“I bought a used X5 from Williams BMW in Manchester - the salesman who dealt with me was Adam Graham.
The initial service was good - I bought from a distance and I got shown everything I needed to see, got progress updates on the car prep and paying a deposit was easy.
Williams wanted to arrange finance for me, which I didn’t need. In spite of knowing that, their finance manager, when presented with my broker arranged finance tried to convince me that paying more interest with them against a higher guaranteed future value was a better deal (I’m not sure that advice meets the FCA treating customers fairly principles, but there we are).
As part of the deal I arranged an extended warranty for £800.
I left Williams BMW to deal with my finance broker and between them, Williams got an invoice to the broker, who got it paid by the finance company.
Come time to collect, I paid the deposit, Williams told me I was paid up and ready to collect, and I collected the car.
The collection was a good experience, Adam was kind to my sons, which I appreciated.
The difficulty began a few weeks later when Adam called me, to tell me he had forgotten to include the cost of the warranty in the invoicing of the finance company and so there was £800 outstanding on the bill. I didn’t know what to make of that, so I said I’d sort something in a few days.
I had time to think and I was annoyed. I emailed Adam to say so - that it didn’t feel reasonable, this long after the deal, when we had shaken on the deal and I had collected the car, to come back and tell me there was something outstanding. I told him paying £800 just before Christmas because of someone else’s mistake wasn’t reasonable and I wanted to make a complaint.
I was then emailed by Craig Fenlon, who is a Sales Manager at Williams BMW. He made it clear in his note that making sure the car was invoiced correctly was my responsibility, this was my mistake to correct and if I don’t pay up within three days, in spite of my having settled up, collected the car, and in spite of Williams BMW attending the invoicing with the finance company, he will cancel my extended warranty.
I think this is a pretty poor way to treat customers. Firstly the mistake is pretty shabby. Trying to blame the customer for an invoicing mistake by sales is just bad form. Then the threats and bully-boy tactics just make it worse.
My experience of Williams was that when things are going well, they’re fine. To be fair, every business is fine when things are going well.
When something went wrong, they’re fine tried to blame me, took no responsibility for it, had no empathy, no understanding, and threatened and tried to bully me.
I would caution you against using them, conscious that there is an almost unlimited supply of BMW dealers to choose from in the U.K.
I’ve emailed the Williams Group Managing Director, Guy Adams, to complain in the hope he takes a more collaborative and reasonable approach. I will update this review if I need to.”
“When i brought my car in for mot was failed due to changing front tyres and just bulb on front light their charges are ridiculous, they would even let me take to get fix somewhere and said am not allowed to take coz failed mot, they found 2 things which were advisory in my car suspension, and misc and asked them if could talk to my warranty am sure was covered but the agent came back to me and said coz my car was old and lots of millage warranty cant cover. So refused to have them fixed and booked another appointment to look into fixing them and went ahead and called my warranty and they said firstly my car now old its 19 plate and millage was 78,000 and am covered for all that up to 100,000 millage and ti make it worse they said no one from bmw made any claims into things am telling them. So called them back bmw and told them and they said when bring my car they will look into it and if need be put claim in, now they come back and say or now wheel allignment which was never told about and they havent seen my car since done my mot how did they even come up with that?? Its frustrating that i feel like if they cudnt get any money fron previous repairs that would be covered bu warranty they come with other problems just make sure they get money off me. My confidence towards them gone and was thinking of swapping my car for another bmw but after this never. Put me off completely. We worked hard and break our backs but they dont carre if cant get money one way they made up problems that havent been told about to make sure they receive something. Totally feels like scam.”
“I bought I7 M70 and so pleased with it. More importantly, Aaron Barnes the Sales Rep right from day 1 was so courteous and not hard pressing. In fact, despite me being always BMW user, this time I was determined to change to Merc and I walked into Williams just to check out. Aaron was so helpful and I made up my mind in same visit to order BMW I7 M70 and through out Aaron has been very helpful. I felt VIP as well as not pushed hard. I wish many more car sales reps will be like Aaron. Well done.”
