Paul
Shocking business
This will be the first bad review I have ever given. On the few occasions that I have had an issue with something I have purchased, I have contacted the company concerned and they dealt with the issue in a professional manner. However, I am so appalled with the service and attitude of this business that I have found it necessary to write this review. I purchased a car on behalf of my daughter. I initially called the company to arrange to see the car, I test drove the car, agreed the part ex on my daughters car and have been the one point of contact with this business so am effectively the customer. After 1 month, the car developed a loud crunching sound from the front suspension whenever you went over a small bump. I rang Ashton Car Services, and on 2 occasions were told by the owner, can you call back in a few days as we are busy. This seemed odd as surely they would want to address the issue quickly and be helpful. Alas, that was not the case. It was finally booked in and the car was returned the same day. They said that they had refitted the heat shield on the rear part of the exhaust. I had already told then that the noise was from the front. Anyway, I drove the car home and the noise was still there. I called back and after some persuasion, they agreed to take it back and get their garage to look at it. 2 days later, they came back and said that their garage had said that the front spring was ok, the top mount was ok, therefore it had to be the shock absorber on the near side front. However, this part is not covered by their warranty. I asked to see the documentation about the warranty and the young lad said the warranty was with Tony, the owner. I thought, right so it can be anything he decided it to be, which was not the shock absorber on this occasion. I went away very disappointed and arranged to book it into my own garage that I have used for many years. They replaced the shock absorber which was faulty and also the top mount as this was badly worn. Whilst doing this, they also observed that the ball joint had not been fitted correctly at some point in the cars history and was in their view very dangerous as the ball joint was only held on by a small amount of thread. They quickly put this right due to its dangerous nature. They stated that the car should never have passed the MOT in this condition. I rang Ashton Car Sales to tell them this and the young lad said that my garage must have fitted the ball joint incorrectly when replacing the shock absorber. However, you only need to disconnect the drop link to do this so clearly he did not know what he was talking about. After some discussion, he said he would get the owner Tony to call me. Unfortunately, he never did and he did not respond to my emails I sent to him. I have since reported this matter to Trading Standards as they sold a car in a dangerous condition. I would strongly urge people to read the many bad reviews they have received and act accordingly. I wish I had read these reviews as I would not have gone anywhere near Ashton Car Sales. If anyone has any doubt about how bad this company, simply read the unprofessional, childlike response the owner gives to one of the reviews left. This will tell you all you need to know.