Arnold Clark Horror Stories

[RaithRyan]

I have recently had bother with a car that I have bought on finance with Arnold Clark, however after a lenghty period of time they managed to fix the problem.

The second hand Corsa I've got off them now is working perfectly, but I had a problem with a leak which resulted in the car being in and out of the garage/repair place they had ties with as they couldn't get to the problem. After 3 trips the leak is finally resolved and is now water free.

Does seem like they want nothing more with you after you've sealed the deal and signed. The car only had one set of keys, and they agreed I would get a new pair of keys for all my troubles with the leak so that I would have 2 sets. The vauxhall garage is in Glenrothes 10 minutes from my house, yet they have still not heard anything about my key situation despite enquiring about it around 2 months ago. Everytime I phone, I'm told we will phone you as soon as we here about it.

Nightmare

[woodside]

I once saw arnold clark kick a puppy then laugh menacingly whilst fondling himself.

[donaldo]

Burnt once, never again.

[honeyboy edwards]

I have read the posts on here, and would like to help, if you have a problem or a complaint please contact our Customer Services Dept on online.customer.services@arnoldclark. co.uk or customer.services@arnoldclark. co.uk we would like to help out if we can.

Regards

Alasdair

Customer Services

Thanks but no thanks, maybe if your staff at Vauxhall Stirling and Mazda Kirkcaldy had your attitude to their job then I wouldnt need to come on here to start a topic.

[Demented Zebra]

Orderd a new car from Arnold Clark which has a horrendous waiting time according to a forum on the model. Ordered the car on December and was given a delivery date mid April.

Car was delivered at the beginning of April to my delight. On the model forum people who ordered the same car in November are still waiting for a delivery.

Arnold Clark also presented myself and wife with a framed painting when we picked up the car. This is 5th car I have bought from Arnold Clark and have always received a first class service.

If I was buying a second hand car I would only buy one that comes with a full service history accompanied with all receipts. Thats how I trade in my cars to Arnold Clark. If no service history and receipts would never consider buying.

Edited May 12, 2010 by Lochwinnoch Saint

[Gaspode]

We've always bought our cars from AC - 9 cars in about 15 years (2 of them from Mchargs) and never had any problems (touch wood).

I don't ever use AC for servicing however and i think it's a rip off (the last car they wanted £250 for a 2nd service and it had only done 7000 miles at the time).

With the current car they threw in 2 'free' services - surprisingly although there's been nothing they could find wrong with the car the exhaust emissions have failed both services (£35 to add petrol additive - I don't think so). last service they wanted £72 + vat to add petrol additive, replace the radiator water and put screen wash in even though I'd just topped up the screen wash myself the day before and I don;t understand why the radiator water would need replaced in a car that's only done 14k and is less than 3 years old. Needless to say we said "no thanks'.

Question - if you don't use uncle Arnie but have had a good experience elsewhere - where do you buy your car? I tend to shy away from Motorpoint as I know a lot of their cars are imports (ie: Malta) which voids the warranty.

[honeyboy edwards]

We've always bought our cars from AC - 9 cars in about 15 years (2 of them from Mchargs) and never had any problems (touch wood).

I don't ever use AC for servicing however and i think it's a rip off (the last car they wanted £250 for a 2nd service and it had only done 7000 miles at the time).

With the current car they threw in 2 'free' services - surprisingly although there's been nothing they could find wrong with the car the exhaust emissions have failed both services (£35 to add petrol additive - I don't think so). last service they wanted £72 + vat to add petrol additive, replace the radiator water and put screen wash in even though I'd just topped up the screen wash myself the day before and I don;t understand why the radiator water would need replaced in a car that's only done 14k and is less than 3 years old. Needless to say we said "no thanks'.

Question - if you don't use uncle Arnie but have had a good experience elsewhere - where do you buy your car? I tend to shy away from Motorpoint as I know a lot of their cars are imports (ie: Malta) which voids the warranty.

I also got 2 free services - as initial compensation for the first round of crap customer service. At the time of getting these free services I got a verbal agreement that I could take the car into my local branch (Mazda Kirkcaldy) to get these done.The first of these free services has now been carried out at Mazda Kirkcaldy and surprise surprise the branch that I bought the car from (Vauxhall Stirling) have refused to pay for the service. Mazda Kirkcaldy were basically calling me a liar and saying that I would have to pay for the service. So, the compensation for the initial crap customer service has itself turned into another round of crap customer service

Talking of servicing, heres the real funny one. When I bought my 2 year old Mazda 6 (which was a trade in at the Vauxhall Stirling branch), they said they would service the car before I took delivery of the car as it was due its two year old service. During the service, they used non Mazda approved parts and also never followed the service schedule and missed changing the brake fluid. As such Mazda refused to reconise that the car was serviced and basically told me that the manufacturers warranty is now void

[Rugster]

Bunch of shitehawks. I bought a car from them years ago, under the Macharg Rennie and Lindsay banner and brought it back the same day as a puddle of oil had formed under it in the time I parked it outside my house, went in to have lunch and came back out. Took it in and they had it in half an hour before coming out and saying they couldn't find any leak. So I parked it up in the car park, went for a wander round the showroom, came back to it and got the service manager back out and showed him the newly formed stain on his car park. Only then did they 'miraculously' find the leak.

That's after having had earlier returned with it because when I got home I noticed the registration plate on the back was different to the plate on the front. They'd transposed a letter. Big laugh to find out who'd done it as opposed to apologising to me for the inconvenience.

Never darkened the doddery auld codger's door since.