“Smooth and well organised purchase with a big thanks to Yahya in sales. Appreciated the regular communication and advice. Lovely car and great service :)”
“Appalling service! Booked in for MOT at 12 noon and the car is not checked until 4:30pm, did not get back to me with reasons it has failed until 5pm, half an hour before closing. When brought back for repeat MOT today (headlight realignment done), the car was parked outside the garage and technicians have not checked. The person who serve me was rude and blunt, quick to suggest I would need to have the headlight replaced when it wasn’t needed at my usual garage. Awful experience and I would strongly advise against getting any service from Williams. I would not be upgrading my car with them”
“My car a BMW x4 was booked in to have a manufactured faulty sensor changed ( won’t give courtesy cars for a manufacturer fault) ,booked in two months in advance of my visit ,arrived this morning for what I was told is a 45 min job but may have to wait a while , when I got to the desk and spoke to the person booking my car in ,I was told it would be ready for around 3:30-3:45 ,THAT IS NOT A FEW HRS ,that’s a working day , he also said I could go for a a walk around the Trafford centre , told him this wasn’t good enough as I had to be in work for 1pm bearing in mind I was there for 10am ,he then went checked again and then said it would be about 1 hr as I was waiting ,was offered a drink , however at the other dealerships I’ve dealt with drinks on free vend on a help yourself service ,this place I was waiting over 10 mins for someone to come a give me a drink ,Why ?? (Free vend works ) anyway covered every floor looking at the cars this took me to around 11:30 still no sign of my car 12noon a staff member came over and asked if everything was ok ,I said no I was told I’d have my car back in 1 hr we’re now nearly 2 hrs in and still no sign of my car considering I’d told them I should have been back in work for 1 pm ( felt as though me being in work wasn’t there problem ) ,1:30pm finally got my car ,considering it went in for a BMW fault ,I was told my oil level was high and my tire wear on the N/S Rear was low ,do these people think that we don’t check our cars ,as mine was serviced last Saturday no warning lights , all dash instruments saying everything is ok and serviced by a BMW approved Workshop yet someone telling me I’ve got to much oil in my car , is this why I was sat in the dealership until 1:30 someone trying to find a fault with my car ? when it went in for a BMW fault ,anyway plain and simple ,will not be using this garage again ,I’ll stick with Bolton in future”
“Didn’t read review before I went, however it confirm the reception we received when I enquired about purchasing a new mini car.
We were in the area cos we were looking after the grad children (we looked Like come of the street) not taken seriously to purchase a new car. Told no negotiation on purchase price, price seen, price paid.
Not offered coffee or water, no person details taken, no interest in us,
Came away feeling a bit upset and annoyed ( deflated is a understatement)
Another sale person didn’t look up and acknowledge us, v rude personnel
I won’t be going back to Manchester Trafford centre show room, I take my purchase to another dealer.”
“The whole experience (from start to finish) was just great. Not only Williams Manchester provided a great deal, the approach was very professional throughout. Due to some worldwide shortage of materials, the car was delivered in a relatively good time (some other manufactures are not able to fulfill their orders at all) . I have picked up my new car on 19th March 22 from Nathan Lowbridge. Nathan was extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble. He kept me informed on progress of my order through the whole process - I couldn't have a better person looking after me and when I am ready to order my next car, I will be heading to BMW Williams in Manchester to deal with Nathan again.”
“Absolutely appalling service. Paid a deposit online for a used car. No contact whatsoever despite me ringing numerous times to arrange pick up. Wasn’t ready first 2 times I arranged to collect. Didn’t get the full reg of the car until the day I should have collected. Arrived to find large mark on bonnet the sales manager and sales person disagreeing as to whether the car has been serviced and MOTd (it hadn’t) I asked for my deposit to be refunded and am still waiting 6 weeks later. Emails not returned phone calls not taken. Escalated with my bank. Buyer beware.”
“I took my car into BMW Manchester after recall to steering 160621. On the afternoon of 17th, I tried to use hon to alert school children playing nearby, as I had done on nemerous occasions. On the last occasion the pupil in question described the horn as loud, and sounding like a trumpet (140621). After recall steering repair, it sounded a quiet sound you would get from a child’s toy. Problem immediately reported to bmw. To date I have been spoken at by bmw staff and, they have made it clear there could be a £120 investigation fee. No apology or empathy. I received a call yesterday evening from bmw, only to reiterate their engineers have to be paid for their time. Throughout this process after notifying about the fault, I have been made to feel as though it is my fault. This is to warn any bmw owner booking their recall at bmw Manchester, to request horn be included in video sent to you before the repair. Please check again once you pick up. When I asked why this was not included in video, I received a flippant, “We can’t test for everything”. Feeling extremely ill, I did not have the energy to ague with this male. However, I do hope he does not speak to his mother in the tone he spoke to me yesterday. My car is due back at bmw later today.”
