So , visited my dealership today to enquire about feedback from Stellantis about the issues with my DS4.
Chatting with another DS owner I was shocked to learn that apparently the dealership might be dropping the DS franchise after just 12 months !
This particular dealership is family owned and has be running for many many years, they have the franchise for Vauxhall, DS, Toyata, Volvo & Mazda.
The showroom’s and service departments are spread over a 2 mile stretch of road, plus other parts of the country, and is probably the largest combined dealerships in South Wales.
The DS franchise has only been open for around 12 months, but back a few months ago, when I was purchasing my DS they were extending the DS showroom to include Alpha Romeo to their list of franchise’s, the sales manager who sold me my car was very excited to be having Aplha Romeo as part of his showroom.
It now appears though, sales of the DS brand havent took off so they are giving it another 6 months and if things dont pick up with DS the Alpha brand will extend further and take over the whole showroom, dropping DS sales and servicing from the dealership altogether.
If this does go ahead the nearest DS dealership to me will be well over an hours drive.
This isn’t great news at all, I hope things improve with sales, or that it’s just rumour, especially as my car seems to be parked in the service department more than on my drive.
My son had an Alpha Romeo Giulietta a few years ago, it was a stunning car but the dealership was a 3 hour round trip for servicing, so he sold the car after a couple of years, it’s a bit ironic that I might now have to do a 3 hour round trip to my DS serviced/repaired, but Aplha Romeo will now be just 10 minutes away !
My nearest main dealer is 53 miles away, I do have a DS salon 17 miles away but this will not cover any warranty work. I love the quality and drive of the DS4 but after all the initial problems when Stellantis had my car for nearly eight weeks of the first 12 it was in my possession, I must admit I do scrutinise everything just in case something else turns up. As for Alfa, I wish the Stelvio had been a little more affordable!. Would I consider replacing my DS at a later date with another? Not sure, but then again I seldom have the same brand twice in a row.
Hi. Well you are lucky compared to me as over the last 5 years I have lost Portsmouth DS, Poole DS and Fareham DS. So having used the worst DS in Crawley and barred I have a choice of Exeter London or Cardiff in Wales that I chose and have been great. The down side is it’s 148 miles from my home but worth it as they are very helpful and treat you as one expects with a luxury brand.
They recently fitted a new Infotainment unit for me under warranty. The problem now as usual is with DS customer service as I had paid for the Connected Navigation Pack which is due for renewal in April 2025.
They keep asking for Screenshots of the SatNav that are not available and different screen shots of information of my iPhone technical and living data etc etc etc. It’s now in the 2nd week and no further forward even though they have the My Services showing this Connected Navigation Pack shows Active!!
Love the DS7 Performance Crossback but so fed up with DS Customer Care. Seriously thinking of a new brand of car owing to the lack of care I have experienced. Not what they advertise on all their videos.
Paul
Southampton Uk