Vertu Motors - Volkswagen Harrogate Reviews 

Vertu Knaresborough were brilliant after having a few problems with our first purchase Tom and Richard were fantastic definitely went the extra mile to ensure we were looked after would receive to anyone looking to buy a used car

John Cheyne made the whole process easy!
Excellent service from him, he kept me informed, very helpful and courteous.
If i need another car would definitely go back to see him. 5 star for John.

Unfortunately now I have to say that I was told that my settlement would be paid on Monday, and on Thursday evening the payment hasn’t been made. I rang vertu Harrogate and asked them to check the payment. The member of staff said she would ring me back and I’m still waiting. I had to pay for the car two days before I could pick it up, so that my payment had gone through.

I recently took my daughters car to this vw branch for a full service and challenged a charge for topping up screen wash which was not required as I had already typed it 2 days prior to service rather than admit it's a mistake I was given excuses that it was a concentrate and the rest was in car ( there was none in the car so they have me 500ml of screen wash).... I walked away but as I dent this was so dishonest I took the matter up with volkswagen uk
Here is the reply
We have looked into your case with Vertu Volkswagen Harrogate regarding your complaint about a screen wash charge, which you claim was not needed before your routine service. 

We have received a response from Stuart Porter, Service Manager for Vertu Volkswagen Harrogate, confirming that if you had informed them prior to service that you did not need a screen wash service, they would have excluded it from the vehicle's routine service.

Your Retailer has conducted a full service, as is required when following the Volkswagen guidelines for servicing a Volkswagen. If an item on your vehicle, such as screen wash, was already topped up, then it is your responsibility to inform the servicing Retailer what work should not be conducted at the time of visit. 

After reviewing the facts supplied by Vertu Volkswagen Harrogate, we are unable to offer you any further assistance. 

Your case will be reviewed for closure, as this will be the final position on this matter by Volkswagen UK. 

Maybe it's just me but if the screen wash reservoir is full how do you charge the customer for 1ltr screen wash.
If the item is not required would the garage not inform the customer that is not required.
We also asked for a break down of what's included in the service at time of booking and were told we do not do that.
Very disappointed

Very professional. Waiting appointment, check in very helpful. Looked after me throughout. Car service completed within 2 hours, no complaints.

Great service as always. Kept informed of work needing doing by Hannah. Didn't push to have any recommendations done by them.

Gabrielle was very attentive to detail; very professional and a very friendly and helpful approach answering all questions and not too pushy. . Much appreciated

From start to finish of the car service it was all incredibly professional and friendly.
Holly was lovely. Thank you.

I had my car serviced with these guys. Overall, great customer service and the work carried out in a timely manner.

Holly in customer service was really friendly & offered me a payment plan for the work needed after the service - which was fabulous as I’m on maternity.

Definitely, will be returning to have my vehicle serviced with them in the future.

My car had a MOT, service and A/C system service, refresh and re-gas in February. The Vehicle Health Check (VHC) showed no cause for concern and all categories were green. The work undertaken on my car was completed and my car returned within two hours.

On the first occasion I used the air conditioning six weeks later, I noticed a noise that had not been present before the work. When I returned to Vertu on the 22nd April, which was the earliest appointment offered, the health check and video confirms a noise on the A/C, but it was working effectively. The notes on the sales invoice state ‘suspect compressor for A/C causing noise – Requires new compressor £1355.60’. The air conditioning system was working perfectly without any unusual noise before it was worked on. I was also advised that the checks on the NSF and OSF suspension had resulted in urgent/red advisory for both sides.

As there were no advisories eight weeks earlier, it was surprising to be informed it required urgent work, which I had undertaken at a cost of £405.86 due to the fact it was categorised as urgent and I had a 25-mile journey home.

I enquired why the A/C and the suspension problems weren’t picked up on my recent visit. I had only driven a few hundred miles in the interim, the service assistant’s response was ‘it was more like 300-400 miles’ & she stated technicians opinion varied from one person to another. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to accept that wear and tear in eight weeks accounts for it to go from green to a red advisory, which the service manager and sales/general manager agreed. It is my strong suspicion that the short time taken to MOT and service my car resulted in the suspension problem being missed and incorrect re-gassing/work on the A/C resulting in the compressor problem.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that reasonable care and skill must be used while working on a vehicle. In my opinion, their technician did not use reasonable care and skill when they carried out the service on my car.

It is a month since I raised a formal written complaint and they have failed to respond in writing, albeit I did receive one telephone call from the service manager on 25th April. During this conversation he asked ‘how can they make things right’. This statement in itself is an acceptance that things went wrong, but he only accepted they had missed the problem with the car’s suspension and not that their technician damaged the air conditioning. He had viewed both the videos of my car and stated there were inconsistencies between their technicians videos of the VHC ‘as different as night and day’. He seemed more concerned that the technician hadn’t followed the process he had created.

The restitution the service manager offered was to have my car re-valued, as I was intending to sell my car and buy a new one from Vertu. I requested as a minimum they refund the cost of the air conditioning service etc, which he readily agreed to, but I had to chase the refund. The message I left was not returned so I called again. The refund was made two weeks after it was agreed.

