Hartwell plc Reviews 

We had been on the waiting list for an Omoda 7 since December and received zero communication — not a single update. We only discovered they’d actually received one in stock through an online chat, which says it all.

We then requested a test drive… again, no contact. It was only after I sent a fairly abrupt message that I finally got a call from Bradley, who bizarrely said his manager told him to “call me and start the process again” — despite us already being on the list for months.

We booked a test drive for the following Saturday and turned up on time, only to be completely ignored by the nearest lad who wasn't with a customer, who was more interested in folding up a micro-fibre cloth neatly than us walking in!. When we were finally acknowledged by him, he went off to find Bradley, came back, ignored us again, and then walked off with another customer. We were left standing there with no explanation.

After going to reception myself, a manager eventually stepped in and sat us down — this was around 20 minutes after we had arrived.

The test drive itself was fine, and we discussed figures (including some conveniently included “extras”), then went away to think.

I emailed the following Tuesday with a query — no response. I called later that day, spoke to Bradley, who said he’d check and call me back if needed. Nothing. No call, no email.

At that point, I contacted another dealership who were professional, responsive, and actually seemed interested in our business — and we are now progressing with them instead.

To top it off, I finally received a reply two days later asking me to resend all the details we had already discussed because he “needed reminding”.

Genuinely unbelievable.

Overall, the experience felt disorganised and unprofessional, with a clear lack of basic customer service and communication standards. The team would benefit from proper training and a more customer-focused approach.

This dealership completely lost a sale due to poor communication, lack of organisation, and a total disregard for customers’ time. Would not recommend to anyone. I should also add that I had been warned about their poor service beforehand by a friend — unfortunately that turned out to be completely accurate.

I had a test drive booked at Dunstable dealership (Hartwell). I left without a test drive, without seeing a car properly, and frankly a bit stunned by what happened.

I'd done my homework before coming in. I knew I wanted a BYD, I knew I was looking at your zero percent APR conditional PCP deal with 50 percent deposit.

The salesperson I dealt with, Jude, didn't start with "let me show you the car" or even a basic welcome. The very first question was about financing. What followed was genuinely odd. When I mentioned I was also looking at the Jaecoo and the Kia Sportage, Jude spent most of our time together trying to convince me that the BYD PCP wasn't financially right for me and that the Jaecoo zero percent apr deal was better. He kept coming back to whether I could afford the deposit — even after I'd told him several times that money wasn't the constraint here.

I had to spell it out: I'm not just looking for the cheapest monthly payment. I'm here because I actually want to feel the car and drive this car to help me take buying decision. That didn't land well. The conversation became quite tense and at points felt outright confrontational.

Eventually, despite having a confirmed appointment, he refused to take me on a test drive. No apology, no attempt to reset the conversation. I told him that I was having a bad experience. Nothing changed.I was told I should go ahead and complaint and they did not want to waste time on me. That's outright rude.

I had a Puma serviced today. Thank you to Aleena and the team-very professional.

We bought a Ford Explorer on 30th January 2026 from Hartwell Kidlington. Whilst the sales staff were very friendly and attentive, aspects of their service and especially the after sales service leave a lot of room for improvement.

The things that went wrong:

- The Gap insurance was calculated incorrectly (not in our favour). A 3 pin plug charging lead was thrown in as an apology.
- The sales process took over 3 hours. In the end I was signing anything to get out. My brain was fried!
- The finance was approved on the Thursday, the following morning, I received a call to say that the finance company had questions. I waited around all day to see whether we had bought the car or not. Finally, at 4.30pm , we had a call to say that alternative finance had be arranged. Why say that finance had originally been approved, when clearly it had not.
- Within 2 days of purchase, an error warning appeared in respect of the air conditioning. We were told that this was a common fault and that an engineer was visiting the garage on the 17th Feb to fix a number of cars. We live in Swindon (a 50 min drive away), and took the car up the previous afternoon. The next day we were told the car was fixed and ready to collect. We drove to Kidlington again, got into the car and the error message was still there. We very much doubt that the engineer even looked at the car. As at the 16th March, we still havent got any resolution. The issue remains.
- We asked that the car be charged when they had it on the 17th. They used our charging cable and it wasnt until the next day that we noticed the cable had not been returned to us. We had no way of charging the car. The salesman then had to drive a cable to us the following day.

