Drive Motor Retail Reviews 

2,247
TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.4

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 156 reviews, most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many customers consistently praise the staff for being helpful, professional, and friendly, making the purchase or service process easy. People appreciate advisors who go above and beyond, providing excellent support and clear communication throughout their interactions. However, some customers also noted significant issues with communication and post-sales care, often experiencing a lack of proactive updates and delays. Several people reported poor after-sales support, needing to constantly chase for resolutions or finding their vehicles not ready as promised. A few reviewers also encountered problems with product quality, such as new cars breaking down or misrepresentation of vehicle specifications. Concerns were also raised regarding unexpected price increases after deposits and high service charges for minimal work.

What people talk about most

Service

Reviewers mention ambiguous feedback about service, with some customers praising individual staff members for... See more

Staff

Users describe positive interactions with staff, frequently highlighting their professionalism, helpfulness,... See more

Product

Consumers find product quality to be ambiguous, with many reporting significant issues shortly after... See more

Customer service

Customers had ambiguous experiences with customer service, with many expressing significant dissatisfaction.... See more

Price

Customers consistently note ambiguous experiences with price, with some reviewers expressing dissatisfaction... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I can't fault the process up until the point of sale. After the sale, I had to do considerable chasing and was always needing to be proactive. There wasn't any proactivity with comms on the pa... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I visited the Scarborough site on Saturday and was met by Matthew Kilby. He was extremely polite and welcoming and could not do enough to help. he organised a test drive and once safely back in the s... See more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Do not get involved with the heavy discounts on Vauxhall corsa.it is basically a con!if you take the £4000 discounted price it does not include the 0% finance,you have to pay 9.9% interest!!!never eve... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Purchased Seat Arona, dealt with sales rep Carl Boothby at the Hessle dealership. The car was advertised at a very competative price compared to others in our local area, arranged a viewing and was i... See more


Company details

  1. Car dealer
  2. Car service

Written by the company

Drive Motor Retail - Dealers for New & Used Cars, Vans, Motability & Servicing The nation’s premier Vauxhall, MG and Citroen dealer; Drive Motor Retail have a network of dealerships located across England in the North East, South West, East Anglia & the Midlands. We are very proud of the many years of experience we have enjoyed in the automotive industry which has been built upon an absolute commitment to delivering the very best customer care, each and every time you visit or contact a Drive Motor Retail Garage.


Contact info

3.4

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

2k reviews

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No recent history of asking for reviews

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Replied to 3% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 month

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3.4

All reviews

(2,247)

148 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Major service and re-recall took all day...

Paid over £300 for a Hyundai major service to my I800 at the Hyundai Scarborough branch and also booked a recall. Was called and told the car would need to be there all day, so a loan car (with a £20 admin fee) was booked.

I turned up around 9:30 and asked to have the wheels rotated at the same time which I have asked for before. I was told it is not part of the service but Sam would "look after me" and charge me just £30. I asked for confirmation of what is carried out on the service, which he did produce. I also asked about the duration of the service which he told me was around 2 hours. When i mentioned i was told it would be required all day he replied "Well the DPF needs to cool down, do you want him to burn his hands!?!".

So around 3pm i get a call telling me they are running a little late but i get a VHC which mentions brakes and a bulb (which they will replace for free) and to aim for 4:30pm I was still working and ended up getting there later (around 5:30pm) and was told they would wait for me. I get there and some chap hands me the paperwork and says "You paid over the phone right?" Being honest I told the truth and paid.

After finding my car I noticed it had not been washed. I also took photos of the recall area (rear coolant hoses near DPF that could be damaged during a regen). It was exactly the same as before.

I went in to complain and got an email address of Stuart H who would pass this onto Sam. When I got home i checked the paperwork and noticed the same recall had been performed in Sept 2024.

I included this in my email as i could have waited for the service and saved time and money.

Today someone called my partner regarding a survey which I have not recieved.

Closing thoughts, I would NOT use this company again. I can only assume all service parts were replaced and road side assistance was added. I believe the recall was already carried out. Obviously Drive would be paid twice for this and it is a safety concern but my car should have been ready sooner. I may as well use National-Half-Fit centres that are in my town for the cost and customer service.

30 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I decided to change my Vauxhall Corsa…

I decided to change my Vauxhall Corsa had for 10year to be honest wasn’t looking forward to the experience as a single lady, that said bought my Hyundai I10 from Hessle Drive
The Salesman Josh was Great he’d only been there 3weeks he was Great made the whole experience easy and straightforward, couple of very minor issues with Car which Josh sorted with great customer care so happy I bought the car from him

28 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

shockingly poor customer service

I bought a great car but quickly discovered that the shock absorbers were leaking. When I spoke to the manager of the Stokton Branch he said he'd call the garage that had inspected the car. He didn't.

I emailed the garage explaining my concerns several times and got no response.

Sadly, I'm now having to resort to legal means to get the leaking shock abosrbers repaired. Drive Motor claim to carry out a 120 point check on used vehicles, either they didn't do this or sold the car anyway. Not a great idea.

Based on my experience, I wouldn't trust them to do what they say and sadly can't recommend at all.

17 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Tom and Paul at the Nuneaton branch…

Tom and Paul at the Nuneaton branch have been amazing, going above and beyond to help sort my Daughters car. She has had an oil leak and warnings come up and they have dealt with it promptly and efficiently. Can’t thank them enough. Excellent customer service.

