Big Motoring World - Blue Bell Hill Reviews 

NEVER EVER AGAIN
Worst experience from technicians to managers
I would strongly advise anyone to think twice before buying a car from Big Motoring World based on my experience.
What should have been a simple collection turned into almost two months of frustration, misinformation, and broken promises.
On the day I was due to collect my car, after my finance had been approved, paperwork signed, my private plate removed, insurance arranged and road tax sorted, I was told at the last minute that the car had a fault with its fast charging system and could not be handed over. From that point onwards, it was one excuse after another.
Over the following weeks I was repeatedly told:
• The car was being diagnosed.
• It was waiting for a technician.
• It had been sent to Snodland.
• It was going to Peterborough.
• It was waiting for transport.
• It had been repaired.
• It was almost finished.
• The wrong part had been ordered.
• The correct part had been ordered.
• They had no update.
Almost every phone call resulted in a different story depending on who answered the phone. I constantly had to chase for updates because nobody contacted me as promised. Managers were always "too busy" to speak to me, and when they eventually called back they often knew less about my case than I did.
To make matters worse, I visited the dealership several times in person because I simply could not get a straight answer. I repeatedly had to explain the entire situation to different members of staff. Promises to call me back were regularly broken.
This situation caused major disruption to both my work and my personal life. I had holidays booked and instead of enjoying them I spent my time chasing emails, looking for internet access overseas and trying to find out what was happening with a car I had already bought.
Eventually I was told the original vehicle had developed further issues and was unlikely to be repaired. I was offered another car—but only if I paid £2,240 more. After waiting nearly two months, I had little choice but to accept because I desperately needed a vehicle.
Even collecting the replacement car was another nightmare. I was first told to collect it, travelled nearly 80 miles, then received a phone call telling me to turn around because it wasn't ready. The following day I travelled over two hours by public transport, only to discover I couldn't pay the balance by credit card because nobody had informed me beforehand. I had to ask a friend to transfer money into my bank account while sitting in the dealership. I was also only given one key and was asked to sign paperwork acknowledging this without it being properly explained.
Although they reimbursed some of my out-of-pocket expenses, they ignored the countless hours wasted, the stress, the inconvenience, the disruption to my holidays, and the complete lack of communication.
The final insult came when I visited the original branch after collecting my replacement car and found my original vehicle sitting on their forecourt for sale, despite being repeatedly told it was still elsewhere undergoing repairs. When I questioned this, the manager claimed he had no idea it was even there.
This entire experience exposed serious problems with communication, organisation and customer service throughout the company. I lost confidence in everything I was told because the information constantly changed depending on who I spoke to.
Buying a car should be an exciting experience. Instead, Big Motoring World turned it into one of the most stressful customer experiences I have ever had.
I would never recommend them based on my experience.

We found the whole process very straightforward and easy. Your member of staff Steve was very informative and professional. Not pushy at all which made us feel comfortable and not under pressure. We visited your site 2 weekends on the trot to make sure that we were buying the car most suitable for us and Steve was very patient and knowledgeable. Overall 10 out of 10 from my self and husband.

Proceed with caution and inspect everything carefully before collection

We found a car that appeared suitable as our son’s first vehicle. During our initial inspection, I pointed out that one tyre had a piece of rubber missing and asked whether it was safe. I also highlighted several scratches on the rear of the car. I was told that the scratches would be polished as part of the handover preparation.

After paying the deposit, I returned three days later to collect the vehicle. The handover representative checked the records and told me that two tyres had been replaced. When I inspected the car, I found that it had a mixture of Nexen (South Korean) and Bridgestone (the A3 comes with this) tyres. I appreciate that fitting different tyre brands is not necessarily unlawful, provided the tyres meet the relevant requirements, but the arrangement caused me concern because the vehicle was intended for a new 17-year-old driver. The handover person also informed me that one tyre had small cracks and needed monitoring.

The scratches I had previously raised also remained visible.

I asked whether anything further could be done regarding the tyres, but I felt that my concerns were dismissed and that the position presented to me was essentially to accept the vehicle as it was or not proceed. I decided not to complete the purchase and requested the return of my deposit - I am told 3-5 days. I will report back whether that is indeed the case.

This review reflects my own experience. My advice to other buyers is to inspect the vehicle carefully at both the viewing and collection stages, confirm any promised work in writing, and consider arranging an independent inspection before completing the purchase.

Ideally I would recommend to chose a different car dealer.

