Autosales Reviews 

Done a service on my car and placed the oil filter back wrong . It's a good job I was only going 5mls to get my wheels aligned when the mechanic noticed oil pouring out the filter where it was incorrectly fitted. The result of this was another £185 to have the oil & filter redone properly on top of the cost of the service carried out by this garage 😳

I had a very disappointing experience with Autosales Malta. Their customer service is severely lacking in professionalism, and I would caution anyone thinking of using their services. After purchasing a vehicle, I encountered multiple issues that were brushed off or outright ignored.

The biggest frustration has been their failure to provide necessary spare parts, despite multiple follow-ups. Every time I called, I was either redirected endlessly or given vague responses. It's clear that once the sale is made, customer care is no longer a priority for them.

What should have been a straightforward and trustworthy transaction turned into a stressful and frustrating ordeal. I expected much more from a company representing major car brands in Malta. Sadly, I cannot recommend Autosales Malta to anyone looking for reliable after-sales support or professionalism.

We bought a car from them and test drove it, but once it had been delivered, we found it had faults on it, that were very clearly there at the point of sale. We contacted the company who initially agreed to pay for the parts and the repairs, as it was their responsibility, but have never followed through with this promise, and have now taken to ignoring all of our calls, emails and even recorded delivery letters! Not acceptable and completely unprofessional! PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY BUYING FROM THEM! Save yourselves the hassle and buy elsewhere.

After over 600 euros and nothing fixed, but additional problems caused by their mechanics, they wanted to book me for another 6 hours, or 300 euros just to look at it, when I know it was to fix the problems they already created. After 2 long days and many promises, these guys didn't deliver at all...in fact my car came out worse than when it went in.

So I wrote them this;

To whom it concerns,

I am writing you instead of the Sales Manager for a reason; I sold cars to put myself through college, and as both a Salesman and a Service Rep, I know what drives the Service Manager, and I know what drives the GM.

I took the car to a local referred shop in Gozo (AllCare). After 4 days in the shop with numerous excuses and shoddy work (this was according to your Rep - Malcolm), I offered to pay for the repairs but I was taking it to a Renault Dealer. This shop came VERY highly recommended.

At your shop I was told it was the resistor behind the switch. So after waiting 2 weeks the part came. I brought the car in and it took 5 hours to fix. I was billed for 3 1/2 hours. 227 Euros.
Still no A/C

Malcolm said it was the pressure hoses because they were welded. He ordered them. 2 weeks later I brought it in (Friday). It took another 5 hrs. I was billed for 4. 403.99 Euros.
Still no A/C.

Now a new guy said I needed to bring it back again, in another 2 weeks, for 6 HOURS, because you guys do not know what it is. He also went on to say the Renault mechanic was out sick and you were short of help.

NOW - The A/C still doesn't work, the bumper isn't aligned with the hood (the first time it wasn't fastened correctly), one of my headlights does not work (which I was charged for), the lights on the middle console do not work, and the wire I had installed for iPhone connection doesn't work. These are all as a result of your shop.

SO - I have paid over 600 Euros and spent over 10 HOURS at your establishments, and all I have to show for it is a car that is in worse condition than when I started, poor excuses that nobody would deem acceptable, and an appointment to bring the car back ONCE AGAIN (and from GOZO none-the-less), for a 6-Hour appointment so your guys can "try and find out what's wrong".

I know the time tables for A/C work very well after researching Renault online, and 10 hours is unacceptable - especially when there was already a brand new condenser in the vehicle. You replaced the orifice tube and hoses, so there are only a few things left in the entire system - fuse, ECM, A/C Head and the evaporator; but your guy seems to think it will take another 6 hours to find and fix the problem, none of which are these elements.

I have also in my years, built several cars so I'm no idiot when it comes to them, but I don't like to work on them anymore. I pay double to take it to a dealer to have it fixed right by a Certified Mechanic, not a fill-in for the sick guy at my expense.

So the GM sent me this;
The fact that I first wanted to consult with my personnel prior to responding is a given. Malcolm although being the person that served you the first time, was also the only one you mentioned by name in your complaint, hence my assertion that I might need to wait until he returns tomorrow to have the full picture. I've meanwhile liaised with Lee (the person who served you Friday). On the contrary to your allegations although I was in the office, I was not involved in your issue then and nor was I 'listening to everything that happened,...while I waited for you to leave so I could be on my way for the weekend!' While I understand your frustration, I feel that such comments are superfluous as well as unnecessary towards the goal we have in common: to rectify the multiple faults/issues present on your vehicle that were caused by a previous owner's accident, that was not fixed at our establishment, and nor was the subsequent AC work that was performed by some third party garage.