This is a very expensive purchase for us and one, at our time of lives, was not taken lightly. Too many mistakes have been made. There has been a lack of care and a lack of professionalism.

Great dealing with Joe Rogers @ Hartwell Ford Kidlington, would recommend to friends and family

Everything was great I would of given 5 star's if there was some fuel put in the car, I only just made it home. It was peak time so traffic was horrendous then I had to use a jerry can to get more fuel later that evening

Extremely rude salesman at Watford Would not let me test drive 2 cars even though I said I wanted to drive 2 models at my appointment. I was kept waiting 30 mins as salesman was busy with previous customer. However I was told I had to finish by the top of the hour as another customer was booked in. The salesman actually shouted at me. No skills in customer care at all.
UPDATE
I had an email from head office asking me to contact them regarding my review. I emailed 6 weeks ago and have heard nothing back from them. I leave you to make your own judgement on this company.

Extremely poor service from Hartwell plc (Watford and Hemel Hempstead)in fact the worst experience of buying a new car in 30 years. I ordered a new Ford Puma Gen E in September 2025. I received numerous emails and text messages updating me on the progress of the build. I have now been advised that they have cancelled my order as one of their staff forgot to process my finance proposal. They stated the deal has now gone and there is nothing they can do!

I’m extremely disappointed with my experience at Hartwell PLC.
I have an extended warranty with them and took my vehicle in for a fault diagnosis. I was charged £150 for a diagnostic check, only to be given a report that essentially said: “We can confirm it’s not working - please contact the main dealer.”
That was the full outcome. No diagnosis. No root cause. No repair recommendation. Just confirmation of the problem I already knew about.
This raises two very simple questions:

What exactly did I pay £150 for?
What is the point of an extended warranty if the garage cannot diagnose the fault and simply tells you to go elsewhere?

I expected professional troubleshooting and meaningful advice, not a costly acknowledgment that something doesn’t work. The service provided added no value and left me feeling that both the diagnostic fee and the warranty were a waste of money.
I would not recommend Hartwell PLC based on this experience

I made an appointment to test drive a brand new Omoda 5 petrol all booked and confirmed. Called just to make sure the appointment was still ok only to be told the 1 and only car they had was out on loan. The sales advisor didn't seem to care that I had taken the day off especially for the test drive. I won't be using Hartwell's Abingdon even though it's closer to me than other branches.

I had a fantastic experience buying a used car from Hartwell Abingdon! Krzysztof was friendly, honest, and incredibly helpful throughout the whole process. He gave me plenty of time to inspect the car, explained everything clearly, and never made me feel pressured.
The car was exactly as advertised—clean, well‑maintained, and in excellent condition. The test drive went smoothly, and I appreciated the full service history Krzysztof provided so I knew exactly what I was getting. I feel I got great value for money and genuine peace of mind.
Overall, a smooth, stress‑free experience. I’d highly recommend Hartwell Abingdon and a big thank you to Krzysztof for making the whole process so easy!

Fantastic service from BYD at Scunthorpe (Hartwell). From start to finish, everything was easy and stress-free. Booking the service was straightforward, the team were friendly and professional, and nothing was too much trouble. Communication was clear throughout and the whole experience was smooth and efficient. I absolutely love my BYD, and the great service just reinforces that I made the right choice. Would definitely recommend and will happily return for future services.

I purchased a Ford Transit from Dunstable . It was sold to me with a warranty provided by a Third Party called AutoTrust.
The salesman Vinny was brilliant I part exchanged my Vauxhall Vivaro which had courier livery on. The Finance agreement with Santander was agreed,my occupation as a COURIER!!
Hartwell Ford claimed on this Policy with AutoTrust successfully. When I went to claim on it I was told by AutoTrust that they don’t cover couriers!!!
The response I got from Simon at Dunstable HF was “ what’s your problem,you had previous repairs done”!!
I wouldn’t buy a sack barrow from this set of Clowns!!!

