Anonymous

Avoid at all costs

**DO NOT BUY FROM THIS DEALER** // 2023 REVIEW It’s not usual that I leave harsh reviews, however, we thoroughly recommend NOT purchasing anything from Evans Halshaw Kettering. We wanted to purchase from a reputable, professional and trustworthy dealership and we did not expect to be sold a car that would be written off three months later, then spend weeks chasing for a resolution a partial refund and some sort of accountability. We are appalled at the service at every level. We visited in October 2022 to view a used Peugeot with 41k miles on the engine. We were met by a salesperson who was kind enough, but over the hour of Ts&Cs and contract signing, they consistently and aggressively pushed their sales packages which added up to nearly the value of the car. I understand they likely work on commission but it began as frustrating and soon became obnoxious and disrespectful when they wouldn’t take no for an answer. They then had the audacity to question if our finances were suitable for this if we did not want to spend thousands on their extended warranties and additional packages. (We were buying a car with over £7,000 in cash). When we said we didn’t want to pay their extortionate prices, they then used fear tactics such as saying “We once had someone breakdown and write-off their car on the way home from here without the insurance and he got nothing.” Very unimpressed with the attempt at a hard sale. Next, the MOT had flagged an advisory of a damaged tyre, with a crack around the circumference. We asked if this could be replaced before purchase as although it was only an advisory at the time of the MOT, the tyre would need replacing soon. They insisted they wouldn't sell a car with unsafe tyres and would have replaced it if necessary but agreed to re-MOT the car to be sure. The repeat MOT showed no advisories so we queried if the tyre had been replaced and were informed that nothing was picked up on the MOT and reassured the tyre was perfectly safe and 'must have been sorted', so we purchased the car in good faith. Just over 3 months later, early 2023, the car suffered a catastrophic engine failure and signalled for us to stop the vehicle immediately. I was on a flyover at the time and alone with lorries barrelling it round the corner where I was forced to pull over – extremely traumatising to say the least. I called the AA and they took me to our local garage who we knew well. The truth of the matter began to unravel as they inspected the car and discovered that we should not have been sold this car just three months ago. They immediately questioned who we’d bought this from and claimed they had never seen an engine in this state below 100,000 miles. Bear in mind, the mileage on it was supposed to be 41,000. While we do not believe the mileage had been tampered with, the garage we use suspected it had been until we told them we’d bought it from someone as reputable as Evans Halshaw. They simply did not believe such a company could look at the state of this car and sell it on – they were astonished they did not check this engine over and realise it wasn't fit for sale. As for the technicalities of the engine, it was burning oil at an excessive rate. Then, to top it all off, we discovered that the tyre they claimed was safe on the MOT, had in fact not been replaced and still had two deep cracks running the entire circumference of the treads. All they had done was scrubbed it off the MOT and told us it was fine, which although it's not 'technically' illegal to omit something from an MOT, it is incredibly unethical to remove a safety warning, in order to encourage the sale of a vehicle. This tyre was apparently ready to blow at a moment’s notice; had the catastrophic engine failure not have occurred. We contacted Evans to find out what we should do next as this car was within 6 months of purchase. What followed was another mess of bad communication, delays, excuses, and a lot of hassle for us trying to earn a living with no transport. Firstly, it took a week for them to respond to our contact (through their complaint procedure on the website). I had to chase up twice and was eventually told the inbox was unmanned due to staff holidays. When the sales manager eventually got in touch, to their credit, they agreed to transport the car back to their dealership so it could be investigated. They did not, however, give us any timeframe. We asked if they could sort us out with a courtesy car in case this went on for more than a few days as I had already been a week without a vehicle at this point and the manager agreed to check if they had anything suitable. I had to chase them repeatedly for another two weeks before they agreed to provide a courtesy car. (In this time I was passed back and forth between sales and service). The only other communication I had received, was their automated service video, with a guy checking over the car, and stating it had passed a service and had plenty of oil in the engine, which we had proof was not the case. (This just goes to show how questionable and inacurate their service checks are). When we eventually received feedback from the service department, they stated that the car would likely need a new engine, and would not be a financially viable repair as there was no oil (contradicting the video they'd sent prior that day). They had still not answered why they scrubbed off the tyre on the MOT, but when we questioned it, they said it was the ‘least of our problems and we likely would be getting a refund anyway'. We then asked for a refund, but we're told they couldn’t do that until they had confirmation of the exact issue. A total of 7 weeks after the car broke down, Evans confirmation that it was unsalvageable and was burning oil (which we knew from day 1). I received a call on a Friday afternoon stating that they could refund the car or I could purchase a different vehicle from them. The refund would be equivalent to what we paid, minus 40p per mile driven since purchase. I understand that mileage deductions are standard but ultimately we've lost £1,200 for their incompetence by selling us a faulty product that could have put us and our family in danger. In addition to this they wanted the courtesy back the following morning, yet again leaving me with no car and no money to buy a new one. They requested the V5C be posted to them, after which they would process a refund which could take a further 2-3 working days. After querying how long that would take, they agreed to start the refund process if I emailed copies the same day which I did. Although the refund still was not started until the following Monday. Bear in mind, this was a Friday, at 4pm, an hour before the rental place closes, and just before we were planning to visit family down South for the weekend (which we needed a car for). This was completely unacceptable, we requested that we have the courtesy car until the refund is actually in our bank, and we're explicitly told that the best they could do was extend it until Monday as 'the rental company were insisting they needed the car back'. Yet again, I was left another week without a vehicle. Come Monday, I drove the car to the rental place (who were really helpful and kind). We apologised to them and mentioned that Evans Halshaw told us it was needed back urgently on Friday, but they said that this was untrue and that they had the car reserved for us for as long as needed and Evans Halshaw had contacted them to inform the car was being returned so we were directly LIED to by the Evans Halshaw manager on the phone. Finally, it wasn't until another FIVE days after this that we received our partial refund. After chasing, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and being given an array of excuses, the money finally went in after 4pm on Friday afternoon (a full 8 weeks and a day after the car initially broke). We feel that the sheer lies, deception and manipulations we have been subject to from the beginning just cement how horrendous the service has been, not to mention the substantial amount of money we have lost due to their mistakes; and we have had to deal with all manner of problems in an attempt to get this sorted. We highly recommend avoiding this dealership at all costs.