Stonebridge Motorco Avis 

Used the Autotrader platform to find what we thought was a good car at a decent garage.

We phoned through the platform and were asked to pay the deposit by bank transfer, credit cards aren't allowed.

The car's paperwork (provided after we paid the deposit) didn't match the manufacturer’s database and the garages didn't match any records.

They haven’t repaid the deposit, £500, over 2 months later.

I have had to edit this review for visibility as the contents, according to Feefo, looks like it could be criminal activity.

We used another garage to buy a car on autotrader a week later, the experience was completely different!

BEAWRE!!! Seller does not have a physical address to view the vehicles. I an appointment today turn up at the address just to find an empty ground no vehicles, no personnel no building. Called several times no response.

SCAMMERS!!!

Honest review of my dealings with StoneBridge Motors over the last 6 weeks.

Initial dealings were very good, they pre mot’d the car and changed a couple of bits out that a lot of dealers would probably just of left, they called a couple of times with updates, car was ready for when i wanted it, and the part exchange price given was reasonable, i cant knock them at all pre collection.

200 miles into ownership though and this is where they fell to bits. The car developed a coolant leak, came up saying it needed a litre of oil, and had some rattles from underneath. They said we will book it in local to you for a fix, but didn’t ring me back about it, here began the once way traffic on the phone. That didn’t bare fruit so i kept on at them to get it back to them, and 7 days later it got recovered after much grief.

The coolant job that required doing is quoted 6-8 hours at any garage. After a week of the car being back with them Im starting to get a little bit shifty, its been off the road 2 weeks and iv had no further contact from them whilst its been up there and no offer of a courtesy car, so i start calling them for information. They tell me the parts on order from main dealer, they use dealer parts so as not to use inferior parts, fair enough. Trouble is i rang the main dealer 5 miles away from them and they had the part in stock, so why are we waiting? They then switch stance to they wouldn’t use dealer parts due to the cars age and it being uneconomical and they us “their parts supplier”… the dealer part was 140 quid against 21 grand car, i don’t think thats an uneconomical repair. In any case i ring about and the part is available from a few other places at a lower price. It isn’t a part thats on back order from anywhere other than who they say they have ordered it from.

A further week passes no phone calls, no emails, no car back, it’s been off the road 3 weeks with no contact, at this point i am fuming and decide i want my money back. The relevant trail of emails are sent to start lining up county court evidence, giving them 7 days to refund me. The emails went completely unacknowledged, and still throughout that next week receive zero contact from them.

I send a final 48hrs notice before court proceedings, cars been off the road 4 weeks at this point, i listed everything i will be claiming for, the paperwork is filled in and I’m ready to push go the next morning. I suddenly get 3 or 4 phone calls 2 hours before the 48hrs runs out, and a voicemail left, not from any of the sales team though from the driver that collected it. Cars ready id like to bring it back to you tomorrow. Wow!

So i reluctantly accept the car back and road test it over the next week, iv done 500 miles and the coolant is fine, job done. However the rattles haven’t gone so i jack the car up myself to start looking at where it’s coming from, and i find the oil filter housing leaking!!! Bearing in mind the car came serviced so they were the last to touch it, and i asked them to look for why it showed an oil warning! Turns out it was over tight, and when comparing the O ring on the housing to the new Porsche O ring i went and bought, it’s clearly the wrong one!!! Porsche one is a lot thicker and green, the one fitted is thin and black. Maybe thats why it’s been over tightened as they couldn’t get it to seal? Seal changed and simply hand tight and the leaks gone!

So they took 3 weeks to change a pipe, i have had to find, pay for and fix the oil leak myself, and it’s still rattling which at present i cannot pin down, i will though, with no help from Stonebridge as they are incompetent idiots id rather do it myself!!

So what can i say about Stonebridge Motors North East beyond collection day…

Unresponsive, Unreliable, uncaring, evasive and incompetent, i think that covers it. The worst dealer i have ever dealt with seriously, iv had 60+ cars so iv dealt with a few.

