Richard P

High End Cars - Low End Service

I purchased a Bentley Flying Spur from Scott Hardy Automotive in Macclesfield. It was a low mileage car in good condition but in need of a service, a new MOT and 4 new tyres. It was agreed that Scott Hardy would arrange for this work to be carried out at their expense and they would then deliver the car to me. From here on in there was delay after delay and it took some 12 weeks for all issues to be resolved. Firstly there was a delay getting the car serviced and MOT'd and then an unnecessary long delay in getting tyres delivered from their supplier and then fitted by a local tyre dealer. The delivery date slipped back but I accepted this with the offer from Matt Ramsey the Team Principal at Scott Hardy that the would make a compensation payment to me to meet the cost of 6 months tax - £390.50. But this was just the start of the problems. When the car was delivered it only came with a courtesy key fob used by chauffeur's and for valet parking so I had only access to the boot by pulling the emergency strap under the floor capping near the rear seats. I was told the previous owner could not find the other fobs and that Scott Hardy would buy 2 new fobs from Bentley and have them registered to my car. It would have been courteous to have been told this before I purchased the car. It then took Scott Hardy some 7 weeks to resolve this issue. Unrequested Scott Hardy sent to me a copy of the V5 with the former owner's personal details. Whilst it is not normal practice for car dealers to divulge former owners information it did allow me to make contact with the former owner's company and they sent me the 2 key fobs by return albeit that one was damaged. No paperwork came with the car and I had to chase to get documentation on the warranty that was included in the sale. When I first drove the car after delivery I noticed a vibration through the steering when braking. This is something that should have been picked up when the car was serviced and when Scott Hardy test drove the car. I had to arrange for the car to go to an independent Bentley Service Centre some 35 miles away from my home and they found that the front discs were pitted and warped. These were replaced together with the brake pads at Scott Hardy's expense. I was told that there was a small dent under the fuel cap and that Scott Hardy would get this removed before delivery. But on delivery the dent was still there plus another on a rear door. Scott Hardy then tried to arrange for a local specialist to remove the dents but failed so yet again I had to organise this at Scott Hardy's expense. For 12 weeks I had nothing but hassle in trying to get Scott Hardy to finalise all issues. At one point I told them to come and collect the car and to give me my money back but then I was told the outstanding issues would be dealt with ASAP. I have received 42 emails from them and I began to realise that many of these were nothing more than pushing the problems away without resolution. Scott Hardy sell high end cars and I had expected high end service I purchased a vehicle from Auto 100 in Nottinghamshire who also sell high end cars. Their service was impeccable and everything was ready and in order on delivery - no hassle at all. This is as it should be. Out of courtesy prior to submitting this review I copied it to the owner of Scott Hardy Automotive.