Anchor Cars レビュー 

1 Star – Extremely disappointing experience

I travelled all the way to Padworth to view and test drive a Mercedes that I was genuinely interested in buying. When I arrived, the engine was already warm, so I wasn’t able to carry out a cold start. I wasn’t too concerned because I intended to have the vehicle independently inspected before completing the purchase.

The biggest issue came when I was ready to buy the car.

I was happy to pay the advertised price. I wasn’t trying to negotiate, and I had already secured a pre-approved finance agreement from one of the UK’s leading finance providers at a single-digit interest rate. I arrived fully prepared with my own spreadsheets, calculations and budget.

I was then told that if I wanted to pay outright or use my own finance, I would only be able to buy the car if I also purchased their premium warranty package, costing around £900. I was told this was company policy. I found this completely unacceptable. Whether a customer wants an extended warranty, or where they choose to buy one from, should be entirely their decision.

Because of this, I asked them to provide a finance quotation for comparison purposes only.

They then presented what looked like a discount of around £3,000 on the car, but the finance offer came back with an interest rate that was well above the single-digit rate I had already been pre-approved for, despite my excellent credit profile. As they worked through the numbers, I compared everything against the calculations I had already prepared and quickly realised that the apparent discount didn’t represent the value it first appeared to.

They receive commission when customers take finance through their panel of lenders, and based on the finance quote I was offered, I think they deliberately inflate the interest rate for commission and to make the money back from the supposed "discount"

To make matters worse, I spent around three hours at the dealership, well past closing time. At one point, the salesperson, Julian, was having a disagreement over the phone with his manager in front of me, which only added to the unprofessional atmosphere.

I eventually walked away feeling that my time had been completely wasted.

On the way home, I went onto the Mercedes-Benz main dealer website and found the same model in a higher Premium Plus specification, with lower mileage, for only £300 more than the Anchor Cars vehicle. It came with the reassurance of buying directly from Mercedes-Benz, including a manufacturer-backed warranty and a straightforward, transparent buying experience. I completed the purchase the following day without any pressure, hidden conditions or unnecessary add-ons.

Ironically, Julian called me the next day to ask whether I was still interested.

I won’t be returning to Anchor Cars. My advice is to read every part of the deal carefully, compare finance offers independently, and make sure you fully understand any conditions attached to the sale before making a decision.

Treat your customers better when things go wrong. Disgraceful

What a lovely experience buying a car from Anchor EV. We called before going in and were totally honest about just wanting to look at a few cars to see the difference sizes. Kieran was great more than happy to oblige. When we arrived we went into the showroom just to check the cars we wanted to look at... One of the cars we had originally planned to look at we changed our minds there was no pressure at all to look at it.
Another car was at the other site (not a problem) as it didn't say on the website which site it was at and Kieran had another one for us to look at which was exactly the same especially as it was just for sizing. He had also said he would phone the site and let us know we were visiting if we wished.

As it happens when then saw a different car which we felt suited our needs and we decided to buy a car there and then.
The whole experience with Kieran and Anchor EV was so relaxed and dare I say enjoyable.
They also offer a warranty which includes MOTs which can be carried out at either site...
A very positive experience at a local family garage.

Very happy with the car itself and overall pleased with the purchase. The vehicle has been great so far.

My frustration was mainly around communication rather than the car. After agreeing the purchase there was uncertainty around preparation and delivery timing and I often found myself chasing for updates. After delivery, communication around a couple of follow-up items and settlement/goodwill resolution also took more chasing than I expected.

Issues were eventually resolved and the Accounts team were helpful, but overall the process felt harder than it needed to be. Better proactive communication would have made this a much stronger experience.

Recently purchased a car and was dealt with by a lovely man called Chris, his knowledge was superb! Customer care at its highest level, even checked in with me a a couple of times after the car purchase to see how it was all going. High recommend, five star service

From the moment I walked into Anchor Cars I didn’t feel pressured in buying a car. Stephen was very professional and when I took the car for a test drive he was reassuring and calm with me as I was anxious as not having driven in the UK for 11 years. When I picked up the car there was a minor problem which was dealt with immediately. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The sale went ahead without a problem,with John who was very helpful and professional.
Many thanks
Stephen Alexander

After purchasing a Ford galaxy titanium x from anchor cars padworth I paid an extra £400 for a car treatment protecting the cars paintwork & interior leather.When I got the car home I noticed that the car was not even washed before being treated or the leather seats cleaned.
When I requested a refund for the incorrectly applied product the refused only offering to clean the car which was too late as the paint protection product by williams was already applied ( or not ) by the state of the vehicle I would say not.
Future customers be aware of this experience and very expensive mistake.