Having taken my car back to Harrogate (this was now my third visit, a total of 150 miles, 5 hours travelling and circa 7 hours spent in their showroom) for a valuation, it was clear this offer was disingenuous. My car was classed as average with a derisory valuation, which was probably because I had made them aware I would not buy from Vertu again. I declined and walked away. Both the service manager and sales/general manager were aware of my visit and were visible in the background, but neither approached me and there has been no follow up. Management had every opportunity to acknowledge and engage with me directly, but the customer service was lacking.

As an aside, the disabled bays were taken up by Vertu vehicles instead of being available for customers with disabilities, which resulted in having to park further away.

During my second visit I observed customer service deny a disgruntled customer a loan car when he believed he had booked. They stated he hadn’t requested a car and they didn’t have one for him. This was an underhand tactic as an earlier customer had openly stated he did not require the loan car he had booked and to allow it to go to another customer.

My own experience and the almost 3000 bad reviews from other Vertu customers is sufficient to inform my decision to never trust this company again. I have reported my concerns to NY Trading Standards via CAB, as I feel my concerns and complaint have been brushed aside.

Very efficient and easy to deal with. Great support. Thank you.

My first time buying a car and Richard from the sales team was the guy who helped me. He made the experience easy and very enjoyable with a little bit of humour in there as well. I can highly recommend both Richard and VW Harrogate if you are looking for a new car.

A very big thank you to Gabi from the Sales team.
Gabi provided an excellent customer service, talking through all my new car's features and answered questions confidently, thoroughly and professionally.
My customer service experience was definitely 100% and professional. Thank you Gabi.
O'Neil

Without a doubt, it was John Cheyne. He was so helpful, professional and trustworthy. I told him what I was looking for, as you had no T-Cross’s in. Within the week he got back to me. The car is beautiful and we are very pleased with it.
Would definitely recommend your garage and most certainly John.

Hannah in the service dept provided excellent customer service. She was courteous and friendly, and informative regarding the service and health check done on my car, as well as providing useful information regarding the VW service plan.

Hannah on service reception gave excellent service - thank you

Thank you so much for the excellent service and customer care from Stuart Porter making the work carried out on my car seemless from the car in for repair to drop off and collection

Stephen was very patient and kind throughout my search for a new VW. Was never pushy and very understanding of what I required, which means a lot for a busy, working mum

I’ve rated my overall experience as neutral to negative.

I initially found a used, approved Polo GTI on their website, which seemed to be in great condition. I reached out with an enquiry and was assisted by Darren, who was excellent—extremely helpful and thorough over the phone. He accurately described the car, and I decided to drive about an hour to see it in person. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Steve, another member of their sales team, who was equally accommodating. He showed me the car, and the test drive went well. During the test drive, I noticed a small paint scuff on the front bumper, which Darren assured me would be sorted out if I decided to purchase the car. Overall, I loved the car, so I went ahead with the purchase. Upon collection, the bumper scuff had been addressed, and everything went smoothly. The sales experience was great, with Darren and Steve both earning top marks for their customer service.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse after that. About a day into ownership, I noticed a metallic tapping noise coming from the engine bay at idle. I contacted Darren, explained my concerns, and he asked me to bring the car back. Upon inspection, a technician listened to the noise and claimed it was normal, describing it as the sound of the injectors firing. However, having a technical background myself, I immediately recognized this as more of a metallic bearing-like sound—not the usual injector noise.

Despite disagreeing with the technician’s assessment, I took the car back home. Over the next week, the noise seemed to get louder, and the car began to feel jumpy, particularly at low speeds, almost as if there was an issue with the gearbox or drive. Coincidentally, my neighbour had a very similar Polo GTI, so I asked if I could test drive his to compare. The difference was night and day—his car was smooth and silent. I then took my car to two local VAG specialists, both of whom quickly identified the noise as coming from the DSG gearbox, likely a DMF (dual mass flywheel) or clutch pack issue, which they confirmed was not normal. Given I had paid £18k for the car, I was understandably frustrated.

I booked the car in with VW Harrogate for a full diagnostic. By Thursday afternoon, Steve called to inform me that they had completed the diagnostics, and no fault codes had appeared, claiming the car was "spot on." At that point, I decided I would request a refund, as I wasn’t satisfied with the outcome. I was really disappointed—especially given that the car came with a 12-month VW warranty, and I expected Vertu to prioritise customer satisfaction and resolve the issue. Ultimately, I had paid for the car outright, and I wasn’t willing to accept a rattling sound from what seemed to be a significant component.

I returned the vehicle, and while I did eventually receive a refund, it took almost a week to process, which was frustrating as I needed those funds to find another car.

It’s unfortunate that my experience was soured by this issue, but I’m moving forward.

First class service again, thank you Holly Logan for being so professional, helpful, informative and kind. I have been taking my cars to Vertu Harrogate for many years and have always received amazing service from everyone and would recommend 100%.

I purchased a used Passat from another Volkswagen dealer and within a few hours I had some warning lights come on. Volkswagen Harrogate had a look and took the car in for a diagnostic whilst providing a loan car. It turned out to be a software issue which is now resolved.
It is fair to say I was not a happy customer when my 10 month old car went wrong so quickly however my faith in Volkswagen has been restored completely thanks to the Service Manager and Service advisor Holly Logan who was fantastic. Holly arranged everything and kept me informed all the time when there was a delay in getting a particular tool. I will stay with VW Harrogate for servicing and recommend them for a very professional approach.