Big Motoring World - West Malling Reviews 

Extremely disappointing experience — vehicle not as advertised or properly inspected

I purchased a 2022 Land Rover Discovery Sport from Big Motoring World on 8 August, expecting the level of service and preparation you would reasonably expect from a large national motor dealer.

Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely disappointing.

I paid a transfer fee to have the vehicle moved from Warrington to West Malling. I was then told that the vehicle had arrived and was being prepared for my 9:00am collection appointment. In reality, the vehicle had not been properly checked, cleaned or prepared when it arrived.

The vehicle had also suffered considerable damage during the transfer process. What concerns me most is that this damage had apparently not even been picked up by Big Motoring World before I arrived to collect the vehicle. Had the vehicle actually been inspected properly on arrival, this should surely have been identified and dealt with before a customer was invited to collect it.

The vehicle was dirty inside and out, with make-up marks, rubbish, tissues, footmarks and general dirt throughout the vehicle. There was also rear paint damage which had not been disclosed in the advertisement. I was offered just £200 towards a repair which I was told would cost around £250.

Even more concerning was discovering a large amount of water inside one of the rear light units, apparently caused by a failed/broken seal. I have photographs clearly showing the excessive amount of water inside the light. I have asked Big Motoring World whether they genuinely consider this an acceptable condition for a vehicle to be sold from their forecourt.

I also discovered that the infotainment system was still linked to the previous owner.

Another issue I have with the experience is the way the vehicle was represented online. The photographs used in the advertisement appear to have been heavily digitally enhanced, to the point where the vehicle looks almost like a computer-generated image or something from a computer game. The presentation online gave a completely different impression from the vehicle I actually arrived to collect.

I appreciate that vehicles can occasionally sustain damage during transportation. What I find unacceptable is that the vehicle appears not to have been properly inspected when it arrived, meaning these issues were still present when I turned up as the paying customer to collect it.

I subsequently raised a formal complaint. Unfortunately, I felt that the first complaint response simply palmed me off rather than properly addressing the substance of what had happened. I had raised several specific and serious concerns, yet the response did not give me the reassurance I would expect that the matter had genuinely been investigated.

I have now had to spend considerable time pursuing issues that should have been identified and resolved by the dealership before the vehicle was handed over to me.

This isn’t about expecting a used car to be absolutely perfect. It is about expecting a vehicle to be properly inspected, prepared and accurately represented before a customer pays for it and travels to collect it.

My advice to anyone buying from Big Motoring World would be simple: do not rely solely on the photographs or assurances that the vehicle has been prepared. Inspect the vehicle extremely carefully before accepting it and check for damage, cleanliness, water ingress and anything that may not have been disclosed online.

I am still awaiting a satisfactory resolution to my complaint. At this stage, the whole experience has been extremely frustrating and has fallen a long way short of what I expected from a major national motor dealer.

I had a brilliant experience with Charlotte in the Aftersales team at Big Motoring World. She was incredibly helpful, friendly and professional, and went above and beyond to get my car fixed as quickly as possible.
The whole process was made so easy thanks to Charlotte. She kept me informed, dealt with everything promptly and made sure the issue was resolved without any unnecessary hassle. It’s refreshing to receive such great customer service, and Charlotte is a real credit to the team.
I’m extremely happy with the service I received and would definitely recommend Big Motoring World, especially the Aftersales team. A huge thank you to Charlotte for all her help!

It was a seamless purchase, sorting out everything there and then: test drive, payment, temporary insurance, tax - all done and driven away within 2 hours.
Only slight niggle - in attempting to sell extended warranty they overplayed unknown reliability of EVs which I’d hoped we’d moved beyond.
But fully recommend for a trouble free purchase.

Adrian was really knowledgeable and extremely polite , got to the dealership at 5.30pm and drove away by 7pm . ALL IN ALL GREAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE!

After my last review I got told email back to big assist help review better outcome from management and this is response I get below. Still not been allowed to speak to any one from management. The stress this is causing to my family is unbearable.

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email.

I must advise that as we have issued our final response on this matter on 03.07.26, we are not looking to assist yourself further with this concern.

Please be advised that you are more than welcome to seek third party advice with regards to your dissatisfaction surrounding our response to your complaint.

Kindest Regards,

Samantha

Staff were friendly, accommodating and helpful

I recently bought a Citroën C4 from Big Motoring World and couldn’t be happier with the experience. The whole process was smooth, straightforward and stress-free from start to finish. The staff were lovely, friendly and really helpful, and everything was explained clearly without any pressure. I found the team very factual and honest, which made the whole experience even better. Would definitely recommend Big Motoring World to anyone looking for a hassle-free car-buying experience!

