Andrew M

Let down by condition of the car and af

The service was fantatsic when we made our initial enquiry, no question was too much, and being a distance purchase, Barry provided all the information required to make our decision. buying from Honda Approved we thought would be a safe option. delivery was arranged at no cost and Barry kind worked around our availability. From delivery day, the major issues started. The car was delivered with significant damage to the door card, the passenger door rubber trim was hanging off and the car had 7,000 more miles than advertised, with random gearbox delays and issues selecting D, none of the above were mentioned when I asked about the condition of the car, nor was the damage to the front bumper (albeit only light scratching). Barry was very apologetic and assured me this would all be resolved without issue. The car (Honda CRV auto) was collected and taken back to G&M for repairs the following week. After 1 week and no update, I contacted Barry who advised me the dealership principle had viewed the car and felt the condition was acceptable for a car of its age (2015), they also advised there was no issue with the gearbox and the long delays changing gear and pulling away was standard to the 9 spd box. I should have accepted the refund and cut my losses, but due to our previous car being written off and the hire car no longer an option, we opted to accept the car back, with the door card replaced and door rubber replaced. The car was returned the following week with the door rubber simply mastic glued back in place and a mismatching door card from a 2013 CRV EX (Bristol Honda highlighted this mismatch) installed. The gearbox issues developed further to the point the car was dangerous to pull away from busy junctions, so we again contacted G&M who said it was normal when they test drove the car, but if we wanted to pay for them to diagnose it, that was fine. We took it to Bristol Honda, who within 2 hrs of having the vehicle, identified the gearbox had terminal damage along with the transfer box and as a result, a new gearbox and transfer box were required (fortunately covered under Honda warranty). The car was given a full health check whilst there, where they identified some additional issues, worn Aux belt, low engine oil and binding rear callipers were requiring urgent repair. The car had a full service by G&M Honda prior to delivery only circa 600 miles prior to the works at Bristol Honda, so it is difficult to see of these items and issues were missed. The tech also advised the rattle in the drivers door was also likely the result of the previous accident damage to the drivers door, which was poorly repaired, again something not identified to us when we asked Barry if the car had any previous accidents. Although G&M did cover the costs to the Aux Belt, they made the process of identifying the issues challenging, had we not insisted the gearbox did have an issue and accepted them stating it was performing as Honda expect, it is very likely the gearbox would have suffered a complete failure during our ownership. We opted to buy a Honda Used Approved vehicle knowing the level of care, quality of prep and reassurance the cars are rigorously checked prior to sale. The experiences with G&M Honda have been far below our previous experience with Honda. Had the gearbox parts and subsequent health check been completed within the initial 6 months of ownership of the car, we would have rejected the car in a heartbeat, sadly this option was removed due to parts delays. For anyone wishing to buy from G&M, make sure you view the car in person, check works have been carried out as agreed prior to collection, and if you have any issues post purchase, ready yourself for resistance to repairs. the sales team are very efficient with enquiries and will go above and beyond to help make a decision, with a no pressure approach. The vehicle quality and after sales support when problem arise is where they fall well short.