“A shocking example of poor customer service and lack of professionalism from sales management.
I recently made a purchase from Arnold Clark Linwood Vauxhall and irrespective of my spend, the after care service I received (one week later) was less than poor. Allow me to explain.
I purchased the car remotely and picked it up early evening in the dark. The salesman that I conducted the transaction with was accommodating I looked around the car from the outside, in the dark and then left the showroom. After returning home and looking over the car in more detail I began to notice the poor interior finish. Little or no effort was made to valet a car. I took it upon myself to have the car professionally valeted and asked for a detailed report and their findings are listed below
Please note: Other opinions are available
The car had only been wiped over and hoovered. There was women's make up residue down the door pilers, indicator arms, gear knob and steering wheel. The seat has similar marks and additional chocolate related stains were found. All of the door hinging had not been touched and the engine bay looked as if the car had been driven through a dust storm.
So, with that in mind, I wrote directly to Mark Currie at Arnold Clark, Sales Manger, underlining just some of the issues. Here is his response and I quote part of his less than profession response
"The interior should have been perfect.,and we don’t clean under bonnets because of engine immobilisers and water getting into electrics but that doesn’t stop us from taking a brush or dry cloth around the metal areas and clean up"
You'll note from his tone and response that "The interior should have been perfect", but it wasn't Mark. Neither was your email
Those of you that have taken the time to read my review will also notice that there are a larger number of EX Arnold Clark customers that have had poor customer service reviews followed with a standard on line response along the lines of "we are sorry to hear blah blah blah ......" etc etc. On this occasion, Mark Currie should, in my opinion, of admitted short failings by Arnold Clark and offered to rectify it. He chose to be short in his response, unprofessional in his approach.
A very disappointed and unsatisfied ex customer”
“Made the sales agent aware that I am travelling all the way from Manchester to see the car I wanted (a 63 reg Mazda 6) which was in Kirkcaldy and I was assured numerous times that the car is in great condition and there are no issues with it.
Arrived there, went for a test drive, during which I heard the passenger mirror making some strange noise. When I asked about it I was told that someone will have a look at it when we get back at the dealership. Once we arrived back I spent a few more minutes to inspect the body work and the engine bay. During this time I noticed that the front bumper was cracked indicating that the car has been involved in some sort of accident. They obviously tried repairing it but wasn't done properly.
The sales agent said that he wasn't aware of this issue (which is quite hard to believe).
While he agreed to return the £100 deposit I paid to reserve the car, when I asked for my travel expense to be reimbursed I was told that it hasn't been approved by the manager.
So I have wasted £200 and a day of my life because of their dishonest description of the car.
Submitted 2 formal complaints on Arnold Clark's website and I was told somebody will be in touch within 48 hours. 2 weeks later and nobody has contacted me.
Avoid Arnold Clark!
By the way, the car's reg was SK63 WGM - in case any of you wants to buy it, DON'T!”
“Best thing to do is swerve the showroom on London rd Glasgow, order the car for my son almost 3 weeks ago paid deposit, then paid for the car 4 days later. Still no car constant lies from showroom the manager hasn’t got the decency to call you back, and customer service just pay you lip service. The worst ever”
“Hi,
I bought Vauxhall Astra in November 2019 in Fiat / Abarth paisley branch ,within a month there is an issue with engine.While buying the car sales department told me i can go to any Arnold Clark for any issue. Now when went to Vauxhall branch they said they cant take in the car for diagnosis as the car has been bought in another branch . I went to Paisley branch and left my car there they diagnosed and told me they cant read the codes(Agreed as they don't have proper equipment) and have to send it to Vauxhall branch. once diagnosed and they needed approval for fixing car. sales branch didnt give authorizatrion to fix the car and they requested to send back the car to Paisley branch.
while buying the car when Arnold clark says we can go to any branch to repair the respective car why cant they approve it to fix the car. they are taking lot of time to fix the car. I purchased auto care other products not to go through all these hustle. Clearly Arnold Clark is not providing better after sales services or not explaining the terms while buying the car .