Great selection of used vehicles. Knowledgeable sales staff and smooth transition completion. Lots of options to take out additional warranty and other vehicle protections. The only slight disappointment was the pre sale valet of the vehicle but that was not something that would determine me from using them again.

Loads of issues with the vehicle and all I got was "we are not liable" when the issue was there when I bought it
If you are lucky enough to get a car that doesnt have anything go wrong then great but if you do then they are terrible.
The only way you can speak to someone is by email
The phoneline will stay at caller number 13 or sometimes you get as low as 8 in the queue but I swear they leave phones off the hook so.you never get to the front of the queue
Loads of electrical issues, car wasnt charged up (ev) or been cleaned when I picked it up
Buyer beware I will.never get another car through them ever again and I suppest you dont either

This company provided me with an unsafe car on handover.
I bought an ECOSPORT for my wife and all was ok as she previously had an older model ECOSPORT. She said the new one was a harder ride but I put that down to being an ST Line with upgraded wheels when she had a Titanium before.
The tyre pressure warning light came on a few months later so I checked the pressures. To my horror, the two near side tyres were inflated to 60psi. While a slight overinflation isn’t a problem, having nearly DOUBLE. This could explode while driving. In other words, they supplied my wife with a car which could result in a blowout at speed.
Safety to this company does not appear to be a concern.

Jhon was our asistent today. He did a great job explaining us all the options that we have and he answered every single question that we had. Thanks Jhon for helping us choose the car we wanted.

Your service was great. Very professional all round. We could certainly recommend your Salesforce to anyone. Well done, car is running very smoothly
Thank you all.

I initially had a positive experience with Motoring World and was interested in purchasing a vehicle. During my visit, I was shown what appeared to be the vehicle's service history, which gave me confidence to proceed and pay a £500 deposit.
However, after paying the deposit, my experience became disappointing. The following day I requested a copy of the service history for my records, but I received no response. Later, while discussing the removal of some optional add-ons, I was informed that I should take an extended warranty because I would not qualify for the manufacturer's extended warranty.
After asking further questions, I discovered that the vehicle did not actually have a documented service history available. This was particularly disappointing because service history was an important factor in my decision-making process.
As a result, I decided not to proceed with the purchase and requested that my reservation be cancelled. Given the circumstances, I felt it was reasonable to ask for the return of my £500 deposit.
I have spoken with Chris, who has been helpful and professional throughout my interactions. However, he appears to be extremely busy and advised that he would need to check the matter with the finance team before getting back to me. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for a response regarding the status of my deposit.
My main concern is not the vehicle itself, but the lack of communication and transparency after the deposit was paid. Customers making a significant financial commitment deserve prompt responses and clear information, especially when questions arise regarding service history and eligibility for warranty cover.
I hope this matter can be resolved quickly, and I hope Motoring World improves its communication processes going forward.
1 August – Thank you for your response. I contacted the branch on Monday morning and was assured that the refund had been processed and would be credited within 3 to 5 working days. However, as of this morning, I have not yet received the refund. Would it be possible for you to check with the branch and provide an update on the expected timeline for the refund?

Decent service when we were browsing for cars and I think we got a fair price for the car we purchased and our trade-in.

We had a long wait (45 min) to pick up the vehicle once I had paid a deposit, so that’s why 4 stars not 5.

Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff including the trainee.
Wasn't pushy with trying to sell add ons. Took no as an answer.
Made a deal that I liked and agreed to.

Absolutely useless, been off the road for over 3 months been 2x garages. My car was authorised to go to Volkswagen on the 15th June and today I find out they won’t deal with because they won’t offer them a good will gesture. Now I have to wait for them to take the car to another garage so they can fix the part they want to buy off eBay. Class service

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. WOULD GIVE ZERO IF I COULD. USELESS COMPANY.
Over the weekend travelled over 5 hours to them to see a car which ultimately we didn't like. They were reluctant to show us another car. Anyway we liked said other car and made an appointment to pick it up after work, spoke on the phone about this appointment and paid the fee. Travelled 60 miles to pick it up to be told we couldn't take it away. Absolutely useless staff, zero customer service, wasted over 7 hours of our time through travelling and phone calls to not allow us the car we'd reserved. Would avoid at all costs in future and suggest their staff receive training from start to finish it was a shambles.

The salesman (Ryan B.) was very professional and patient, didn't rush us to just purchase any car. It was a very pleasant experience.

Very professional and well organised service, impressed.

Absolutely shocking. Had car for 2 days, broke down, and they will not have car repaired under warranty!! 2 days!!! Car has been at one of their approved repairers for nearly 2 weeks now and no works carried out as they will not approve under warranty. And it is a mechanical fault so it is covered, or so they say when selling you the car. Once you have the car, you are on your own.