Texan at London Grenadier Showroom

[Ichabod]

We were very thankful for modern GPS. Sure it might not tell you which lane to be in coming up to one (if you missed the print on the road) but at least it tells you which bit to get off at. Way better than trying to make the trip the old way w/paper maps and an angry/stressed spouse!

 

[Norb-TX]

It does tell which lane to use. At least in my experience. Some even have a 3d rendering of the lanes. I think google.

 

[Reducs]

My first RHD experience was after landing in Glasgow and there was a roundabout -leaving- the airport/rental car area. That's just rude. The most mentally taxing thing for me was the lack of shoulders in rural Scotland. You'd have a hedge or fence brushing one mirror and a tourist bus or lorry brushing the other one. That wore me out. In Texas you can land a regional jet on the shoulders and you don't realize how much of a mental buffer that is until it's gone.

 

[nuclearbeef]

I did the same thing when I was in London a few weeks ago.
Took the tube/train out to Chiswick on a sunny Saturday morning only to find out that...
The Ineos dealer is CLOSED on Saturdays.

All was not lost, however because they share a lot with the Volvo dealer and the Volvo dealer was open.
So I got to wander around the lot and look at the different paint colors in the flesh, which was the main reason for the visit to the dealer.
Wasn't able to get in one, but left there and walked to the Old Pack Horse for a pint. (Highly recommend!)

The Old Pack Horse - Fuller's Pub and Restaurant in Chiswick

Visit The Old Pack Horse, home of outstanding beer & cider, great wines, mouth-watering fresh food and exceptional service.

www.oldpackhorsechiswick.co.uk

Then headed to the Grenadier Pub for a few more pints.
They had an IG test vehicle parked out front and the manager gave me the keys so I could check it out both inside and out.

I haven't seen anything that would keep me from converting my preorder into hardware in the driveway.
In fact, if anything, I'm more excited than ever to hand over my money.

This will only be the second new car I've ever purchased in my 54 years. The first was 2 years ago when I bought a 2021 Heritage Land Cruiser.
No regrets on that purchase!

 

[Eric]

My first RHD experience was after landing in Glasgow and there was a roundabout -leaving- the airport/rental car area. That's just rude. The most mentally taxing thing for me was the lack of shoulders in rural Scotland. You'd have a hedge or fence brushing one mirror and a tourist bus or lorry brushing the other one. That wore me out. In Texas you can land a regional jet on the shoulders and you don't realize how much of a mental buffer that is until it's gone.

Do not drive off the tarmac onto the grass verge when in rural Scotland. It is usually an overgrown 2ft deep ditch. Local sport is coach drivers, usually doing the school run, forcing non locals off.

 

[Ichabod]

So we stopped by that dealer today to take another look at the Grenadier and we had the dead opposite experience. The guy ther never got off his chair, never attempted to say hi, I tried to engage and mention I had a preorder, he just looked at me like I was a huge burden. I asked if the unit on the showroom was unlocked, he said probably, so I just showed myself around for 15-20 minutes. Never once got up or came over. Maybe they expect appointments or something, but I'll say this, zero chance I'd ever buy from that place after that. Hands down the most cold and uninvited I've ever felt at any dealer.

 

[Krabby]

I bet in part he knew you weren’t a potential sale, so why bother? Probably didn’t realize it would be easy to let it be known.

 

[Ichabod]

For sure, but a normal human would have at least said "hey feel free to look around, I'm tied up with XXX". But he and his mates just sat and chatted. It was seriously the strangest, rudest experience ever. I wasn't expecting a test ride or anything like that. but he was worse than if I was a panhandler. These guys never know, for all he knows I've got London friends who I'm telling to avoid it now.
I know the pot sounds bitchy, but I'm about the easiest guy to please there is. When we walked up he never moved to greet us. We were there 5+ minutes without a single one of those blokes saying a damn thing. It really was ridiculous.

 

[Norb-TX]

So we stopped by that dealer today to take another look at the Grenadier and we had the dead opposite experience. The guy ther never got off his chair, never attempted to say hi, I tried to engage and mention I had a preorder, he just looked at me like I was a huge burden. I asked if the unit on the showroom was unlocked, he said probably, so I just showed myself around for 15-20 minutes. Never once got up or came over. Maybe they expect appointments or something, but I'll say this, zero chance I'd ever buy from that place after that. Hands down the most cold and uninvited I've ever felt at any dealer.

Maybe he knew you weren't from Texas! Just kidding. No excuse for a salesman.

 

[Ichabod]

Maybe he knew you weren't from Texas! Just kidding. No excuse for a salesman.

Even worse, I'm not but my wife is! Which makes my kids 1/2 Texan too!

 

[N8diggity]

Thanks for posting about your first impressions! Did the dealership give any other interesting bits of info? (Software updates, common service needs, craziest sales experience)?

 

[4x4Brick #1561]

The dealer guy told me and another looky-loo American who was there from NYC that he didn't even get a commission on sales. So I'm not even going to call him a salesman. Maybe just 'dealer'? Stinks you had a bad experience. Shouldn't matter but I did email ahead of time and get an appointment time when I visited..

 

[Ichabod]

The dealer guy told me and another looky-loo American who was there from NYC that he didn't even get a commission on sales. So I'm not even going to call him a salesman. Maybe just 'dealer'? Stinks you had a bad experience. Shouldn't matter but I did email ahead of time and get an appointment time when I visited..

Wow no commissions, interesting. I thought maybe I should have made an appt but I really didn’t want to take up their time. I just wanted to see one again. Definitely was the strangest experience I’ve ever had, it would have been less rude if he had just run us out of the shop lol.