[honeyboy edwards]

Bunch of shitehawks. I bought a car from them years ago, under the Macharg Rennie and Lindsay banner and brought it back the same day as a puddle of oil had formed under it in the time I parked it outside my house, went in to have lunch and came back out. Took it in and they had it in half an hour before coming out and saying they couldn't find any leak. So I parked it up in the car park, went for a wander round the showroom, came back to it and got the service manager back out and showed him the newly formed stain on his car park. Only then did they 'miraculously' find the leak.

That's after having had earlier returned with it because when I got home I noticed the registration plate on the back was different to the plate on the front. They'd transposed a letter. Big laugh to find out who'd done it as opposed to apologising to me for the inconvenience.

Never darkened the doddery auld codger's door since.

Ahhh the miraculous ' we cant find the leak' excuse

Picture the scene, Its 8 o'clock in the morning and it the wettest dampest darkest day of the year. Its foggy as f**k and totally pissing down and my car has a leaky boot. So, I take the guy from the service desk to the car park to show him the leak in question. My headrest on the rear seat is soaking wet and there are trails of water beads all the way down from the boot lid seal.His response...... we need to take your car in and get it under a water hose for a couple of hours to see where the leak is coming from. f**k me, even Stevie Wonder could see where the fuckin leak was coming from. After much disbelief, I agreed to take the car back to them the following week. After a full day investigating the leaky boot, I was told that they couldnt repair it under warranty because the car was accident damaged and that was the cause of the leak.

How fuckin convenient indeed, they managed to avoid telling me that the car had been in a rear end smash when I was buying the car but the minute I ask them to rectify a fault under warranty, they cant touch it because the car had been in a rear end smash.

[kiwififer]

Maybe the Arnold Clark guy will come back and respond to the posters on here.

But I fancy not.

Private sales only for me, much cheaper so if something goes wrong I can fix it and I don't have to fanny about with crappy sales departments.

[KiwiDB]

Bought my car from them two years ago and have never had any problems with the car or customer service. They will be the first place I will look when I am looking to change cars later on this year.

This.

As a family we've bought at least half a dozen cars from them in the last 10 years, I think we had a slight problem with one of them but nothing major.

If I was back home tomorrow and buying another car, I'd be going to Arnold Clark.

[Ebanda's Handyman Services]

I have read the posts on here, and would like to help, if you have a problem or a complaint please contact our Customer Services Dept on online.customer.services@arnoldclark.co.uk or customer.services@arnoldclark.co.uk we would like to help out if we can.

Regards

Alasdair

Customer Services

Alasdair, I'm currently looking at a Honda Accord in the Kirkcaldy branch. 8k I'm sure it's currently priced at.

Any chance of knocking that down to about 6k? I'll be yer pal!

PM me to arrange this fantastic offer.

Regards,

Andy.

[Suspect Device]

I'll never use Arnold Clark ever again after my MOT last year. I'd had my car serviced every year by them but I needed new discs after the brakes seized on and I could only get to Kwik Fit so obviously Arnold Clark didn't know that I'd have them replaced. A couple of months later I took the car for it's MOt at Arnold Clark and they said that the discs were pitted and corroded so failed. Obviosuly I took the car back to Kwik Fit because they have a replacement guaranteebut they informed me there was nothing wrong with the brakes and should not have failed.

FThey alos informed me that rust is not a reason to fail the MOT, only brake function was and there was nothign wrong with that.

Arnold Clark wouldn't pass my car and Kwik Fit (rightly) wouldn't replace discs which had nothing wrong with them apart from a bit of surface rust.

Looking back over my MOT's an service history I'd noticed that AC had done this a few times but I'd obviously not checked it myself because I trusted them to be honest.. Never again.

[xaviermaw]

Thanks but no thanks, maybe if your staff at Vauxhall Stirling and Mazda Kirkcaldy had your attitude to their job then I wouldnt need to come on here to start a topic.

Horrible Garage. I once walked in to see about buying a car CASH. (well not actual cash but money from my savings - but I was not needing finance) It was the summer and we had been playing 5s in the morning - I had 3/4s on and an Argentina top. The Salesmen literally just looked at me and went about the rest of their day. I was quite young and not dressed to impress - clearly they never thought that I was better paid than them on a good week!! I must have stood at the front for 5 good minutes. I even started opening car doors myself and still nothing!!

What a way to treat people!!

I buy my cars from Parks now - a proper company.

[Gaz]

I bought a brand new Corsa from them for £6,250 in 2005. It came with a year's free insurance, which was handy as I'd had a bump in my old car and, as I was 22 at the time, wasn't getting insurance quotes below £1,300.

I'd buy a brand new car from them again as the warranty is with the manufacturer. Wouldn't touch their used cars with a bargepole.

[Gaz]

I bought a brand new Corsa from them for £6,250 in 2005. It came with a year's free insurance, which was handy as I'd had a bump in my old car and, as I was 22 at the time, wasn't getting insurance quotes below £1,300.

I'd buy a brand new car from them again as the warranty is with the manufacturer. Wouldn't touch their used cars with a bargepole.

[kiwififer]

a day on, where's Arnold?

[Napolean Dynamite]

A bought the new styled corsa barand new from them 3 years back and couldnt complain at all.

I got a brand new car at a pretty good price and managed to haggle a decent trade in price on my shitty old car.

First place I look when after a new motor.

[Hank Scorpio]

Wouldn't touch their used cars with a bargepole.

Who's got a bloody bargepole!?

[Jordo1872]

Without doubt the worst company I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. As others have already siad, their after sales customer service is truely horrific.

I have a mate who used to work for them, by all accounts a horrible company to work for too.

Would never use AC in the future.