They didn't mention it saying the branch where i left my car needs an authorization from sales branch.This is not transparent if there are any such things it has to be communicated before buying the car and be transparent. Instead of buying in the fiat Arnold Clark I would have bought in the Vauxhall Arnold Clark.
And Now they say they will fix the car in fiat Pailsey branch. My question is once the car has been fixed how would they know its REALLY FIXED when they don't have proper equipment to read the car codes.
I'm really disappointed with Arnold Clark , This is my first & last business with Arnold Clark , I will never recommend to anyone in future.”
“I travelled 6 hours by train to collect a BMW M4 comp pack. The car was described as immaculate. They even sent me a video of the car and pointed out no issues on the car. Upon my arrival to the Preston motor store I could not believe that the car which was described as immaculate was covered in stone chips and scratches. The salesman was an absolute disgrace, firstly for presenting a £35000 car in the state he presented it in. Secondly he seemed to think that it was acceptable for a £35000 car to have stone chips and scratches, he offered no apology for wasting my time. I then had a 6 hour train journey home. Lost a days pay and over £340.00 in train fares. Which I am currently pursuing back from Arnold Clark.
The car was completely misrepresented by the salesman, absolutely disgraceful. Do not trust these people.”
“Travelled over 6 hours on a train to Arnold Clark in Preston to collect what was described as an immaculate M4 comp pack. They even sent a video to me prior to me buying the car and did not point out any issues with the car. Upon arrival to collect my car I discovered stone chips all over the bonnet and numerous scratches all over the car. I received no apology from the salesman for wasting my time, he seemed to think it was acceptable for me to accept that a £35000 car should come with stone chips and scratches. The way that the car was presented was disgusting. I then had a 6 hour train journey home. Over £340.00 in train fares and no car to show for a complete waste of a day and a complete waste of my time. Do not buy a car from these people.”
“Shocking got mg3. No spare wheel. Before sale email were answered in a hour. After email totally ignored.. Also dent on bonnet were stickers were also wish I never never went in. 2 emails arnold clark are the new peter vardy same horrible reviews u have been warned”
“Wanted to buy a used VW Polo & researched prices for new model. Visited two AC showrooms where cars were £1000 more than other sources. A move of £200 did not impress.
Sales people took our name and surprise no call. Finally sourced a car from England & garage shipped it for £99. Saved £800 on the deal. Do yourself a favour & look beyond AC prices.”
“We aim to put the interests of our customers first and treat them fairly at all times. This on Arnold Clark’s web site and it’s a load of lies.
The worst customer care ever my advice don’t buy a car from this company”
“I buy citroen ds5 3 months ago and they made me so sorry that I buy it I wish I could turn the time back people are smiling at u but honestly they don't do any fixes at all I don't recommend Arnold Clark at all”
“We recently purchased a Renault Clio from Arnold Clark in York.
My Wife and 5 year old child were nearly involved in a fatal accident after the wheel fell off a car we last had inspected by Arnold Clark.
After collecting this 8k vehicle with a brand new mot we quickly realised there was a fault with the brakes, after expressing our concerns with Arnold Clark they suggested we carried on driving the vehicle with dangerous brakes (as quoted by a third party mechanic) until they could fit us in for a repair, i refused!
After some heated conversations Arnold Clark agreed to repair the brakes.
Some time later my wife was driving towards York, she felt a uncontrollable judder then saw her front left wheel over take her!!! it transpired that the other side was also loose after been tested by the AA recovery team.
I immediately contacted Arnold Clark to get my wife's car recovered, they said they couldn't as they were too busy, i then had to (at my own cost even though we had Arnold Clark cover) get the car recovered and taken to Arnold Clark!
It was apparent on our arrival they had absolutely no interest that a vehicle they last worked on had, had a wheel fall off, they accepted no responsibility and suggested we pay to repair all the damage and in the mean time i could rent a vehicle off Arnold Clark!!!
