Dicksons Motor Group, Dunblane

[Zak]

Thinking of buying from these guys. Does anyone have any previous experience of them?

cheers for any help.

[Verbal]

All there motors look about £1000 to £2000 overpriced to me.

Never been there so can`t comment on service, I do know that Dicksons (if the same as the one in Perth) have a very good name.

Your better buying off someone on the forum down south and driving her home.

[Zak]

They are the same group but the nearest option to me is Mackay Trading in Edinburgh and they are more expensive than Dicksons. Does anyone know of any reputable, 'sensibly' priced dealers in Scotland?

[Ken]

Hi Zak
I went to Dickson's in Dunblane to look at a Surf back in January, despite phoning first to say I was coming when I got there the Surf had a flat tyre and a flat battery - not impressed!
They seem to deal mainly in Pajeros rather than Surfs and I cannot comment on their after sales service. I have spoken to one guy who got a Surf from them and he seemed fairly happy.
I got my Surf from Mackay Trading and you and Verbal are right in that they are more expensive. However after having just had a very bad experience with a Freelander I wasn't prepared to take a risk on a private sale.
I will say that they turn out their vehicles well including full service inc timing belt change, all the electrics work and they guarantee to provide service/parts for as long as you have the vehicle. I have only had my Surf 3 weeks so cannot comment on warranty/after sales but very happy so far.
As you have probably realised there aren't that many Surf's on the go in Scotland so don't jump at the first one you see - it took me 4 months but got there in the end.
Hope this helps and good luck

[Zak]

Cheers Ken, very Useful. Do you know of any other Scottish traders if you have been looking for a few months?

[Ken]

I have spent a fair bit of time looking on the internet and I am not aware of anyone else who deal in Surfs on a regular basis. There are a few dealers who handle grey imports and they might be able to source a vehicle if you gave them a spec of what you wanted.

[Verbal]

There are a couple of dealers near Glasgow, can`t remember there names off hand.

There was one guy on this forum who was importing them to order from Fife, so I`d try and contact him as he ensured a much fairer price. The guy owns Mountain Jacks which is a company that do offroad alterations to 4x4's. Give him a phone and he may be able to help.

Other than that, go down south and get one, as they are loads cheaper.

I also saw your thread on Mackay Trading Company, thats where my surf was bought from originally (i bought private sale) and the Surf has had no problems in 3 years and they also put a new timing belt on it. I think Jax also bought her surf from Mackay and also gave them a glowing write-up (its in here somewhere) so they seem to be a good reputable company, although you pay a premium for there service.

[andy]

Contact Sewerat http://www.yotasurf.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=44 , he imports Surfs and will get you a good one.

[Zak]

Went down to Mackays this aftenoon and although they are a little high in price the Surfs look to be in good condition. He also has a few manual models but they are all around the 46000 mile range. All 96/97 reg.

I do have a chance at a 97 auto and it only has 23000 on the clock plus it's a similar price to the mackay models. Not arrived yet so not sure what condition it will be in. Very frustrating.......

[joen.i]

no harm m8 but i personaly wouldn't buy over priced vehicles from anyone just for 1 month warranty for example 10k for evo 3 i can get them for 4-5k all in direct from japan

try importing ur own as they r going cheap at the mo in japan
set ur limit to FOB price eg 950000jpyen(4,772gbp)grade 4
shipping £600 cif(insurance)
customs duty 10%=£5910 VAT17.5=£6950
custom agent fees -£170
sva test=£150 then the parts dials(mph) or convertor, fog light take any after market stuff off an if spare wheel on boot take that of to with bracket an bullbars if there is any an turbo timers
reg+tax=£140
Mot =£30 which she will pass without doing a thing
total=££7500+model report dependin on year www.modelreports.com
u can get all ur sva gear from import solutions ask for julie www.importsolutions.co.uk
have a look through this just as a rough guide m8 u might hit lucky with a top spec ssr-g with leather seatsfor an extra 1k on budget http://japanusedcar.net/

[Zak]

Thanks for the really solid advice. I may consider that in the future as , after looking at the site, the dealers are obviously making a fortune. Thankfully on this occassion I may be able to get the company to pay for most of it and the car should only cost me personally around three grand so I will probably go to the best dealer option in the end.

[Sewerat]

Zak,

I've been off forum so missed your post, contact JAZ, she's in Fife & bought her Surf from McKays, ask her what they were like.