The worst service I have ever experienced.
I bought a used car from SW Motor Company in January 2025. At the time of viewing, I was told a few minor issues would be fixed before collection. I paid a deposit and arranged insurance and accessories in good faith. It later became clear that some of their stock is listed before the cars are even in their possession — in my case, they accepted a part exchange and had the replacement car listed before they’d collected it themselves. This would have been less of an issue had things moved quickly, but in reality, it took nearly three weeks from deposit to delivery, despite being told the car would be ready within a few days.
I also paid for an extended warranty and was told the paperwork would be emailed by the end of the day of delivery. That never materialised. I’ve since made multiple requests to cancel and refund the warranty, but these have been ignored.
Just a few days after the car finally arrived, it developed a major power steering fluid leak, making it undriveable. A mechanic friend identified the fault immediately and was surprised it had passed its MOT, especially considering the visible corrosion and condition of the rack and lines. I reported the issue to the dealer straight away. While I initially received a response, I was then ignored for a full week, all while the business remained active on Auto Trader, listing new stock and even following up with a family member who enquired about a vehicle (but then ignored him as soon as he mentioned my case).
The car was collected 9 days after the fault was reported, and from that point it took 5 weeks to be returned. During that time, I received a string of broken promises and contradictory updates. When the car finally came back, it still wasn’t fixed properly. Two more faults were immediately identified, one of which (the steering wheel module) was very likely caused during the repair, as it’s part of the same assembly. To make things worse, the mechanic who returned the car clearly saw the warning light, hooked up a diagnostics machine to it with me stood in front of him, and then said nothing before handing the car back.
Despite this, I offered a reasonable compromise that would have cost me money just to move forward. The dealer agreed to the solution in writing, asked for the invoice, and I submitted everything they needed. Since then, they’ve gone completely silent. It’s now been over two weeks of ignored calls and messages, with no payment, no refund, and no further communication.
I’ve done everything I can to resolve this fairly, but at this point I can only advise others to avoid this dealership, especially if anything goes wrong after you take delivery. The aftersales service has been appalling, and I’ve been left chasing a fix, a refund, and basic communication for months.
3 January 2025
Unprompted review