We lodged a complaint with their head office which they proceeded to delete mid way through without notifying us, they apologised but said they did it because i contacted our insurance company!!! they admitted they made a mistake, we received a email 2 hours later saying they still admit no liability.
Our insurance company will not cover us because apparently a wheel falling off a vehicle at 50mph is not a accident!!!
The long and short of it is we bought a vehicle with a questionable MOT, faulty breaks and it just so happens the two wheels they last worked on fell off and the other was not adequately tightened.
They have given no explanation as to why the wheel has fallen off, i naturally can not let my family drive it without knowing the reasons, we recently attempted to reject the vehicle as our consumer rights allow however they are now refusing.
My wife has suffered whiplash, if it was the other wheel she could of killed someone or herself, she has not slept well since the incident, we are now having to rent a vehicle, we are not insured and Arnold Clark refuse to help.
This is everything thats bad about big business in the UK, it is apparently acceptable to sell dangerous vehicles and walk away without a care knowing someone could of been killed.
If you have a vehicle bought, serviced, maintained or even touched by Arnold Clarke i would suggest you get it inspected by a third party.
I would please ask you share this as i fear next time someone might be seriously injured or die, i would also like it sharing as company's should not be allowed to get away with this.
Any advise or previous issues with Arnold Clark would be appreciate.
I feel if enough people see this they will have no option but to take it seriously.
Obviously several email, letters and conversations have been had with several organisations and the above text has been written as a brief explanation/overview.
Thank you for taking the time to read.”
“I am now having to deal with citizens advice after being told by an Arnold Clark salesman that I bought a 62 plate what should I expect (water in the main computer, which has had it's cover badly removed presumably in an attempt to dry it out) and that is following horrendous service I received when I discovered the timing was out due to the new timing belt being incorrectly fitted and had to be done again. Arnold Clark you are a disgrace and you should be stopped from selling people cars that are not fit for purpose.”
“Because I'm autistic and went on an argument with the manger yesterday I've have apogyed but he has just told me on the phone I'm not allowed to hire a car from them anymore so in my eyes it's disretanion against a vunable adult I would not recommend using them at all as there customers service is asboultely poor and stop people hiring a car with out knowing why they reacted like that so please people don't use them at all”
“Arranged a deal & they said after my PX value has dropped by £400 because the delivery date will be into the next month? That's not my fault it takes time for them to deliver to me. Once a deal is done then well, it should be done!”
“Mercedes Benz Inverness Arnold Clark
Put our CLS250 in for oil service, While in the car engine was basically destroyed as a result of what can only be described as negligence..
I refused to take back an 18000 mile car with an extensively repaited engine.
After parting with £3000 we accepted (unseen and untried) ML as a replacement.
We hated it. Noisy and nothing like our top of the range CLS that they wrecked the engine in.We asked for it to be taken back after two days and lost £3000 after 2 days..
After much discussion we opted for a 350GLE at an additional cost of £9000. The total cost after putting our car in for an oil service is £12000 through no fault of our own.
Since day 1 this car has had a sever vibration problem. It has been back four times and after 9 weeks we are told by Arnold Clark Mercedes Inverness and Mercedes Benz UK that is normal and is part of the "chsaracteristic of this model. Mercedes say it is caused by the "resonance" of the 20 inch wheels, the tyres and the lowered suspension. That was what the car came with.
SO DONT BY A 350 GLE as both Mercedes UK and Arnold Clark say that is perfectly normal.
I am attempting to get a resolution. I will post here all the updates.”
“After signing a sales agreement and leaving a deposit, they called me to say they had made a mistake and wanted another £250 for higher quality seating upholstery that I didn’t ask for. I refused to pay the extra since I believed we had a legal contract on a specific new car. I complained to their customer Services who wrongly, in my view, sided with their sales staff. The sale was cancelled and deposit returned and soon after I purchased a higher spec car, same model, at a lower price through CarWow.”
