Group 1 VW Exeter: A very positive buying experience with Calla Petvin on the sales team. Thank you Calla for all your help in making this new car purchase run smoothly. Also thank you to James. A great team on VW sales.

During the service, I received a phone call advising that the spark plugs required replacement. I explicitly informed the advisor that these had been replaced last year. I was told in response that your records indicated they were last changed in 2021. Based on this professional advice, I authorised the work. Upon returning home and reviewing my records, I confirmed that the spark plugs were indeed replaced only 12 months ago. It appears the worksheet Inchcape were consulting with, was either outdated or did not reflect the actual service history of my vehicle. Or even my car! Which is a cause for concern. When you question the advisor she should have double checked. They are pleasant to deal with but lost confidence. Lady on car sales very helpful.. ADVICE. Keep your paperwork. Update Wednesday 15th April Due to petrol concerns, got our car out to turn engine over..squeak.. For the refund we travelled by public transport to Inchcape to save petrol. This was a journey that should not have been required, but when asked details of card and other details, by phone we were alarmed. This was first time the vehicle had been out of garage. noise not there before service! The service 25th March, earliest now for check 12th May. CONCERNED Not there before service, high pitch squeak now. Safe to drive?

I booked a courtesy car and was told to fill it up when I bring it back. But the amount of mileage I had travelled did not equate to the amount of petroleum I had put in the car. I will record the mileage in the future the next time I have a courtesy car.
And this is a funny thing when I got my car back I noticed two nearside tyres had been cleaned with a tyre applicator that they use in show rooms as I clean the car myself.
So they used my car as an advertisement as it was parked at the front parking bay as you drive in.

I had a very disappointing experience at Group 1 Volkswagen Exeter on Saturday 11th April 2026. My partner urgently needed car parts to fix his vehicle for work, so I cycled from Heavitree to Marsh Barton carrying the old parts with me as reference. As you can imagine, they were used and oily, and by the time I arrived, I wasn’t looking my best—but I was simply a customer needing help. After waiting to be seen, I was approached by a member of the parts team who immediately made me feel unwelcome. While I was trying to explain my situation and carefully unwrap the parts, he abruptly told me he couldn’t help because “the system was down” and offered nothing more than taking my details for a call back during the week. I explained I had come from far away and that this was urgent, but he showed no empathy and simply repeated himself. The interaction felt dismissive and, honestly, quite judgmental. What made this worse is that I then went to another Volkswagen dealership nearby, where I received completely different treatment. The system was actually working, and the staff member there went above and beyond to help me—proving that the issue was not the system, but the lack of willingness to assist. Customer service should not depend on how someone looks when they walk through the door. Anyone could return another day to purchase a car, and first impressions matter. Unfortunately, because of this experience, I would not feel comfortable returning to this branch.

The salesmen at Group 1 are good at sales but customer service afterwards is lacking. I was given the impression my brand new car would be ready in 3 months, it took 9. When the car eventually arrived it was the wrong spec as they had not placed the order properly with VW! They did manage to source a replacement from another garage in a week. I made three separate appointments to collect the vehicle, they cancelled these as the car was not ready. Then the car was ready and the Sales Manager called attempting to pressurise me into collecting it that day (30/3/26), even after I had informed the salesman I was unable to collect it at a few hours notice. The rush was that they needed it handed over that month for their sales figures. He was so persistant I had to be very firm. It seemed a bit cheeky to expect me to collect asap when I had been fobbed off for months about when my car would be ready. I was promised extras due to the issues but these were not fully fulfilled. I received no updates from the dealership during the 9 months I was waiting. I had to phone them and was lucky if they answered any calls. At one point it took me 3 weeks of ringing to get hold of the salesman. There is usually no answer to phone calls, if your call is answered your salesman is always with a customer and you have to leave a message for them to call you back, this rarely happens and this practice was confirmed by the salesman when I collected my vehicle, it's a widespread tactic and seems to be well known for dodging calls. If you are looking for an excellent sales pitch followed by: no communication, difficult to get hold of, pressure to meet their deadlines, possibility of the wrong vehicle, promises that are not met - then visit Group 1. There is a reason that car salesmen have the poor reputation that they do and the manager of this dealership seems to really want to perpetuate this. If you want a better experience I'd recommend trying a dealer that has a better level of customer service.

