Group 1 Automotive UK Avis 20 342

Made an enquiry about a used car, and whilst the salesman went the extra mile, I felt the back office staff at the dealership acted improperly, alienating me as a potential customer. I therefore made a complaint to head office using their web page, and it was never dealt with at all, just ceremoniously ignored. I complained again, and was totally ignored a second time. This further demonstrated the apparent contempt of the dealership as being clearly the accepted culture within the whole company. Buyers beware.

Great Service / Friendly helpful staff / Recommended!!

From the initial telephone call to arriving at Toyota Wirral, the personal service received and the outcome of getting to grips with an ongoing issue with my vehicle were to my complete satisfaction

I bought a car in Mecedes Warrington and paid the deposit, however when I transferred the full amount for the car I forgot to deduct off the deposit paid and this was not noted by the sales person as well. After I picked up the car later I noticed this and have emailed the sales person numerous times for a refund of my deposit but received no response and have also called their Warrington branch accounts department without success. I have raised queries directly with group 1 and also raised a complaint without any response. It’s absolute appalling after post sales experience!!!!!! Group 1 -please respond to my complaint and refund my money as I have been chasing this for almost 2 months !!! .

I have emailed the complaints email address and the tell us more email address with no reply- I don’t understand why they are refusing to respond and to refund my money !!!!

Car booked for service mid-morning on Monday but I needed to drop off earlier. Reception could not get hire car any earlier so lent me a Yaris. I liked the car and on return Tom explained clearly how I could exchange my car for a new Yaris, it was a good deal. I got a new car 11 days later. Phil then did a great job finalising paperwork and pairing my phone to dash cam etc and explaining all controls.

Very disappointed with the response I got when I reported a defect a week after collection.
Could have been treated with more respect and trust as the defect was not my doing.

I looked at some cars at group 1 lincoln bmw and they have some excellent approved bmw cars low mileage fsh with warrenty. I can highly recommend them Mr m lee

Went to group1 bmw Southend.
Got introduced to Jack the sales exec.
He listened and came up with a number of cars to look at. Took one out for a test drive and Jack explained everything about the car. At the end of the test drive we sat down and negotiated a deal for the car which was to include a part ex. Again Jack could not be more helpful. Deal and payment sorted. The following Day When it came to collect the car, Jack was again very helpful. Went through what all the settings meant and set them to my needs. Never left us until we were satisfied that everything was ok. Never pushy, great listener and very very helpful.

Came into the showroom to ask for the cost of a service plan for my wife’s car - they said they will get back to me.

Nothing received

Decided to call them to follow up and after 7 minutes got the all our people are busy - jokers

I have been a long standing customer of the Basingstoke dealership for quite a few years now. I have bought my last 4 vans at this dealership and have always used the service department here. Previously without any issues. However, February of this year my latest van came in for a service. It was reported that the timing cover had an oil leak. Initially this has tried to be charged to me even though the vehicle is under warranty. I agreed the works but to include changing the timing belt as this was nearing its service interval. I think the first approach on this trying to charge me was incorrect. After coming to collect the van, I had noticed that the wheel arch trim had been broken off from the passenger side. I immediately went back in to the service desk and Liam came out to have a look. This had been broken off from the door end and was hanging on by the clip towards the front bumper. Clearly had been caught and broken off by someone opening the passenger door. Liam got the tech that worked on my van to have a look but couldn't offer any answer to why this could pop happened. He got the trim back on the van as best he could and both him and Liam told me they would order a new one and get this replaced at no cost to myself. A few days had passed and I noticed the van was still leaking oil. I have a big oil patch on my drive which I now need to pay to have cleaned off. This was booked in for investigation 19/3/26. When dropped off I asked about the trim and was this also being replaced. Advised this hadn't even been ordered. Around 2 hours later I received a phone call from Alex stating that the trim could be replaced but at my cost. I explained to her the situation but this seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. I had to later call to find out if my van was ready for collection, at this point Alex again spoke to me about the trim and advised that this would not be being replaced and that I was to speak with Michael. Michael is a very rude person.He in no way listened to hoe this trim was broken and completely disregarded any fact on this being damaged whilst in your possession. He was trying to claim this had been damaged by other means as there is other damage in a similar area of the van. This is the case but why am I not trying to get this claimed for also?? I only want repaired what was damaged by the dealership which is one small trim. To finish this off, I received a phonically from the dealership on my way home, asking if I could bring the van back in the following morning as they normally like to keep vehicles overnight when changing the oil pans to double check the torque settings. I was not advised this before I collected the van or even whilst I was at the service desk. This further inconvenience this service desk has now caused me for my working day is not acceptable. This is some of the worst support and customer service I have ever had at any dealership I have been to. To accept a liability of damage by 2 employees and then to completely deny this is completely unacceptable. I have an and run my own very successful business. If any of my customers are unhappy with anything that is our responsibility we own up and take control of the situation to ensure the customer is 100% happy

I’ve had a really disappointing experience dealing with Group 1 Preston.

