Ashridge Vehicles Ltd - www.ashridgevehicles.co.uk

Please please avoid them... them refuse to talk or reply to emails..

I found my dream car online and called in to reserve it straight away. The pictures on the website were amazing and I fell in love with the car.

I visited the next down and shook hands on a deal. Fast forward 2 days and I'm driving my lovely new car.

Thank you everyone at Ashridge Vehicles.

The car I bought from Ashridge Vehicles has left me upset, disappointed and considerably out of pocket.

After collecting the car I found that both sides had been repaired badly. The list of problems includes runs and debris in the paintwork on both sills, poor application of stone chip and overspray where it shouldn’t be. There was a foil, which is a clear piece of plastic stuck to the body to protect areas that are prone to stone chips, missing from one side and various pieces of trim falling off including lower body moldings, an inner door handle and a molding along the top of the door. Also various pieces of trim have been damaged due to careless removal and broken clips, which should have been replaced during reassembly, were not replaced. The list goes on and on…

As the weather got warmer (the car was purchased in January) another problem reared…. One of the lower door moldings becomes separated from the door leaving a gap of at least 5mm when it gets hot in direct sunlight. When it cools it goes back to what looks like its normal position. I suspect that they tried to remove it without first undoing the two screws that hold it from behind which has damaged it. There is no way that I could have known about this issue because it is only apparent when the weather is hot.

When I viewed the car it was late on a December afternoon so the light wasn’t great, there was also another customer looking at the car who told me that if I didn’t buy it he would so I had to make a quick decision under pressure. When I collected the car I was asked to walk around it and check that I was happy with it, which I did. If I had noticed anything I would have discussed it then, but I didn’t. New car day is special, and I was super excited, maybe blinkered, and maybe naively expected a car with only 9700 miles on the clock at what seemed to be a reputable dealer, would be in good condition, or dare I say it, close to perfect. My mistake it would seem.

In Ashridge Vehicles own words “Vehicles are cleaned and maintained to the highest standards by our highly experienced valeting team” so I cannot help but wonder if the ‘highly experienced valeting team’ might have noticed the repairs, or certainly the missing foil, and forgotten to mention it to me? Had I known of all the problems I would not have bought the car and as it stands I don’t consider the car to be in the condition in which it was described.

I have spent hours on the phone, and sent many emails, and don’t think it unreasonable to ask for a contribution towards the cost of repairing the car again, this time to a reasonable standard. Some of the problems are minor and I can sort them out myself, but not the paint work, or the parts that are falling off. To repaint both sills, and the lower sections of the front and rear fenders is going to be in the region of £800. All four door moldings need to be removed and re-attached properly with one potentially needing to be replaced at approx. £300. New clips, grommets and the correct (3M) double sided tape will cost £130.

When I first discussed the situation with manager Luigi, by phone, his exact words were that he didn’t have an open chequebook and did I know someone in the trade who could do the work, which I took as an encouraging response.

I asked for a contribution of £1200 which wouldn’t cover everything, but would cover the major work that I couldn’t do myself. That was when Luigi’s initial positive response changed to a negative one and he pointed out that most second hand cars sold have had some kind of bodywork repair. And that is an interesting point…. I wonder how many people who have bought used cars actually know if their cars have had any repairs? In many cases the staff at the hand car wash probably know more about the condition of the cars than their owners.

Luigi also reminded me that they did supply me with the missing foil (but didn’t fit it), they did re-fit the molding on the rear quarter panel that was hanging off and they also tried to refit the interior door handle properly, and in doing so damaged it. He even made a point of telling me that they had done all that ‘Free Of Charge’!

As well as that Luigi also reminded me about a couple of things I had questioned about the car which I turned out to be completely wrong about, which I found patronising.

As a result of the inner handle being damaged they did agree to supply a new one (£17.95 on eBay) with clips and the corresponding piece that it attaches to on the door panel. After 23 months of waiting the handle did arrive, but no corresponding bit or clips that had been agreed. Recent emails asking where the missing parts are have been ignored.

Ashridge vehicles reply to some reviews left here and I have no doubt they will try and turn this all around on me. They might point out that I inspected the car so it’s my fault, and they would be right, and I beat myself up every day that I didn’t notice anything. They might ask why it’s taken so long for me to leave my review and that would be partly down to waiting 23 months for the replacement door handle and also not particularly enjoying writing negative reviews. It’s the sort of thing I find very easy to put off.

