Imperial Cars Fleet

Bought at car from them 3 weeks ago. Relatively painless experience. Did notice some scratches on a door prior to purchase, which they agreed to rectify (in writing!!!). Have been back on 3 separate occasions. Each time a different excuse as to why they cannot rectify as promised. "Don't have a paint workshop on site" so tried to polish it out. Did not work. Last excuse was : the car had gone through the head office preparation and the scratches are factored into the price of the car. Well I a interested to see how that will stand up in a small claims court as I have it in writing they will rectify. So will have to pay to have it rectified and then get my money back through the court.

So be warned - don''t buy a car from them or if you do be prepared to enforce your rights.

Confirmed the previous evening that the car was still available. Drove 100 miles to be told the car had been sold that morning (before I had set off). Now, I understand that this will happen occasionally, but surely a courtesy call (they were very keen to have my contact number when I showed an interest in the car...) to save me £30 in petrol and 3 hours of my day off should not be too difficult to arrange....

Also, whilst my staff member was very polite (and this was before we found out the car was no longer available) I don't expect the first 2 conversations I have with a car salesman to be 1) Asking in great detail about the finance deal I had and 2) What other cars would I be interested in seeing ('errr none, I'm here because of that car') - even before we'd left his desk and seen the car.

Called me out of the blue as I was a previous customer to say they were opening a new supersite in Millbrook and had vetted my car as ideal stock as they were needing 400 cars. Asked specifically whether their purchase was contingent on me buying another car from them and was told emphatically that they would appraise and buy at a fair market price with no strings attached.

Fast forward 2 weeks, got the car valeted, drove 20 miles to their nearest site for appraisal. Sales rep made all good noises about my car which is a very good one (only selling as I've had a car restored to use and it is now ready). Even printed off an independent Glass's Guide valuation for it at £4,200 and this is for a low mileage car.

Despite their assurances that pulling me in was not a scam when they tricked me in there, surprise, surprise they suddenly lost 100% interest as soon as the rep told his boss that it was a straight sale (of a good quality car sold to me by them just 18 months beforehand!).

They obviously had a little procedure then to deceive their customer's by, in addition to the usual chin-rubbing over giving anywhere near the Glass's Guide (nb. the guide their Trade swears by when selling cars) value for my car, then refusing to give me any offer for my car at all!

Clearly my lack of interest in buying a new car from them had suddenly evaporated all their feined interest. They wouldn't even risk me considering an offer whether it was 1p or less.

Suddenly I was made to feel very foolish and my view of this company (before that I would have considered going back there but now would not touch them with a barge-poll and will be passing my experience onto many people as a result. You have been warned! (a no longer Imperial Car Supermarket customer).

Very slow service, and typical car sales nonsense. Belligerent manager (fleet branch) even before I had paid.

The car I bought needed a new light bulb unit which they acknowledged at time of sale. They said they would order bulb unit and fix it, but once I had paid they stopped returning phone calls. I reported them to VISA (having paid on credit card so I would have some protection), making a CCA claim and they still didn't return phone calls.

Warranty offer very suspect - offered one price/cover by salesman then double the cover at 1/4 the price by admin people 10 mins later. Why not be upfront and clear from the start? Still there are many clauses and a £40ph limit.

Wouldn't touch them again. Haven't had the car long enough to know if there are more problems to come.

I purchased my shiny “nearly new” BMW from the fleet branch drove it home tried to insure the car and the reg plate on the vehicle came up as a Peugeot! I panicked and drove it straight back. Turned out to be a silly issue with Imperial changing the plate to one with their logo on and misprinted the new plate (they got an x mixed up with a k!). Issue all sorted the following day when they turned up with new plates, although I was expected to fit them myself some drilling and screw driver work later the new pates were on the car and I was fully insured and ready to go!! Second issue was that when checking the paperwork I noticed that no copy of the HPI report had been provided. Nemours calls and emails later I found myself emailing the Group General Sales Manager and the MD of the business (found their details on the internet). HPI check was emailed through very quickly with a very nice apology, however, HPI showed finance owing on the car – oh no! This also turned out to be a mistake from the finance company that originally financed the car from new for the fleet company owner. Not Imperials fault but in my view their responsibility to sort before selling me the car. This was easily sorted but should have been checked before sending me the copy of the report. All that being said the car is exactly as described and I am very happy with the purchase Imperial just need to pay attention to the detail of ‘customer service’ and ‘after sales’ once they have your hard earned cash.

Saw car advertised on Autotrader, introduced to Eddie who looked after us really well. Car provided in sparkling condition with full RAC inspection for customers peace of mind. 3 month warranty with purchase, additional warranties available for complete hassle free motoring. Would buy a used car from these people again without hesitation and would be happy to recommend Imperial Car Supermarkets to friends.

Sarah & Paul Speller

I had decided on two makes and models that I was interested in, and if I'm honest I only popped into Imperial Car Supermarket in Fleet, as they are fairly local to me, to have a look more closely and see if I could test drive them. I had been looking online at one other car sales site, who appeared to have a lot more choice, and had pretty much decided that I was going to go there. When I turned up at ICS they were more than happy to take me for a test drive in both the models I was looking at, and there was no pressure whatsoever in terms of sales. I very much liked the Audi A4 that I drove, but went off to this other place further away to see what else I could find. When I arrived there, they did indeed have a larger selection, but the prices were higher for similar mileage, and the customer service was almost non-existant until you'd actually decided you were going to buy. I realised that I'd probably been incorrect in my assumptions, and headed back to ICS to have another look at the Audi. I turned up about 10 minutes before they were due to close, but the salesman was more than willing to take me out for another test drive. I decided at that point that this was the car I wanted (they even gave me a good deal on part exchanging my old car!). We sat down and did the necessary paperwork. The car was valeted and ready for me, as promised, the very next day, and I've been very pleased so far. Would certainly recommend seeing what these guys have to offer.

I walked into the Fleet dealership expecting to browse and walked out with a shiny new car. Found the sales team extremely helpful and knowledgeable without pushing for a hard sell. Told them what I was looking for in a new car and they got it spot on. Bought the first car they showed me and are really happy with the experience. Even did a bit of haggling at the end and left "one happy customer"

Good communication initially regarding the car I was looking to view. The person who I'd talked to met me and walked me through the car details and took me for the test drive. The transaction upon agreeing the price was done quickly and without any hassle.

All options available to me regarding finance / part exchange etc were explained well and there was no pressure to buy products nor did I get hit with any suprises on purchase

Car to this point has been perfect so all in all a great experience. I would recommend.

Bought a car and was very happy with purchase, staff friendly (as you would expect) and got a very well looked after ex-company Audi A4.

However after sales customer service is very poor.

Purchased a Williams Ceramic Coat application for my car which Fleet garage cancelled on me 3 times since January. Now after refund as I am unable (and now unwilling) to get to their garage again for some time. However I cannot get them to respond never mind confirm they will issue refund. Keep getting passed between staff members, asked to leave messages and they never respond when they say they will (if at all). Offered me £50 rebate and to send me kit but I explained that they advised on purchase it needs to be undertaken in enclosed garage (free from perils of British weather) professionally. I live on street and given the cost I would expect it to be professional applied. Very frustrating.

So it appears they will sell you car but don't expect any help afterwards. Hopefully I will some day be able to report I have obtained refund.