Went there at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning waited half an hour for them to open the dealership. They opened bang on time at 9 to be fair, sorry my bad, I should’ve been clear. The reason that I came down to the dealership was because I was interested in a vehicle Audi E Tron Q4 for £16,000. After enquiring two times on the phone, no one got back to me, after being rude after my second call, aggressive saying we got your enquiry, we said we would call you back , my wife and came to visit. They were quite standoffish, not very interested in me, not help at all. It’s fine, bad vibes made me leave. Ill spend my 16 k somewhere else. They thought I was a probably from the Holiday Inn refugee centre. Even though I rolled up in my wifes 40 k ev . But, my wife noticed how friendly they were with another father and son. Fobbed me off, too interested in moving around, which looked like bangers around. First salesman said, u got an appointment we really busy, yeah right, then fobbed me off to the ev guy, he asked what u after? I said q4 etron, muttering demonstrator car not here yet, then brushed me off saying all are evs there. No question, budget, very unfriendly. Did not feel welcome, so I left. Bad vibes. Look how many 1 stars you have. I’m mot the only one with negative experience here. Stay away. Much more friendlier dealerships around , where cars are stored in a nice show room indoors. All the cars here are dirty, all scratched up. Don’t waste your time, like I did.

Just sold my car to Anchor Cars via Motorway. Very simple and efficient process. Good communication throughout. Prompt payment and no 'wrangling' at all over the confirmed bid price. Jeff collected and inspected the vehicle, very professional and friendly. Would definitely recommend. Thank you Jeff and Anchor Cars.

recently bought a car from Anchor and after just a couple months had an issue with the gearbox. They acted swiftly and professionally, and arranged my car to be fixed with no hassle. James and Matt went out of their way to insure my car’s issue was dealt with. And when I couldn’t come to collect my car, because of my busy work schedule, they kindly had a lovely guy called John to deliver it to my home.
I’m definitely recommending this company and will be buying again.

Very easy process buying my Tesla. Steve Norris was very informative. I did have to wait for an hour when I got there but it was a busy bank holiday and in the meantime Steve made sure I could look over the car in my own time and made sure I had something to drink. Very easy communication through what’s app and on the phone. All queries and issues were sorted out quickly. Smooth delivery handover with a very pleasant Steve B. Have purchased a car with them before 4 or so years ago which is still
Going strong. Hope to have the same experience this time. Would recommend!

Great experience, Jan and Steve were great through the test drive and setting up the order and finance.
Delivery was straightforward and fast, Grant was very helpful and kind with great communication.

Appalling customer service, rude and ignorant.
Visited the garage to buy a used car today. The sales man was clearly not interested in selling a car for the advertised price. It was all about the upselling. The price on the car, is not the price on the car as to get it even cleaned and the cosmetic damage addressed (which was minimal) came at a price! The price of which changed from £299 to £349 in the time we were there. I was also concerned that they were not willing to provide a print out of the quote. We really wanted to buy a car, they had the perfect car, so why didn't we buy? Because their attitude was rude, over-talking and hard sell. Why advertise a car price, then inflate it on site.

I bought a golf R 2017. Good service from Aston, however the car had a drop link problem and leaks all round after 1 week of ownership. Plus the haldex and DSG had not been done as agreed on sale.

Took it back twice 240 mile round trip. James the customer service manager, was very rude. Car was in the work shop for 4 weeks. They gave me an old black stinking fiesta, The car was immaculate going into the workshop. Dusty and full of grease on pick up. Very disapapointed. I will not purchase a car from this company again!

My first experience with this trader could not have been any smoother. Upon initial arrival to the dealership and was greeted by a salesman, an extremely well mannered salesman who certainly knew his stuff . I explained what car I wanted to see as I had found it online.
Needless to say I fell in love with it. I delt with a few salesmen over the course of my purchase and each and every one of them were a joy to deal with and nothing was too much trouble going the extra mile whenever required and I got to drive home happy in my new pride and joy.

Big thanks to all the team at Anchor Cars

John was extremely helpful and guided me throughout the process. The sale went really smooth.

Stephen was very helpful and arranged for the BMW 128ti to be prepared excellently. Grant delivered it to us and sorted all our hand over questions really well. Overall a splendid car buying experience.

Peter Felton came today to collect my car he purchased on behalf of Anchor Cars. He was wonderfully kind, put me as the customer first, and was a pleasure to sell my car to. 5*

I purchased a used car from Anchor Cars, and my experience has been incredibly disappointing. Right from the start. I paid for the “Premium care pack” which included delivery. They couldn’t deliver it so I opted to collect. The day before I was told it wasn’t ready and they have found a fault with the parking sensors, I was told it would be a few weeks before they could get the parts???? Stupidly I said I would still collect and return it when the parts arrive. That was the first of many lies told to me. I was told it had just been serviced, and they have ‘misplaced’ the service book. But they will have it ready and stamped when I take it back. Then on the drive home a warning light came on and said it was low on oil. I let them know and I was told to top it up with oil.

Shortly after, the car wouldn’t start at all, which led to a tow back to their dealership. After their investigation, I was informed that it needed a new engine. They assured me they would source and fit a reconditioned engine, and they would need to drive it for 500 miles for testing before returning it to me. However, when I finally got the car back, it had only been driven for 160 miles since they took it.

Throughout this process, I was met with numerous promises and outright lies, which I should have recognised as red flags. I genuinely believed Richard was trying to help me, but it became clear that he was not. Now, the car has been sitting on my driveway for months, and Anchor Cars has shown no inclination to offer assistance, despite the fact that the original fault remains unresolved. Just been fobbed off repeatedly.

Currently, I’m in the process of a complaint with the Motor Ombudsman, who have indicated that I have an extremely strong case. I wish I had walked away sooner; this experience has been incredibly frustrating and disappointing.