CarShop, Northampton

Where shall I begin with this one….. please avoid at all costs!!

Firstly, we were not fully informed of the price guarantee as were told on our initial visit if we found a car cheaper on Auto Trader it would be matched. After finding a cheaper deal we were then told it was out of a certain radius which was not presented to us on the first visit.

We were not contacted when told we would be which is not great communication.

I finally received a belated call to say the car was ready. When I asked if the paintwork on the door had been done and the seats had dried out where the window had been left open, I was told yes it had and was ready for collection.

We therefore visited only to find the paintwork had not been done. They were apologetic and did arrange for this to be done the same day but this extended the length of time we were there.

We asked for the one day's insurance we had paid extra for only to be told when going through the long process that they could not insure us and so we had to arrange our own insurance! One of the reasons for getting the advantage cover was that this was included.

I therefore arranged my insurance on my phone and when I had completed this process was told there was no log book so the car could not be taxed online. We were told we would need to go to the post office which was a 20-minute drive and apply for a vehicle registration certificate. It was 5:20 by this point and the only offer given was that someone could drive us there to do it. I also noted there was a £25 fee for doing this which I am guessing would be payable by us even though we were not told at any time that there was no log book with the car.

It was even suggested by one member of staff who worked there that we could take the car with us and go to the post office on the way home! So, they expected us to drive an untaxed car home with two young children, not impressed at all.

I would like to point out that after I sent an email to them, I did get an apologetic response and my deposit back but this wasted a week of my time.

I would not use this company again and would certainly not recommend them.

I am glad to say I have since found a new car and the service received from that company was second to none so my faith has been restored but not with the Car Shop, Northampton.

Would never, ever recommend.

My husband purchased a car on finance for me just 4 weeks ago from Cardiff branch. The staff were very friendly and helpful on the day. But today a issue arose with the car and that’s when things have gone downhill fast. The person at customer support bad attitude, unsympathetic, unhelpful rude and didn’t have a clue (apparently the underneath of a car is cosmetic???).

A person at Cardiff branch granted was a little better but nowhere near like the branch was previously (apparently 24 years experience and he mis diagnosed a fault on photos when a mechanic at reception at a well know chain garage without looking just by going from my description took seconds) and less than 5 minutes up on ramps the car was diagnosed (reception spot on correct) and fixed. Worst part not ONCE did car shop apologise NOT ONCE even if it was insincere.

Buy car. Within 2 hours the engine light is on.

Book appointment to be looked at - within 6 days the car is total fail.

Has to be dragged onto a flat bed and recovered, organised by them? No - by the customer!!! Seriously.

Now wait for days to find out what they might do and in the meantime no courtesy car or offer to help. Unbelievably shocking service. Might repair, might not, might refund, might not..... either way it will all take 7 - 10 days! Need to make sure there is a problem first

Its at times when there are problems that a company has the change to really shine. Not in this case though.They just get worse and worse.

Unlike other car buying websites Carshop advertise a Guaranteed amount for your car - Not the case, when I arrived they looked at the car and valued it less £300 + £50 admin fee due to damage - in this case the alloy wheels & stone chips - Please show me ANY car on the road without stone chips!

However I accepted as I was there and already arranged a lift home only now there was an issue with ID even though on the booking sheet it wasn't specified under 3 months to be valid - They have small print that YOU as a customer don't.

Long story short they expected me to drive home & come back again for 1 form of ID showing an address even though they had 4!! 

They didn't apologise or empathise for such a waste of time & effort

I wouldn't buy or sell to them - Poor customer service.

They shouldn't be allowed to advertise a promise they don't keep or have small print not shown on booking sheets etc.

I would NEVER buy a car form them again.

Sales guys are OK now that they no longer swoop on you when you enter the premises. However, quality of cars is awful and quality of after service is awful. In fact, I’ve been told various stories by various individuals within the team about what work has, hasn’t been done on my car.

I bought an E type Merc, and on day one of driving it any distance I identified there were electrical problem, steering issues and engine problems. Not what you expect from best part of £12K. The swapping piece was relatively easy right up to the point of them identifying I had driven c300 miles. They then tried to invoke their petrol terms which essentially meant that the first 99 miles were free. One you hit 100 miles, you were hit with a charge of £50, and for every mile thereafter, it’s 1.50 per mile……..yep £1.50!. They tried to charge me best part of £400 for driving 300 miles v’s a the reality it being c£40 for the ½ tank of fuel! After quite a struggle, they waived all but the £50, and I identified another car and ended up purchasing an A6.