“DISHONEST !!!,
DISHONEST !!!,
i bought a brand new X5, on the day of collection there was quite a large mould stain in the back seat, i quickly showed the salesman the stain, he then got a guy from the garage to wipe it off but failed, then i said to Russel Drake (Salesman), please take a note of this stain and i will see if it comes off in time (Bearing in mind this is a brand new premium car), a time after the stain would not move, i have tried everything but failed, i then contacted Russel Drake and he now denies all knowledge of the stain, this is my third BMW i have bought from Russel at Williams Bolton, i will not be buying another BMW full stop, this has left a sour taste in my mouth, i am shocked at the service, he offered to try and clean it again IF i get my car serviced at Williams Bolton (i live in Chester), i should not have to fix a brand new car, disgusted !!!”
“I had bought a brand new 1 series M sport before 3rd lockdown and the first meeting was good as I was purchasing and specing my car up and had paid a fee to get my car put in a queue for building.. but after that it felt like I was just bothering who I bought the car off (AJ) and its a shame when someone is paying for a service, their priority should be to make you their centre of attention and make you feel that their customer is everything and I didn’t feel that... however, the car got a built but I had to ring to ask whether the car has been built and on its way... nevertheless, I let it go and was happy because I was getting my car. The only time I got a call from Manchester Williams was for the money or my number plate taxation queries. I let this go again... it came time to pick up my car and i know it was lockdown and everything but when walking in to reception I had waited 20 mins for AJ to come and give me the car keys.. she didn’t even apologise why she was late and when she came out she gave me keys and because we couldn’t go over the normal routine due to social distancing she gave me keys and was like do you have any issues with the car and I didn’t and was told if you have want to go through anything you can always come back and go through it, however I am not going to go as i have figured out on my own. But, I didn’t feel the specialness that someone would feel when buying such a luxury car and I felt dissatisfied with the whole buying experience. Lastly.. the knowledge she had wasn’t that great as when asked a question on the difference between different specifications of the 1 series sport and M Sport I wasn’t told I was just told ‘it doesn’t have the leather seats and it doesn’t come with heated seats’ yes this may be right but it just felt she wanted to get rid of me. I wish I had gone some where else tbh. But I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY CAR despite all the problems I had experienced with the service! I could make someone feel more special when buying a product off me than I did when buying mine!”
“I have bought 4 cars from Sana, her customer service and the management team have been fantastic. Highly recommend Williams Manchester. I bought from the old site on Manchester CC and now will continue in the Trafford Site. 5 stars”
“Just bought my shiny new car from BMW Manchester and had amazing customer service from start to finish. We dealt with AJ who was just a pleasure to deal with, very personable, fantastic product knowledge and really efficient. No faults whatsoever, would highly recommend. Can’t thank them enough :-)”
“Just wanted to say “massive thank you to JASON and all the team”, who went out of their way for us in buying our second car from “Williams Select”. No matter what budget you have within their available stock, you get treated first class all round. Cannot recommend them any higher, best experience in buying a second hand car we have had. Thank you so much. 5*****. Best wishes for the future. Ian”
“I drove 30 miles to this dealership when there is one right by my house, i bought my last car from here from Russell Drake as the process was a complete pleasure, this time i have upgraded, i saw Russell again he gave us a great deal, the hospitality, service, value and not to forget the quality motors are all here, my new one arrives in 10 days, many thanks Williams BMW Bolton, if you are new to BMW now then please trust me when i say that nothing drives like a BMW, i very much recommend !!”
“I drove 30 miles to this dealership when there is one right by my house, i bought my last car from here from Russell Drake as the process was a complete pleasure, this time i have upgraded, i saw Russell again he gave us a great deal, the hospitality, service, value and not to forget the quality motors are all here, my new one arrives in 10 days, many thanks Williams BMW Bolton, if you are new to BMW now then please trust me when i say that nothing drives like a BMW, i very much recommend !!!”