They are literally modern day sheep skin coat car dealers, only now with dodgy clobber, watches on show and slick back hair, trying to sell you the “luxury dream”!

Steer clear, honestly! The good reviews they have got are only from collection day when people are pulling covers off cars and getting flowers, it’s a smoke screen, when it goes bad you’re on your own braying your head off a wall. They can shove their warranty up their back box il treat the car as a private sale from now on, and never ever return as a customer. I genuinely hope the business sinks, and i have a funny feeling it will given time.

THEY TODAY ASKED ME TO REMOVE MY REVIEW AS THEY “FIXED THE PROBLEM” THEY LIVE IN CUCKOO LAND THIS LOT”

I held off posting a review as I wanted to give the dealership a fair opportunity to resolve this. However, between ignored emails, repeated inaccurate information & unresolved safety & reliability issues, I have no confidence in them.

I agreed to purchase a vehicle from Stonebridge Motors on 13th March, with several issues discussed & promised by the owner to be resolved before collection. I was also trading in a vehicle, which Stonebridge mechanics inspected & used to negotiate the trade-in price.

I didn’t collect the car until 10th April. I was told the delay (almost 4 weeks) was to carry out an MOT & ensure everything was completed to agreed standards. I was also told the MOT had flagged three tyres for replacement, however no advisory appears online.

When I collected the car, several agreed repairs had either not been done or were completed to a poor standard. The rear bumper had not been repaired, the wing mirror appeared to have been sanded & not repainted, and there was a failed repair attempt on the roof where a square outline remained visible.

There were also further issues raised beforehand: trim hanging down in the passenger footwell, centre console not secured, interior & exterior not properly cleaned - as well as issues which arose within the first couple of days: sat nav stuck showing the car in Yorkshire, hands-free microphone not working, knocking noise in the steering, brakes juddering, faulty front left sensor, no log book (three weeks later, still no log book and DVLA records show one hasn’t been issued since 2020), warranty information or MOT certificate not provided, tyre pressure warning shortly after collection, and the car pulling to the left indicating they didn’t correctly inflate the new tyres.

I returned the vehicle on 20th April (as agreed with Adam) for these issues to be addressed. I was told by Dan 48 hours later that everything had been completed aside from the sat nav & hands-free system.

When I returned to collect the vehicle, this was not accurate. None of the issues had been resolved other than some Isofix fittings. I had hoped the mechanical & safety-related issues would have been prioritised, but they were simply ignored.
To make matters worse, a new scratch was present on the rear driver’s side door which was not there before the vehicle went back into their care.

As a result of the unresolved safety-related concerns & repeated inaccurate information, I exercised my right to reject the vehicle within 14 days.

After several days without a response and being informed that my email had not been received by aftersales the dealership got back in touch.

Stonebridge rejected my rejection. They stated that I had to allow them a chance to repair (a quick Google search proves this is incorrect) they also stated I had not allowed sufficient time for repairs - again, the timeframe had been agreed in advance with Adam, & I had made it clear that if additional time was required I would need a courtesy vehicle. Despite this, I was still told the work had been completed when it had not.

I also sought contacted Consumer Advice, who confirmed I was within my rights to reject the vehicle within the first 30 days and I was not required to allow them an opportunity to rectify the issues - though I had given them a chance and they had failed to do so.

Overall, this has completely taken the excitement out of buying a new car. The constant misinformation & lack of aftercare have left me with no confidence in the dealership. I am now left chasing responses to emails with my only options being escalation to the Motor Ombudsman, Trading Standards and a Section 75 claim.

In the meantime, I have had to hire a vehicle for work travel whilst the car purchased from Stonebridge remains unused due to reliability & safety concerns.

What seemed like a “premium” experience - a showroom tour, a promise of flowers on collection (which never materialised) - has fallen well short once issues have arisen.

I would strongly advise others to carefully consider my experience before purchasing from this dealer.