Motor4u Reviews 145

On 18/10/2023 I purchased a Renault Traffic Sport from Motor4u at Sunnybank Garage, Flimwell. I intend to convert the van for camping use and wanted a smart van. I had been looking for the right van for some time so perhaps was not as analytical as I should have been. From the start the sales process was careless and casual. They lost the V5, did not provide all the right paperwork and emailed me the details of their financial complaints procedure. The address and phone number on this was two years out of date.
When I got the van home I found two issues with it. There was a dent which extended for about two feet on the angle between the roof and side panel. Also one of the sliding load doors did not fit flush with the bodywork and I could even get my fingers behind it in the top left corner.
I wrote to ask them what they would do about this. No response. A further letter [ to the wrong address] and emails. It took over a month to get any reply from them. They refused to do anything. The excuse was that because this was a van I should expect there to be bodywork issues with it. I paid over £17000 [including VAT] for the van. From the styling of the van it is obvious that it is intended for a much wider market than simply tradesmen. They are now ignoring me completely.
A secondary issue. I bought an extended warranty from them with AutoProtect. I think that there was an element of mis-selling in this process. Amongst other things they emailed me the paperwork and had ticked a box to say that the warranty had been discussed. This was not true.
The law states that a vehicle must not be faulty when purchased and must be as described. I was not told about these faults. The excuse given was that Motor4u "do not have time to inspect every vehicle thoroughly!!!!!". The law makes no distinction between cars and vans. There is no such thing as buyer beware when purchasing from a garage. I am considering legal action.
The van drives well and seems mechanically fine.
Approach a purchase from this company with extreme caution. The evidence is in my review and the other three recently published reviews.

Went to view a car with my dad. He paid £500 and was told there is a £199 admin fee which is non negotiable and would be added onto the total. We reluctantly agreed and I decided to delve further whilst waiting for the car to be prepared for sale. I found NO mention of this admin fee on their t&c, on their website, any of their auto trader listings or eBay listings. In fact, the listings state specifically there are no fee’s with this dealer. My dad received a call and it was arranged that we would collect the car 4 days later. Upon arrival we disputed that there is no mention of said admin fee and it actually states there are no fees to be paid. We were told “if you’re not happy with it then don’t buy the car” knowing that a non-refundable deposit was made. Payment was made & all documentation pertaining to the car was completed and we went outside to find it hard not been charged. The garage knew we had travelled to collect the car & they also knew for 10 days prior to collection that the car had sold!! Whilst we waited around for some more charge I decided to go on Google & left a review about the hidden fee pre-warning other potential customers. With that, they said to my dad he was not permitted to take the car anymore. Funny how they picked that email up momentarily but not the email I had sent asking for information on where they detail their admin fee earlier that week!!
We argued that legally the money had been paid and the car was in my name therefore they could not stop us which led to them taking the keys off us unless I removed the review. I explained that the review in itself was not bad and it was purely detailing this fee & the lack of charge on the car. I had 2 grown men arguing with me saying we agreed to the admin fee and should have just left the car if we didn’t want to pay it. I explained that seeing the fee on the invoice prompted me to investigate further and I’d emailed but not received a response. The argument continued back and forth and I emphasised that adding on a hidden fee was a scam to which caused even more hostility to me. I called the police and explained that we had paid for the car & documentation meant it was now legally my dads but they wouldn’t hand it over. Police tried to speak with the garage who refused to liaise however we eventually received a refund due to refusing to move off the premises (or shut up - a few potential customers could hear that I was getting very upset and clearly wasn’t the image that the garage want to give off even though all of the negative reviews online speak for themselves!!!!). Definitely avoid this garage. I wish my dad had done more research into their reviews. He just took for granted they were reputable due to the amount of stock they held and length of service. I have been horrified by some of their responses to customers negative reviews calling them liars, multiple people, so I think in a way this was a blessing in disguise as I doubt very much the purchase would have been smooth sailing judging by everyone else’s experience online.

I wanted a small car for my kids. I chose a VW Polo 2011 which seemed to be in very good condition. I checked the vehicle online and there was no mention of any issues ( not a write off, not stolen etc). I checked the MOT history and whilst the latest MOT showed only a tyre advisory, there had been issues previously which should therefore have been resolved. I asked for a service history and if these issues had been resolved and was told that none had come in with the car but they had done a complete check of the car and every check point had come up green. I bought the car in good faith and advised that I would get the car checked with my local garage and come back to them if there were any issues. There were indeed MANY issues. There was clear evidence that the car had been in an accident front and rear, that the engine had been removed, there were issues with the suspension and an oil leak, and the air bag wasn't working ( which would have been an immediate MOT fail). I returned the car immediately. I left the car and the key at Motor4U and requested a full refund from the manager Mr Hassan. My experience during this discussion was not pleasant, and the next day, when I returned to ask for copies of the papers I had left, was nothing short of intimidating. I was shouted at and called a name by the manager. I was appalled. This was followed by emails and a recorded letter, and a request for mediation prior to court proceedings, all of which went unanswered, and finally, 5 weeks after I returned the car ( and just before we started court proceedings) my money was refunded. There was no communication at any point and the £90 I had spent on a spare key which had also requested, was not refunded. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

I bought an electric car online and travelled to Wadhurst to collect. I was assured that the car was "immaculate" and would be prepared to a high standard for collection. On arrival I noticed damage to the rear bumper which I was told that they had been aware of but was minimal and if they were to repair would cost a maximum of £200, I accepted so when I returned to Glasgow and a reputable bodyshop told me that the bumper alone would cost £600 plus labour, it was my mistake to accept the £200, but left with the choice of being stranded in Wadhurst after flying down or take the car I obviously choose to take the car. There was a lengthy delay because firstly they hadn't charged the car and secondly they produce the paperwork for the wrong car. When they finally did produce the correct paperwork it showed there was an advisory for the MOT, the first one they did failed because of a lights issue and an advisory for a nail in the rear tyre, I was again told this was repaired to a high standard,the salesman even went into detail about how it was done. Finally I drove back to Glasgow, I have since found out the nail had never been removed as my wife had to call recovery when the tyre went down, I had to replace the tyre as the inflation kit was used at a cost of £180, I have contacted Motor4u and although I paid an admin charge and told I had a warranty they said because of the time (less than 1 month) and the mileage, less than 700 miles they weren't prepared to do anything even though they admitted no repair had been done to the tyre. I'm really disappointed as the dealers knew of all these issues before I went to get the car and could have been resolved before I collected.