Sir,

Sir,

About a month after taking delivery of a new £700 car produced by one of Britain’s largest groups, the entire rear light assemblies on both sides disintegrated and fell off due to a combination of bad design and bad workmanship.

I immediately ‘phoned the sole London distributors who supplied the car. As they were only the sole distributors for the car in the capital and largest city in the country, they naturally did not have the parts in stock but promised to try to obtain them within a month. After six weeks, many telephone calls and two visits to their service depot they informed me that they had obtained the necessary parts and that I could now take the car over to have them fitted.

While they were being fitted I asked to see the Service Manager and expressed to him politely but firmly my dissatisfaction at the spare parts situation and said that next time I bought a new car I would seriously consider a Volkswagen. He replied that the Volkswagen spares situation was not as good as is often made out, for they themselves had one in stock which they had taken in part-exchange and had been waiting six weeks for a new water pump for it.

I wonder if they are still waiting . . .!

                                                                                                                    I am, Yours, etc.,

Wimbledon Common.                                                                                                HUGH K. EDGLEY.