“Sold me a car with knackered front end suspension. They did everything they could not to fix it, or even look at it for that matter. I will never buy a car from them again.”
“Bought car in July and took it back within 60 days (Wigan Renault) as I had an issue with the clutch - the pedal dropped to the floor whilst driving. They returned it to me saying 'they drove it around, but couldn't find a fault'. 11 months later during MOT, they tell me my car has a clutch fault - the same symptom I told them about last July - but they'd like me to pay £960+ LABOUR ONLY to investigate. I asked why this wasn't investigated properly last September and their response was "we drove it but couldn't find any issue - so we couldn't investigate further without there being a problem". Wrote to Customer Service, who came back with "the reason you brought it in last September was difficulty selecting gear"??? What the hell - that was never mentioned by me nor anyone at Wigan.
They then tell me that the issue in September was different from the issue they have picked up.....which is very strange, as in September they said there was no issue! Doing their best to avoid paying to repair the faulty vehicle that was sold to me in the first place.”
“Sadly the Arnold Clark reputation of old seems to be back. Bought a car from Arnold Clark Fiat in Paisley, the sales experience choice of cars etc was actually pretty good. BUT !!! Pray nothing goes wrong after this as you are firmly on your own .The after sales from this branch is absolutely abysmal, I was told the vehicle I purchased had Full Service History and this would be forwarded the following day , after 8 weeks of fobbing me off they suddenly denied all knowledge of any service history as the vehicle doesn't actually have any.
Sadly contacting customer services is a complete waste of time as the complaints procedure unbelievably passes your complaint back to the branch you are having issue with so cannot possibly be resolved, customer services don't reply to your emails anyway.
You buy from a large garage thinking you are protected from Mis Selling like this but sadly a managers bonus is more important than their honesty .
Now reported the case to the motor ombudsman.”
“Quite frankly the worst company I’ve ever had the experience of dealing with, I bought a vehicle from a branch in Carlisle (motor store) in September 2022. When the vehicle was delivered to a local store it had 50000 more miles than the advertised mileage. They refunded me £500 after I initially refused to take the car. I had also paid for a two year service plan and extended warranty, good luck with trying to get your car booked in if you want a service/mot or repair , you have to wait months probably because they prioritise customers who are not on these plans to make more money, . I reported a fault with my vehicle in Jan 2024 and had to wait three months to get the car in, then they couldn’t find the fault so advised me to take it to a Renault dealer. The car went into a Renault dealer who identified the fault after two inspections, they told me the timing belt had been fitted incorrectly (a new timing belt had been fitted 9 days before I bought the car) and incorrect coolant used. Another independent garage also told me they had used incorrect oil (seems to be standard practice for AC garages) . The vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty because of AC’s incompetence so I could not claim , I rang the customer service team at AC who couldn’t have been less interested, they could not get the car repaired immediately so I was forced to accept a repair at the Renault garage rather than wait months for AC to book my car in. This repair has cost me circa £750. When I complained to AC they refused to refund the repair saying the vehicle had been driven with over 20k miles since it was bought (it hasn’t ) but in any event it’s taken 6 months to get the fault fixed at another garage because they wouldn’t book the car in any quicker and could not diagnose the issue. Terrible company, due not risk buying a vehicle from them.”
“Turn up at 0800 and told the staff member i will be waiting. As it was for a mot and service. failed on 2 small things of whuch i know will take a maximum of 1hr to fix i have now been sat here for 6 hrs. No one gives me an update. I also wanted to use the toilets but they are disgusting.”
“I purchased my car 3 weeks ago started to hear a banging noise in drivers rear was taken in garage for checking as had 60 day warranty was told needed new rear bushes Arnold clark head office authorised the work but garage I purchased it from asked to be checked again it was with a different mechanic and he stated that needs new bushes
Garage I purchased it from wants to check vehicle
I am driving a vehicle which is not roadworthy and I am afraid to say if I don’t get new bushes on vehicle then they can keep it
I will NEVER buy from Arnold Clark again total ripoff merchant and I am a female and I will not be fobbed off”
“Arnold Clark extended warranty is not worth the paper of the customer copy they give you.
You would get a better warranty from Trotters independent trading.
Nothing is covered and they will extract every penny they can.
Avoid at all costs”
“Seriously just avoid, their servicing after you purchase and try get stuff seen under warranty or with auto care is just a joke. They fob you off and mess you around.”
“Service from west calder branch has been shocking only had car8 months been car knows the way to garage it’s self staff tell lies and service manager well what can I say ain’t this true would never recommend this company”
“If I could give 0 stars I would.
Bought a car from Stoke on Trent dealership back in February this year, initially the communication from Joshua - the salesman, was great until I received the car.
The car took 2 weeks to arrive despite being told it would be 7 days, it arrived with a handbrake fault which I was not made aware of until I went to collect it, only to be told it’ll need to be repaired - which took another 7 days. 2 weeks after collecting the car the handbrake fault returned and I tried to contact the dealership / salesman on several occasions, leaving several messages to no avail, thankfully after being passed from pillar to post Aberdeen AC agreed to take the car in to repair, only to advise me that the break pads and discs were badly worn, the timing belt needed repaired and the car had done in excess of 30k miles between November and February and not been serviced prior to selling - none of which I was made aware of, I took the car to an independent garage who confirmed the above and advised the car should never have been sold the way it was and was sold in an unsafe state.
I raised a complaint with the AC central team specifically advising I want NO contact with the dealership as they were given ample chances prior to my complaint, only to receive a half arsed email from the manager and bombarded with calls.