I enquired about a car in the Kent branch. I live in Scotland so before coming all the way to Kent I wanted to get the price of their extended warranties. When I spoke with their team on the phone they told me they could only discuss this in person and would need me to come to branch before they would give me any sort of figure on the warranty cost because "it varies by car". I enquiried about a specific car and explained I live in Scotland and want to discuss these matters before coming to purchase the car but they wouldnt not give me anything. Ridiculous business practise.

Will not be interested in buying a car from them again. Clearly more interested in getting people in to do a hard sell than to actually discuss figures or a sale.

Everything went smoothly, and the staff performed their duties professionally; Mr. Lukasz, in particular, was very helpful and gave clear, direct answers to our questions. I wish all dealerships in the United Kingdom offered such service. I am truly pleased—not only with my car but also with the service I received. Best regard

I collected my new car today from Big Motoring World. Overall, I had a great experience. The staff were very friendly, welcoming, and caring throughout the process. I really appreciate all the team members for looking after us and making everything go smoothly.

The only thing I was disappointed with was the cleaning of the car. It hadn’t been cleaned properly before collection, which was a bit disappointing. Apart from that, everything else was excellent, and I’m happy with my new car.

We had a bad experience buying the car at a different big motoring world branch but we loved the car, we had it transferred to a Blue Bell Hill & they restored our faith with the service & kindness we experienced today. We had a lovely man called JJ who was very enthusiastic and happy to help however he could.

Great service.
Immaculate car
Would definitely use again.

Barry very helpful from start to finish great to deal with
Kayleigh very helpful in issuing all paper for hand over

Excellent customer service

They do offer cheap cars at trade prices, but there are a few points to understand. Cars are not fully checked and some will have issues -factor this into the price

They make their money not on the sale of the car, but rather the aftermarket add ons such as the various warrenties.

If you can resist the heavy sales pressure you can bag yourself a good car at a very cheap price

Really good experience everyone very pleasant and helpful. Very professional.
Olivia made sure we drove away happy & content, nothing was too much trouble.

First time there and very impressed with service welcomed when turned up to finish. Girls had free drinks and can test drive y recommend going there as many cars untill u chose the right car for u and they treat u like family will decently

Excellent service

I’m 60 years old & normally hate the experience of buying or selling cars, the experience I had today at Big Motoring World at Bluebell Hill was a breath of fresh air & actually enjoyable. Great staff & really efficient.

From start to collection, the service was outstanding, from the staff to the cappacinos. I was talked through the process and what extras were on offer.
Once I collected the car I was shown all the operations without the rush.

We had an amazing experience with our recent BMW purchase. Alex, our salesperson, was fantastic—super helpful and efficient. We were able to complete the entire purchase within just 2 hours!

Satisfied with the service only that I have to buy petrol for me be able to leave the area.

The Salesman was very friendly and helpful. I came to your store with my 16 year old granddaughter, so that she could get an idea of the type of cars available to her, when she can drive at 17. I was really impressed with the way the Salesman spoke with my granddaughter, regarding the types of car available to suit a learner, and not me. Well done. I’m afraid that I can’t remember his name.

This happened last year but since they keep repeated sending us emails asking us to review their service despite us asking multiple times to remove us from their mailing list, I thought I would share our experience. We bought a car from them and were of course told everything was fine and we purchased a 2 year warranty as well. 4 months later our car broke down so we tried to have them fixed it which they of course denied and said it wasn't covered under our warranty. For 2 weeks we were ignored and spoken down to by their rude customer services team who kept telling us a manager would call us, which they never did. During this time we both missed work due to not having a car and their staff are the rudest I have ever experienced with zero empathy or even basic training by the sounds of it. My partner ended unless calling them to find out what was happening as I said we were being completely ignored and being sent the same emails saying it wasn't covered under our warranty. As it turns out they hadn't even activated our warranty so of course it wasn't covered and then they offered ZERO apology or compensation for what was THEIR mistake and refused to even refund us the warranty despite them not providing the service we had paid for. After much back and forth they refunded us 1 year of the warranty which is quite frankly insulting considering they did not provide the service we paid for and we were very much out of pocket at this point and had no choice but to pay to have it fixed on our own. Their disgusting customer service approach of ignoring their customers and refusing to take accountability for something that they admitted themselves was their fault is reason enough to never by a car from them again. But we have also had no end of issues with the car which we have had to fix ourselves. Their lack of accountability and compensation for the issues they caused, caused us so much distress and they didn't even care enough to call us back. Their mantra of providing affordable, good quality cars to people is a complete lie as essentially they ignore you until you have no choice financially but to fix it yourselves. It is unlikely they will even reply to this review as they avoid accountability at every turn but you asked for a review so here it is - enjoy.