Again, on day one of driving any distance, I noticed a dull thudding noise in 5th and 6th gears while accelerating. Since then my car has been in the garage for 6 days and I’ve been fobbed off with stories, incompetence, and bluff just so they don’t admit there is a fault and have to fix it. In fact, on one exchange I was told the car was fixed as ‘they couldn’t find the fault’ so they ‘can’t fix what they don’t see’ – they admitted there was an issue, couldn’t find it, and suggested I drive it around until it gets worse, then they may be able to spot the problem more easily.

I have to do all the chasing, and I think I’ve received 2 calls over the 6 days, one of which was trying to tell me it was merely a ‘tyre noise’!

The level of incompetence is frightening, the after service is awful, and I would NEVER buy from them again.

Initially, as to be expected, first point of contact helpful, courteous and polite.

Car chosen, finance agreed three month guarantee?!

Collections, went to collect car, no log book, no service? Had to pay £25 for v62 which would be 'reimbursed within 7-10 days' filled in form and taxed at post office, proof sent straight away.

Nothing received within 28 days, email sent, advising would be there the following day. Cheque received. Cheque had incorrect title??? Mrs instead of Mr. Bank will not deal with.

Back to carshop, apologise, will be dealt with first thing in 24 hours??? Left cheque and complaint, Called 3 days later, they ask me for the cheque???

Went to carshop sat there and waited for cheque until I left. In all over 30 day turn around.

Call made to advise brakes grinding, tapping from rear, clunk when Sharp breaking and whine from steering, car booked in for two days, courtesy car provided. On collection advised grinding was rust on brakes, clunking was a rear seat belt that was fastened, tapping was a heat shield, and no noise from steering.

Asked for technician on pick up, asked him to rub fingers against brake discs, front and rear, agreed all pitted and scored with lip, undid rear seat belt and went for drive, sudden brake, clunk! Said would pop on ramp and have a look. Came back to advise rear pads and discs need changing? This was the grinding and clucking noise. So after an initial fob or try to fob me off with rust and seat belt, work needed doing?

Car rebooked with automatic courtesy car 2 weeks later.

Call received 3 days prior to appointment to advise that the car booked was "not available, we are trying to contact the customer" advised rebooked for week later and guarantee car will be available.

Called this evening, for peace of mind, advised car was booked in but no courtesy car had been booked?? Passed from pillar to post, until opening hours had arrived! Not one bit happy with this company, quick to take money but dodge obligatory rights. Will be pushing for all brakes front and rear, discs and pads to be changed, ingress now to passenger brake light with water. The poorest service I have received having committed to the most expensive commitment following a house. Be warned and extremely wary

I purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2014 and was told that the car has full service history and first time I need to service the car would be 10 months time. Since the purchase I have been chasing CarShop to provide me the service book showing the service history but 1 month passed and they failed to do so. They have sent me a word document saying when the car was serviced which is useless worth nothing.

I have also purchased RAC 3 Warranty which requires you to have service history in order to be valid and I have paid over £900 for that just to find out that the car have no valid service history which makes warranty invalid. Totally unacceptable service for a purchase costed over £25k from a company with multi sites across the UK.

CarShop? Never again... Well I am pursuing my options, legal if required. This is like a joke. Not a shopping from your corner shop which you would not mind. This should not have happened for a vehicle purchase from a large retail group. Shame!!!

this company will promise you anything to get a sale but deliver nothing if anything goes wrong they wont return your calls they just fead me lie after lie i was only given one key on collection my px was seriously devalued and after all docs were signed i was told i had no log book mot or service book whaaaat my advise is to look elsewere or if you are seriously tempted look at there feed back guess a lot of simlararity there

I was recommended to go to Carshop to get my car serviced. I called and them and was booked in, a good start as the process was quick and easy. When I took the car in I was really surprised at the welcome and the service as it was just like a main dealer. The best part though, the cost was less than half that of bmw, and on top of that all the parts are to bmw standard. They even provided a courtesy car like the dealer too. Overall a very good experience, And one I am happy to repeat.

Our visit to the Car Shop at Northampton was very pleasant. The staff were friendly and helpful. I was expecting to be given the hard sell which car salespeople are notorious for but this was far from the real experience. All the staff were very helpful and tried to meet all of our needs. The whole experience far exceeded my expectations.

We were given a lot of help and assistance in choosing our new car, the test drive was well conducted and the care taken over helping us source the right finance deal was exceptional.

When we collected the car the help and assistance was exemplary. The car was in tip top condition and ready for us to drive away in.

The price was very reasonable and and the trade in price on our previous car was very good.

I have nothing but praise for the Car Shop in Northampton and would certainly go there again if I was thinking of changing my car again. However, the quality of the vehicle I purchased is still so good that changing is probably a long time in the future.