Back to the point, as I referred to, my liaison with Lee result in the following timeline of events and facts:

Unfortunately the issue, or more accurately issues, with your air conditioning system turned out to be numerous rather than singular:

1. Issue: Fan not working on speed 4. Fault: A fault with the resistance was found. Solution: Resistance part was IN STOCK and replaced there and then. Status: Fan now works on speed 4 as well. Billing: You were billed for 1 hour + parts - A 76 euro PART COST ME 227 Euros - and this was discounted 10%

2. Issue: AC compressor not kicking in. Fault: The system was found to be void of gas and numerous pipes, instead of being replaced as should be, were welded by a third party garage. Solution: The system cannot function properly in this condition and therefore these needed to be replaced properly. In fact the gas we were giving it was leaking all over the place! Billing: You were billed for 2.64 hours of diagnosis. - I PAID FOR THIS THE FIRST TIME THEY SAID

3. Issue: Fitment of the hoses that were ordered as a result of Solution 2 above. Solution: Hoses fitted Status: No more leaks and system gassed successfully, however an electrical issue is still preventing the compressor from kicking in (will be explained hereunder)* - NO A/C

4. Issue: To check if engine oil and oil filter had been changed as the previous owner stated - Issue was not booked but requested on the day. Solution: The oil seems to old and oil filter is not an original Renault - feedback given but client refused to have them changed.
THEY CALLED ME, NOT TO TELL ME THE A/C WASN'T WORKING, BUT TO TRY AND ADD ON AN OIL CHANGE THAT LEE SAID WAS 100 EUROS - ! EUROS??? for a filter and oil??

5. Issue: Check lights not working - Issue was not booked but requested on the day. Fault: The headlamps had to be removed for bulb replacement being the first avenue to look into when diagnosing these kind of faults, unfortunately the electrical issue in this instance was much more than a bulb and it was cheaper for you to be just charged for the bulb rather than the additional labour to replace the new bulbs back with the old ones. Status: (will be explained hereunder)* DOES NOT WORK SINCE THEY HAD THE CAR THE FIRST TIME. THEY CAUSED THIS ISSUE

6. Issue: Console Lights not working - Issue was not booked but requested on the day. Fault: The matter was looked into but the fault causing this seems to be a larger overall one (will be explained hereunder)* - DOES NOT WORK SINCE THEY HAD THE CAR THE FIRST TIME. THEY CAUSED THIS ISSUE

7. Issue: Fit bumper which was not fitted well the first time - Issue was not booked but requested on the day. Fault: Bumper was not fitted correctly the first time due to it requiring replacement clips. Since Malcolm is not here today I am unable to check the condition in which it was delivered to you however upon your second visit, these clips have been replaced and it now fits correctly. Status: You state that there is a misalignment with the hood - we would be glad to look into it and if our fault rectify it. (will be explained hereunder)* - A misalignment AFTER I gOT THE CAR BACK FROM KINDS AUTO MALTA

8. Billing: The hours billed for issues 3 to 7 above were only 1.5 hours (i.e. 1 hour 30 minutes) which I'm sure you agree is quite a fast time to accomplish all that work - you were booked for 3 just for hoses replacement but we only used half that despite the additional work requested as detailed above. Therefore the total number of hours billed to you from issue 1 down to 7 is only: Total 5.14 hours. I HAVE PAID OVER 600 WITH NO FIXES AND ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS

9. (will be explained hereunder)* The items marked seem to be caused by an electrical issue(s) in your vehicle that most probably have been caused by the accident the car had and/or the repair work done to it after that. As a matter of fact, when the repair of the resistor was being performed, a number of connectors and sliders were found to be burnt. Of course, and I'm sure we are in agreement here, the diagnosing and pin-pointing of such issues is not always straight forward, hence why Lee mentioned 6 hours booking so as to have the enough workshop time available to get to the root of the problem as one desires.

So basically they denied all responsibility - including the problems I have after they spent the day on it.

The problem here is that they inflate the hours, and they do it often. During my day in their shop (well, two days) I heard from several Mercedes owner complaining their bill was much higher than quoted, and Kind's Auto (AutoSales.com.mt) low-balled the hours at about 50 euros per hour.

This last time they said they wanted 6 hours to be sure they told me - so I said NO WAY. It's going to a proper AC electrician that know what he's doing.