But, the pictures don’t lie… the truth is the truth. I will have to spend well over £1200 to put the car right and even then it will never be perfect, it will always be a repaired car. If I ever have a need for VW’s Body protection warranty they will take one look at the repairs and send me on my way.

There is nothing I would like more than to edit this review with even a hint of positivity, but nothing could fully make up for the stress, upset, cost and wasted time caused to me by this car.

Don't even think about visiting this second hand car lot, they don't work without a forward booked appointment.

After being asked by the salesman, to phone him in order to place a deposit before a forward booked test drive.

I phoned twice, on the allotted day (he had my number in his phone, as I previously watched him put it in) no response, no call back so can you guess what happened next..... I walked away and took my business elsewhere.

Poor arrogant behaviour, unhelpful and disinterested, they're obviously so busy and sell so many cars, they don't need the business. AVOID

Without doubt the worse company I have ever dealt with in my lifetime !!! I wanted to buy a car from these guys and I finally got through after numerous phone calls and emails . They wanted £500 up front just to view the car which was refundable . I called up to arrange a viewing for 3 days straight , I was told someone would call me back . Not once in the entire 2 weeks did I get a call back , I had to chase 3+ times a day for all different reasons. They were so so quick to take my money!! They then took £400 off my part ex value even though I stated all the issues. I then decided to buy a car elsewhere because I was so disgusted with their service and the arrogance of their staff , talks absolute nonsense. Sales man didn’t have a clue or an answer to anything I asked, again I had to chase him daily for anything questions I had as he wouldn’t call me. I was then told my deposit had been refunded and it will be with me within 3 days , 5 days passed so I chased them and surprise surprise , they hadn’t even put it through!!! I finally received my money back , 10 days late!!

Avoid this company at all cost , they don’t care about their customers and there service is horrendous

Just got my new wheels thanks to the person I dealt with. He had great customer service and sorted out my finances instantly and on an excellent rate. Will definitely recommend these guys to future buyers!

I recently bought a beautiful VW Touraeg from Ashridge Vehicles. It was a colour I had been looking for for some time, a nice pearlescent blue with beige leather interior.

On my first day driving down to Plymouth the vehicle went into limp mode and to add to my bad day I hit a pothole wrecking a wheel and tyre to the value of £900 !!

However I called Ashridge and they told me to call the AA under my warranty and the vehicle was recovered to them.

Now I can honestly say that Ashridge would not have known about this issue, as I'm sure they don't get into every vehicle they sell and drive it for 100 miles.

This would not be practical for any dealer to do this.

Fortunately I had still got my old car to use even though they offered to lend me a car.

Within a couple of days they identified the fault as a sticking Turbo Activator linkage which they promptly replaced, the boss then drove the car 200 miles to test it.

The car was duly delivered back to me and is running a treat, and as a gesture they put on the vehicle a new wheel and tyre to replace the one I had damaged.

So overall I am most satisfied with the way they conducted themselves with this issue, no quibbles just lets get it done ASAP. Good management and customer service, so I am well pleased, Well done Ashridge !! as Arnie would say,

"Ill be back"

I bought a Renault Clio from Ashridge vehicles and was very pleased with the service. The car was presented very well and I received help with every question I had. Overall a very good experience. I would certainly recommend this dealer to anyone looking for a new car!

I recently purchased an Range Rover evoque from Ashridge Vehicles. After one week there was a fault on the vehicle and following a full health check from a Land Rover main dealer it was diagnosed with rear differential pump failure and an alert for 80% worn rear brake pads and discs. Although they did contribute to the pump being replaced they were not interested in the rear brake situation and claimed it had passed the MOT. Land Rover and quick fit both say this would be close to a failure and would come with an advisory note for replacement. This was not covered in the warranty and no contribution to the cost was given. Puddle light out on delivery of the car again not covered. Finally we paid for extra autoprotect exterior and interior carpets and mats. On arriving home we noticed the full evoque mats had not been put back in the car. After numerous calls the mats have never been replaced. There is a large stain in the boot of the car and if you try to clean it off the carpets a black stain just comes of like black paint? To add insult to injury the handbook was missing and funny enough eBay is full of them for £50.00. So my advice is to check everything before you buy from this garage.

Very efficient service from the advisor who took care of everything as arranged.

Fantastic car as well!