Brought a truck 4 days ago from Abingdon and it’s already broken down twice. You have rights to hand it back within 30 days so I did. They have my old truck and they are 1.5 hours away. If I want this back I have to collect it. I have gone through ombudsman. I have to keep receipts of costs of my journey back to them and i can claim compensation if it means im out of work. Make sure you log emails to them

I took my BYD Atto 3 to Hartwell BYD Kidlington for a battery range issue and collected it with swirl marks that were not present before, alongside a very poor customer experience.
As a professional detailer, I know this car had a 2-stage machine polish and ceramic coating. Despite this, the dealership carried out an unauthorised “service wash” using a brush and alkaline chemicals. I was told the products were pH neutral, but product data shows Typhoon Plus is pH 10. Further inspection is needed to determine the full condition of the paintwork.
Key issues:
Dishonesty: I was told only the wheels had been cleaned, but photos from my wife showed the entire car had been washed.
Lack of Consent / Liability Confusion: Hartwell said BYD “requires” cars to be washed unless customers request otherwise, and any issues fall on the owner. BYD themselves appeared confused by this claim. I never consented to a full wash.
Poor Communication: My wife collected the car without being told what had been done, even though I later received a video update by email.
Management Avoidance: Michael (Service Manager) and Jon (Area Manager) were copied into correspondence but never responded.
Valeting Concerns: When I purchased the car, I saw valeters dropping microfibre towels on the tarmac and jet-washing them. I flagged this, warning my car should not be cleaned in those conditions.
I’ve raised a formal complaint with BYD UK. If you care about your car’s paintwork, do not let Hartwell BYD Kidlington wash it. Their processes lack transparency, communication is poor, and responsibility is deflected when things go wrong.

Richard Brewer from Hartwells in Oxford is the best! He is so honest, reliable, funny and professional person! I always go to the Oxford branch(even thoughit is out of my way and takes 2 hours to get there) ! The best bunch of people you can come across. Lee and Emily are so friendly and make you feel so welcome when you walk in!

Bought a car from this lot in January 2025. Was off the road for 4 months whilst waiting on them and their recommended warranty partner sorting out a new engine.
To save money, they moved it mid way through to a cheaper, less established garage causing further delays. I had it for a couple of weeks and already back in the garage for further repair so still not fixed. Whole thing started on 6th August 2025.
Was told my costs for renting a car would be covered which hasn't happened. Partial payment and I'm still around £1500 out of pocket.
Also no response to my complaint at all.

Do not use Hartwell Banbury if you want your sanity intact. Angel is extremely rude and shouts at customers outside the building. She has lied and lied. We took our car back several times and they have never fixed the fault. We will NOT recommend them to anyone. In the area most people who have experienced this garage do not recommend them at all

Lewis Baker .
Really nice lad made it very easy to purchase my v used van . It’s only one day since the purchase so I couldn’t give a review on the vehicles usability at the secondhand but comes in the good condition and is very clean. I appreciate that. Thanks for what you’ve done so far.

I bought a Ford Puma in 2023 from Grimsby and my experience was very good. Unfortunately this was the highlight. I signed up to the Ford Advantage scheme which offers 2 years free serving. When my first service was due they denied all knowledge she said they had no record of the scheme. It took numerous phone calls and emails to resolve. Despite asking for something in writing I was left frustrated and faced the same situation again 12 months later. Again, the issue was resolved but only after numerous phone calls and emails. This was aggravated by the service manager remembering my previous experience but for some reason I had to chase to get a resolution.

Hartwell called me in after 18 months as they said it was a good time to change my car. I booked an appointment but when I arrived no sales person was available and I was left waiting for 45 minutes. When I finally spoke to someone they said it wasn't worth me changing the car and they don't know why they called me in!

I contacted sales in August 2025 to ask about my options when my PCP expired, I was told someone would call me back, I'm still waiting.

Despite my previous issues, in October 2025 I saw a car I liked and phoned for more details. I spoke to the business manager who took details and said someone would call back. I never heard anything so phoned them back and was again told someone would call me. Still nothing, I've now given up and will take my business elsewhere.

Hartwell are good at selling you a car but a terrible company to deal with afterwards and their after sales are atrocious.