Of course issues happen but I was unbelievably understanding given the delays until I was told about the condition the car was sold in. Overall experience was very poor and I’d recommend avoiding this dealership if possible.”
“What a joke. Second time a ‘waiting’ car service booked in with inverness Hyundai and for the second time sat waiting for an hour and a half only to discover they hadn’t even started the work. Yet again full of hot air and excuses shame they can’t put all that hot air into action. Perhaps they are somewhat confused and they think a waiting appointment means they can keep you waiting all day, of course that’s not what it’s meant to mean perhaps the management needs to explain that to the staff! Perhaps it’s because I’m disabled and they view me as a second class citizen and therefore someone who only deserves a second class service”
“Arnold Clarke approached my daughter to say she could part ex her existing car, so my Daughter paid a deposit for a car on the 8th June to hold it and while trying to sort the finance out they sold the car she had placed the deposit on and it’s now the 3rd July and she still has not received her deposit back and keeps getting told they will sort it. £200 is a lot for a company to keep hold of without returning it. I bought my car from stoneacre and not at anyone time did they ask me for a deposit.”
“Bought my Jaguar xf 24 months ago paid 16k paid 278 a month looked after it kept it buitiful tried to up graid to arnold clarke said it was worth 6k for a 67 plate xf in mint condition ended up giving it back as i owed 10500 because off intrest what a waste off my money”
“When I recieved my car I noticed the dashboard was making a rattling noise, the service light keeps going on (never fixed) They took the dashboard off and glued it back it did settle down a bit. It also came with two keys but one was held together with tape. It took over one year to get a replacement key after being told to go to different garages. I paid over £7000 for the car and I have spent over £1000 reparing it (not including tyres) and now under three years since I bought it Arnold C have offered £687 for a trade in. After getting my second service done from arnold clark I got a second opinion regarding another noise and was told that there is loads of stuff wrong with it. So I need to say goodbye and I will not be going to Arnold Clark again. I should have known better TBH”
“IMPROPER SERVICING!!!! DANGEROUS!!!
On Monday 24th June, I noticed a red flashing engine coolant light which would come on spontaneously. This was despite engine coolant being topped up to full.
I took this up immediately with Arnold Clark Mazda Aberdeen and had the car serviced on Wednesday 26th June. Following the service, they said they found no faults with the car and it was safe to drive. They didn't believe me when I told them the issue.
Driving this morning on the motorway, the car showed the red light again - this time, causing the car come to a stop on the motorway. I could have caused a serious accident.
I phoned AA breakdown recovery, they helped me out and said that the radiator fluid of the car was completely empty. The AA staff poured about 4 litres of water into the radiator system. This was SHOCKING. The AA staff said that this is a very serious fault and couldn't believe when I told them this car was "serviced" 3 days ago. Anyone who took a good look at the coolant system would notice this issue straightaway.
The engine could have overheated to the point of melting or combusting. Additionally, there could already be permanent damage to the engine!!!!”
“Ignored my oil problem. Took £1400 off me for the service and other repairs. Passed my mot. Booked me in for oil issue a week later and tell me I need a new engine for £5400.
Ignored my wet belt in two services and blame me for not asking them to check it. I didn’t even know what a wet belt was until all this ! Refuse to do anything to help me. Only bought the car 18 months ago! Stuck in finance paying £228 a month and my engines failed. Thanks Arnold Clark”
“Bought a fiat500x back end of March this year. They have had it back more than I have used it! Paid £8k for it and not been able to use it. They collected it took to Wolverhampton branch who said nothing wrong. Drove it home same fault appeared immediately. They took it again and this time their Oldbury branch found a fault. Now waiting on parts apparently!!! Bought it from their Huddersfield branch who accept no responsibility at all, no ownership! I was told not their responsibility to keep me mobile😁🫣what a bunch of jokers! Sunny and Simon branch managers - pass back and forth to each other, never call you back! Customer service is rubbish! Never again feel completely ripped off! Bunch of highway men in suits!”
“I booked in to have new exhaust and to be told it needed a service breakpadd and discs, and it was dangerous the words used was steel on steel. I checked my records I have break disc and pads by another garage early last year and these changes usually last for at least 50,000 miles, which I have not done.. far from it.. total miles for this year was less than 10,000 miles. I had no issues breaking and did not feel this when breaking, however they use scare mongering tactics to Upwell the repair and took advantage of a woman that knows nothing about cars. Paid nearly 1300 pound for all works and service to have the engine light come on 3 days after the work and was told.. its nothing to do with the original works and its the age of the car and now 1 of the pistons is misfiring and it had extensive oil leak.. and I was told what do you expect for the age of the car. My car registration was YB11YNX and is paying this money out when car cannot be used. Never had issues until they touched my car. Disgusting wasted 3 days annual leave also. Don't ever use this company of u don't want to be Highley charged and use scare mongering tactics. I think they caused this to my car to keep coming back paying them high amounts. PLEASE GO TO ANOTHER GARAGE AND ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION.”
“Bought a car 5 weeks back, been in garage within 3 weeks for clutch, pedal and brakes. This car has done less than 5 thousand miles and 2 years old. Was concerned about brake noise so took for independent check, all discs are pitted. Arnold Clark advised fine just need a clean. Totally dismissed and won't let me speak to manager at Head Office, absolutely disgraceful. Please avoid at all costs, take your money then literally don't care. Advised they won't listen to third party garage only their own. Take from that what you may. If it had had a PDI this would have been picked up.”