The salesmen at Group 1 are good at sales but customer service afterwards is lacking.I was given the impression my brand new car would be ready in 3 months, it took 9. When the car eventually arrived it was the wrong spec as they had not placed the order properly with VW! They did manage to source a replacement from another garage in a week. I made three separate appointments to collect the vehicle, they cancelled these as the car was not ready. Then the car was ready and the Sales Manager called attempting to pressurise me into collecting it that day (30/3/26), even after I had informed the salesman I was unable to collect it at a few hours notice. The rush was that they needed it handed over that month for their sales figures. He was so persistant I had to be very firm. It seemed a bit cheeky to expect me to collect asap when I had been fobbed off for months about when my car would be ready. I was promised extras due to the issues but these were not fully fulfilled.I received no updates from the dealership during the 9 months I was waiting. I had to phone them and was lucky if they answered any calls. At one point it took me 3 weeks of ringing to get hold of the salesman. There is usually no answer to phone calls, if your call is answered your salesman is always with a customer and you have to leave a message for them to call you back, this rarely happens and this practice was confirmed by the salesman when I collected my vehicle, it's a widespread tactic and seems to be well known for dodging calls.If you are looking for an excellent sales pitch followed by: no communication, difficult to get hold of, pressure to meet their deadlines, possibility of the wrong vehicle, promises that are not met - then visit Group 1. There is a reason that car salesmen have the poor reputation that they do and the manager of this dealership seems to really want to perpetuate this.If you want a better experience I'd recommend trying a dealer that has a better level of customer service.

The salesmen at Group 1 are good at sales but customer service afterwards is lacking.
I was given the impression my brand new car would be ready in 3 months, it took 9. When the car eventually arrived it was the wrong spec as they had not placed the order properly with VW! They did manage to source a replacement from another garage in a week. I made three separate appointments to collect the vehicle, they cancelled these as the car was not ready. Then the car was ready and the Sales Manager called attempting to pressurise me into collecting it that day (30/3/26), even after I had informed the salesman I was unable to collect it at a few hours notice. The rush was that they needed it handed over that month for their sales figures. He was so persistant I had to be very firm. It seemed a bit cheeky to expect me to collect asap when I had been fobbed off for months about when my car would be ready. I was promised extras due to the issues but these were not fully fulfilled.
I received no updates from the dealership during the 9 months I was waiting. I had to phone them and was lucky if they answered any calls. At one point it took me 3 weeks of ringing to get hold of the salesman. There is usually no answer to phone calls, if your call is answered your salesman is always with a customer and you have to leave a message for them to call you back, this rarely happens and this practice was confirmed by the salesman when I collected my vehicle, it's a widespread tactic and seems to be well known for dodging calls.
If you are looking for an excellent sales pitch followed by: no communication, difficult to get hold of, pressure to meet their deadlines, possibility of the wrong vehicle, promises that are not met - then visit Group 1. There is a reason that car salesmen have the poor reputation that they do and the manager of this dealership seems to really want to perpetuate this.
If you want a better experience I'd recommend trying a dealer that has a better level of customer service.

Couldn't find anywhere on your website to say thanks for outstanding customer service at your Exeter branch. Just to say what great service I had from both Aaron & Ben yesterday. Very helpful over & above what I would have expected Also the lady on your general reception (sorry I've forgotten her name) who was very pleasant & 'real' - not something often found in corporations. I very rarely leave feedback but, in this instance, it was certainly deserved.

Having called to report a warning light on my dashboard, the first available date I was offered was a month after my call.
I dropped my car off at 8.30am asking for an update to be provided, but I had no call back, so I had to chase at 3.30pm to be told the part would not be available until the following day, so could I leave it overnight!
I didn't receive any update the following day, so when I called again I was told it would be ready for collection at 3.30pm. I arrived at 4pm to be told the car was still being charged. The keys were handed back to me at 4.30pm without being washed, which I was told would take a further 30minutes! I expected a better level of service.