17 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Poor admin team and rude sales manager

I purchased an MG3 from this dealership exactly one year ago and only just discovered they never registered the car in my name with the DVLA — meaning I never received the V5C logbook.

I’ve been unknowingly driving a car for 12 months that wasn’t legally registered to me. This could have invalidated my insurance and left me exposed to legal and financial risks — all because of the dealership’s failure to carry out a basic, legally required responsibility.

When I contacted them, there was no real apology or explanation — just a casual offer to now transfer the car.

I was told I’d receive an apology from the Head of Business within 24 hours — it’s now been 5 days and I’ve heard nothing. I also emailed asking for confirmation that no fines had been issued in my name while the car was misregistered. Arran, the Head of Sales promised to get back to me in 24 hours — again, it’s been 5 days with no response. He also inferred that this was my fault that this situation has happened, taking no accountability for the dealership's severely poor duty of care.

This level of communication and accountability is extremely disappointing, especially given how serious the situation is.

If you're considering buying from here, double-check everything — because clearly, they don’t.

10 July 2025
Unprompted review
Drive Motor Retail logo

Reply from Drive Motor Retail

Thank you very much for your feedback Philipa, and I am very sorry about the original issue and the lack of contact. It was great to speak with you earlier and I am glad that we have now resolved this issue. If I can be of any further assistance then please do not hesitate to get in touch. Kind regards, Wesley – General Manager.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Don't buy from this company

Don't buy from this company. When you 1st go round the showroom they can not do enough for you. Great start to you new car buying journey. From the moment you make the purchase it's down hill from there.
The most recent example is receiving an email to remind me of the due service which was done on line to then taking the car on the day to be told 'we don't do MG services anymore'.
I have had to then find the nearest MG services which has now cost more time and more money because DRIVE are not bothered about there customers who have spent alot of money with no aftercare.
A JOKE.

4 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very positive experiences.

We have recently purchased two cars; a new Peugeot 2008 and a used 2018 Renault Captur. On both occasions, the sales representatives acted in a most professional manner, no pressure but available to answer questions, discuss alternative financing and offering very satisfactory part exchange prices. Documentation and optional extras were clearly explained but without pressure to purchase. Both cars were available at the agreed times and well presented.

11 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I booked an appointment over the phone…

I booked an appointment over the phone to view and test drive a car. We got to the showroom at Hyaundi in York and it took 20 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge us! The guy I was booked in with was busy so it got passed onto someone else. Turns out the car isn’t even at the dealer. It was in Redcar. The guy said feel free to drive to Redcar to drive it or put a deposit on so they could bring it across. Not a good 1st impression

8 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

What a brilliant little car

What a brilliant little car. It really is like a tardis. Even though it sold itself, the team at Drive Hyundai York were really supportive helpful and patient, most particularly Chris, but also Wesley, Kallum, Debbie and Jake. Thank you everybody. I'm loving my Inster.

3 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very helpful salesman

Very helpful salesman, Alan Warren. Nothing seemed too much trouble, answered any queries. He and Adam Christopher sorted a mutually favourable deal. Would recommend if asked.

4 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Be weary

Some drive retailers are amazing.
Others are absolutely shocking.
Be careful when buying a used car from them

1 September 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Saj Patel - Drive Vauxhall Leicester

My car had been mechanically written off and I was worried about the next steps. Thankfully, I was introduced to Saj Patel at Drive Vauxhall Leicester, and he could not have been more amazing.

He helped me understand exactly what everything meant, he didn't make me feel stupid for not being a 'car person' and he was generally very kind. He also helped from a financial perspective, as the whole experience could have been significantly more expensive, but he listened to me and was able to pair me with a car that matched what I wanted at a price that was very reasonable.

I cannot see me going anywhere else after the experience I had - and I cannot recommend Saj enough!

Thank you, Saj!

24 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great Experince with Robert

I feel I have to write a review praising the salesperson Robert at Drive Vauxhall Bristol North, he was very patient with me. He made sure he knew what I wanted and was very patient. He was very friendly but professional. I would say he is charming and I got a very good deal. Robert is a real asset to this dealership in Patchway, Bristol and I hope he gets the praise he deserves from the Sales Manager. They need more like Robert and not clones of Swiss Tony.

14 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great Experience

Great experience,

Great, stress free visits in sorting out a new car!
Very happy with my experience buying a car and being able to buy local! Would definitely recommend!

Many thanks to Andy Parry,would recommend him 100%!

12 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Drive Redcar: Alex was absolutely superb from start…

Drive Redcar:Alex was absolutely superb from start to finish. It's often when things go a tad wrong that you see how good a company is. There was an issue with the car being delivered before the valet but Alex paid for my valet expenses. I cant stress enough what a pleasure it was to deal with Alex. Give that man a pay rise!

21 May 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Peter at Drive Aldershot

Just organised a trade in and a new vehicle with a salesman named Peter . Peter made the whole thing very easy and what struck us was he was totally upfront and honest with his dealings with us. No pressure was put on us and he arranged a fair price for our used vehicle and has provided us with a vehicle that we wanted with no pressure to go electric! Thank you Peter, much appreciated.

6 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I have brought my second mg car off Saj…

I have brought my second mg car off Saj Patel he really looked after me was very helpful I would recommend Saj Patel if buying a mg he now he’s product very well he answered all my questions and got me the best deal. Thanks Saj for all your help

4 June 2025
Unprompted review

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