From the start, the whole process has felt unclear and frustrating. The original tests done by group 1 say they have visually seen that my dpf is blocked ? Not sure you can see all the way inside a dpf. I’ve been told the DPF on my defender has failed and needs replacing. The photos show visible cracks internally on the honeycomb & all the reports say mechanical failure but apparently it’s wear and tear. They have classed it as mechanical damage, that’s also wear and tear. Normal soot readings no dpf light or warnings & no dtc codes on Land Rover computer to back up a dpf issue. So it’s not covered under extended warranty. Even though extended warranty will cover catalytic converters? The actual quote I received of £7500 doesn’t even include a DPF or any related parts, which just doesn’t make sense.
We have since found out the parts on the quote are to replace the catalytic converter?
That a failed dpf has blocked an egr sensor ?
Group 1 pointing fingers to blame Land Rover warranty company and Land Rover warranty pointing fingers back saying they take the word of group 1 over physical evidence ? Seems like a conspiracy between the two so they don’t have to pay to fix my car.

What’s even more concerning is that the warranty decision appears to have been made based on a verbal diagnosis from the dealership, rather than clear technical evidence. Despite asking multiple times, I’ve not been provided with anything concrete to support their decision.

One particular member of the customer service team at group 1 Preston has also been been very rude, dismissive, and unhelpful. I have been refused access by her to speak to the dealer principle and at times it’s felt like I’ve been blocked from getting any real answers. Instead of helping she has made an already stressful situation even worse.

Overall, there’s been a complete lack of transparency, inconsistent information, and no accountability. I’ve been left without my vehicle for 2 months. I’m left with no confidence in the diagnosis or the way this has been handled. My vehicle is now being recovered elsewhere today before being independently inspected. Then the motor ombudsman will have to deal with them 👍🏻

My 9 month old 50k car went into their VW dealership in Altrincham, Manchester. The panoramic roof did not work. After having the car all day, we were told it needs a new motor and that a replacement had been ordered and would arrive in 5 days. A week later we heard nothing, so I called the dealership. The phone just rings out. In total I rang the dealer 19 times and not once was my call answered! (I have the call log to prove this) 4 weeks later and we have still not had a call from the dealer. I will never buy a VW product again or use this dealer. The worst customer service from Gavin (the service person) can't call him a manager as clearly he can't manage! I have ever experienced. Do not take your vehicle here or purchase a vehicle from here

Placed an order on their online store, emailed after waiting 3 weeks. I received a response saying my order had been cancelled and that I had been notified, I hadn't. Pretty poor customer service.

Booking my car in for servicing was pretty straight forward and I was able to secure an appointment date the same week. Checking in and dropping off was smooth. The communication through service was great, car was cleaned prior to my arrival and collecting my car was no hassle but only when I got home when reversing into my driveway and a neighbour told me that my reverse lights weren't working which should have been picked up by the technician during health checks. This was disappointing.

Car Service. Tracey was excellent and exceptional in her service today. She went over and beyond. She made me feel very comfortable. Explain everything into detail as I’m a neurodivergent. I wasn’t made to feel different but I was made to feel very special huge thank you to Tracy and the team. Thank you so much. Bea

Neither of the product recalls were completed on my vehicle. One because they said it was done in Feb (which it wasn't as my car has not been in), and the second because the part was on back order, but no one informed me of this before I brought in the vehicle.

Today I had my annual car service at A1 Mercedes Nottingham
The whole process is a positive experience from checking in on line to collecting the valeted vehicle post the service work.

Mercedes is a premium brand and the allocated service contact Tom emphasised the point, polite, informative and professional throughout.
The dealership provides a comfortable environment while you wait and the on line app keeps you in the loop regarding the ongoing status

It is easy to highlight negatives but we don’t always highlight the positives, today hopefully this reference redresses that balance

The whole process was a good one, from booking the car to driving out the showroom, was a good experience helped by having a good sales person, Gurg, who was helpful and kept me up to date.

Excellent service by knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Really good service. Zoe was great thank you