

**paulsant** · 31 Aug 08, 09:55 PM

d_ean,

Respect your views, I've been in the trade when I was young and daft (service manager at a main BMW and Kawasaki dealership) and know where your views come from there is a major difference between a mechanic and a fitter, the mech needs to understand how the thing works, lives and breathes in the case of engines to determine whats wrong with it to fix it. Its been my experience that these guys are hard to find. Poor wages do not help either which was the reason I got out of it.
A fitter just takes of what he thinks is broke and installs a new part.
I've had no experience with Woods service yet but going off the rest of the staff I have high expectations. My bike is my pride and joy and comes a close second to the wife and kids, I am also very fussy and have very high expectations for any outfit entrusted to look after my wheels under warranty, my nearest dealers did not inspire confidence which is why I took the 200m round trip to Woods.

Paul

**spike748** · 31 Aug 08, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulsant

d_ean,

Respect your views, I've been in the trade when I was young and daft (service mananager at a main BMW and Kawasaki dealership) and know where your views come from there is a major difference between a mechanic and a fitter, the mech needs to understsand how the thing works, lives and breathes in the case of engines to determine whats wrong with it to fix it. Its been my experince that these guys are hard to find. Poor wages do not help either which was the reason I got out of it.
A fitter just takes of what he thinks is broke and installs a new part.
I've had no experence with Woods service yet but going off the rest of the staff I have high expectations. My bike is my pride and joy and comes a close second to the wife and kids, I am also very fussy and have very high expectations for any outfit enthrusted to look after my wheels under warranty, my nearest dealers did not inspire confidence which is why I took the 200m round trip to Woods.

Paul

I respect both views, good and bad. I can honestly say that in the past few years that I have grown up with Ducatis, I would always entrust my service and business with the guys and gals at Woods and it's 160 mile round trip for me. I do not have a bad word about them to say. Just this weekend I drove up in the cage to collect the standard pipes for my S4, and am welcomed immediately.

This dealer knows and appreciates that I have a Ducati dealership on my doorstep. I cannot afford new bikes, but have had several previously loved Dukes from this dealership and have been more than happy with each purchase. I have also ridden the test fleet of Dukes that they have to offer... he, (Andrew) knowing full well that I will not buy the bike new. This includes test rides on the 1098s, Hypermotard, Multistrada, Monster, Sport Classic etc. Just gets my juices flowing for a second hand "whatever" when I can afford one

d_ean I am sorry that you have had a bad experience with them, but in all my dealings with them, I have found that they are top people. One of the mechs there is a Ducati owner and has a stable full of bikes, he is passionate about bikes and Ducatis and a class engineer and mechanic.

Just my 2p.

Spike

(Nowt to do with Woods)

**NedLudd** · 02 Sep 08, 10:58 PM

A previous thread here:

Woods of Abergele (North Wales)

**martyn748** · 06 Sep 08, 07:59 AM

Whatever dealer there will be good and bad experiences, I wonder how us customers would fare on a dealer website rating and sharing their exchanges with their customers, some of us may get barred from every dealer !!!!

Good advice, get to know your dealer/specialist whatever.

**Rob998** · 06 Sep 08, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulsant

d_ean,

Respect your views, I've been in the trade when I was young and daft (service manager at a main BMW and Kawasaki dealership)
Paul

Ahh! that place! Were you there in the mid-late 90's Paul? We may have crossed paths (and maybe swords....)

Just to show that even a well respected dealership (and Southport Superbikes are...) can get it wrong... I used to have a ZXR750M (one of the WSB homologation models. I had a "K" as well, but i digress..) which had flatslides, and SS tried to set them up for me 3 times. Lets just say that in the end I bought a set of Davida carb balancing dials & did it myself......

**paulsant** · 06 Sep 08, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob998

Ahh! that place! Were you there in the mid-late 90's Paul? We may have crossed paths (and maybe swords....)

Just to show that even a well respected dealership (and Southport Superbikes are...) can get it wrong... I used to have a ZXR750M (one of the WSB homologation models. I had a "K" as well, but i digress..) which had flatslides, and SS tried to set them up for me 3 times. Lets just say that in the end I bought a set of Davida carb balancing dials & did it myself......

Not me Rob been out of the trade for over 25yrs now, You got the right dealer though lol.
I work for a well respected areo engine manufactuer now.
I got a set of Davida's to very handy. Not much use on my monster though.

**gordonp** · 08 Sep 08, 01:06 PM

I have dealt with Paul at Wood's for many years and always found him spot on, not my local dealer now but I still call in for a chat when passing