Vertu Motors - MINI Sunderland Reviews 15

The second time we have puchased from Vertu Sunderland - and are very grateful to Josh - who was just excellent to his returning customers - efficient experience and customer service as it should be. Thank you

Such a friendly, helpful team who made the process as efficient as exciting! Josh has been great to me as always. Looking forward to my next car already!!

Vertu could not have been more helpful, many thanks especially to Kathryn, so glad to have chosen them.

Excellent communication and service from start to finish.
Tom Rapp is a very capable member of your team.

My wife and I were looking to buy a smaller 4 wd vehicle and while out and about we visited Mini Sunderland.
We went inside to see if we could speak to a sales person and were introduced to Josh Winter.
From the initial conversation we knew that he was listening to our requirements and was genuinely interested in helping us to get the vehicle that fitted our needs.
We had spotted a lovely Countryman on a 25 plate so Josh carefully explained the features of the vehicle and as it was only 4.5 months old with 50 miles on the clock made it really appealing.
We sat down with Josh who was able to put a really good deal on the table and the deal was done.
Just to note that throughout the time Josh was getting a value on our px he was constantly feeding back what was happening as he was trying to get the very best price for our vehicle.
On collection day Josh completed a full handover and even paired our phones to the vehicle.
We can honestly say that this young man is a credit to not only Mini Sunderland but to his customers who feel his honest approach is so reassuring.

Thank you Vertu Motors,Sunderland
I love my 1st Brand New Car
Especially thanks to Paul Martin for guiding us through the process from start to fins
Top Bloke!
Cheers

When buying a new car these days you have to be quite computer literate, as my tech skills are not the best the support received from Kathryn was excellent in helping me set everything up and explaining the important tech bits made everything easy, thanks Kathryn for your help.

I just bought an ex demo Mini from Paul Martin. A first class service from beginning to end. Really straightforward, proactive and very accommodating and when he said the car was in mint condition he wasn't lying! I couldn't be happier.

As always Graeme, Lauren and the team at Vertu Mini Sunderland took great care of me and my car while we were in for our service. The team are welcoming, helpful, gave me an indication of the costs up front, and advised what additional work would need done in coming months, indicative costs for that and the option of doing it while I was there. I’ve been coming here with various Minis since 2011 and cannot fault them. Excellent service. Many thanks.

We reserved a MINI on 13th March through the official MINI UK website, which clearly stated that the reservation would be valid for 48 hours. We expected this to be honoured.

On 14th March, Paul from MINI Sunderland contacted us, confirmed our interest, and provided:
✔ A video of the car, showing its condition.
✔ A formal quotation, detailing the price and purchase breakdown.

We were serious buyers and showed clear commitment to purchasing the car.
✔ We called Paul over 5 times to ask questions and ensure everything was in order.
✔ We exchanged more than 8 emails, confirming details, asking about the deposit amount, and checking how to proceed.
✔ During our call, Paul clearly stated that he would call us at 10:30 AM on 15th March to take our deposit.

We even emailed him on the evening of 14th March, asking about the deposit amount and payment method. He replied in the morning, and I asked how much deposit I should prepare, to which Paul confirmed it would be £500. However, at no point did he send us the payment link. So I wait for his 10:30 am call.

However, before 10:00 AM on 15th March, we were suddenly told that our reservation had already been cancelled and the car was given to someone else—without any prior warning!

At no point did Sunderland MINI inform us that our reservation was about to expire or that the car would be made available to other customers. If they had told us, we would have paid immediately!

To make matters worse, we were not formally notified of the cancellation via email or text, leaving us completely in the dark about the status of our reservation. Our £100 deposit has still not been refunded, and we question why the car was sold to someone else without any formal notice or clear justification.

When we raised our concerns, the manager, Chris, gave inconsistent and unacceptable explanations:
🚩 He said the 48-hour reservation period doesn’t actually apply once they contact a customer – but we were never informed of this!
🚩 He claimed our request to buy the car and place a deposit was “one-sided” – yet Paul had already sent us a formal quotation and set a time to take our deposit.
🚩 They never officially agreed to sell the car to us – but at the same time, they never told us we weren’t confirmed buyers. If they weren’t actually selling us the car, why send a quote and schedule a deposit call?
🚩 No one ever sent us a payment link or told us that an immediate deposit was required – yet they later blamed us for not paying.
🚩 Most importantly, at no point were we told that the car would be “back on the market” for someone else to reserve.

We made every effort to follow their process, yet we were treated unfairly and disrespectfully. Despite being proactive and fully committed to purchasing the car, we were never given a fair chance to complete the deal.

⚠ We were completely blindsided by this experience. Sunderland MINI misled us into believing we were proceeding with the purchase, only to cancel our reservation without warning and give the car to someone else. If you reserve a car here, be aware that it might be sold to someone else without notice.

Furthermore, we still have not received a refund for our £100 deposit, and we are left questioning the entire handling of our reservation and whether we were misled into thinking the car was still available.

We also feel that our concerns were dismissed by Chris, the sales manager, who did not offer a meaningful resolution to the situation. Instead of taking responsibility for the miscommunication and mishandling of the reservation, he seemed uninterested in resolving the matter or addressing our concerns. This lack of customer care and accountability is concerning and disappointing.

Vertu Mini Sunderland. We bought online as we were buying an approved mini so knew what we wanted and thought buying from a mini dealer we would be taken care of. Unfortunately on returning Home the car would not charge, no problem we returned it next day only for Vertu to not bother themselves to look at the car or make it a priority. Still no answer and the techs have no idea , they are great getting your money then drop you as soon as there is a problem. Avoid there are much better dealers out there.

Had my daughters Mini serviced at Veru Mini Sunderland today and the service was second to none. From the moment we walked in, to the minute we drove off in her car which have been complimentary washed and Vac’d.

All the team were very friendly and attentive as we looked around the cars and sat in waiting area.

I would highly recommend this mini dealership for sales and service.

See you for the next service…

From start to finish our purchase couldn’t have been easier with all credit to salesman Chris!

Thank you so much to Paul Martin (sales) for your excellent service… I really appreciate your diligence and listening to your customer as you did with me! I work in sales myself and you know when somebody takes the care!! Following a test drive we bought a lovely new Mini Countryman Electric and really happy with the purchase! Great price, great deal, great service from Paul and Mini Sunderland. Best wishes.

Last year I had the bonnet cable replaced on my mini at Vertu Mini Sunderland. It was ridiculously expensive, took way longer than they claimed and was plagued by poor communications and woeful customer experience. I chalked it up to experience, promising myself never to use them again. Less than a year later the cable snaps again. I doubt it's been used more than half a dozen times. All I can suggest is everyone look elsewhere for service.