Absolute Crooks
Before travelling over 200 miles to collect a car, I did everything I possibly could to avoid exactly the situation that ended up happening.
I gave the dealership full details of my part exchange and was initially offered £7,000. I explained that I'd previously had a bad experience with another dealer reducing the value when I arrived, so I wanted complete transparency before making such a long journey.
I also made it very clear to Jade before any deal was agreed that my car did not have a full service history. This wasn't something that came to light on the day – it was disclosed from the outset.
I was then asked to send extensive photos and videos of every angle of my car, which I did. After reviewing everything, the offer was reduced by £500, leaving an agreed part exchange value of £6,500, which I accepted. Before setting off, Jade assured me that this would be the final agreed figure and that there would be no further reductions when we arrived.
Unfortunately, those assurances turned out to be worthless and for the record Jade also has disappearing messages on her WhatsApp so there are no records to go back on if you get anything in writing. How convenient.
After driving more than 200 miles, taking time off work and spending money on fuel, we were told they wanted to reduce the value of our part exchange by another £500. The reason given was the lack of a full service history the very same issue that had already been disclosed before the £6,500 valuation was agreed. It felt as though, once we had made the journey, they assumed we would simply accept whatever was put in front of us rather than turn around and drive home.
The poor experience didn't stop there. Despite being given a specific appointment time, we were left waiting for almost an hour because staff were dealing with other customers. Once we were finally seen, the transaction itself took well over another hour. The whole process felt disorganised and showed very little respect for our time.
To make matters worse, we were then told the additional £500 reduction could effectively be "waived" if we purchased an extended warranty costing around £850. This felt like a pressure selling tactic rather than genuine customer service. After all the travelling and the stress of the situation, we eventually negotiated and agreed to a £250 reduction simply because we wanted to complete the purchase and get home.
Sadly, the problems didn't end once we'd left the dealership.
Four weeks later, I was still waiting for the V5C registration document, meaning I couldn't transfer my private registration plate onto my new vehicle.
On 27 July, I texted Jade to ask for an update and was told the paperwork had already been processed and that the delay was with the DVLA.
Concerned by the lack of progress, I contacted the DVLA myself on 30 July. They informed me that the dealership's request had only been submitted on 27 July – the very same day I chased for an update. That information did not match what I had been told and left me questioning the accuracy of the updates I had received throughout the entire process.
Looking back, this summed up our experience perfectly. From the changing part exchange valuation, broken assurances and pressure selling, to the delays and conflicting information even after the sale, the whole experience left us feeling that honesty, transparency and customer care were simply not priorities.
Buying a car should be an exciting experience, especially after travelling over 200 miles to collect it. Instead, it became stressful, frustrating and deeply disappointing.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but I genuinely feel other customers should be aware of our experience before deciding to buy from this dealership. If you're travelling a long distance based on an agreed valuation, I'd strongly recommend getting absolutely everything in writing and thinking very carefully before making the journey.