Shauna D
Downright Awful
I bought an Astra 1.4 from this garage around Christmas and collected it on January 6th for £6895 and traded in my Focus. Sales process was good as we paid cash so didn't have to wait for any finance companies during the holiday season. I drove the car on its first journey to Gatwick airport on January 8th and this is where it all went wrong. Car did not miss a beat until I pulled into the car park at Gatwick and lost all pressure on the clutch peddle and had to 'pump' it to get any pressure back. I had a flight to catch so this was a problem for when I got back! Once we got back, I contacted the garage who booked me in for 22nd January as this was when they next had a courtesy car. During the visit, they replaced the master cyclinder and claimed to the warranty I bought for the car. After collection, the fault was still present so I contacted the warranty company as I wanted to go to a different garage. They advised that this needed to go back to Acre Lane as they had advised it would fix the fault so they wouldn't pay out again. I booked it back in again for 12th Feb as again, this was when they next had the courtesy car. I advised there was also a knocking noise coming from the rear and could they check that. During the visit, they re-bled the system and advised no knocking noise heard. I collected again. As you can imagine, the fault was still present. By this point I had lost all faith in the car and contacted Acre Lane asking to return it and buy another car from them. They were not keen on this idea and asked us to give them 1 more chance to fix the vehicle so we dropped it off on Monday 17th Feb. They also advised that I was not within my rights to request a refund and they would not be doing so. We did not hear anything all day Monday and Tuesday so we called Tuesday evening to be told they have driven it twice and no fault found and to leave it with them. They then text me Wednesday morning asking for me to call them. They advised they had taken it out again and their mechanic had felt a small fault but "nothing to the extent you did" and they were just going to replace the clutch. They would give me a call when it is ready. I then received a text midday on Thursday to let me know it was ready to collect. Since collecting it, the clutch pedal now vibrates and makes a noise when pressed all the way down. The knocking noise from the rear is so loud I can now no longer drown it out with music. I have booked this into another garage to pay out of pocket to actually be fixed. Whenever I have had to call Acre Lane, the owners Vicki and Andrew and incredibly rude, patronising and down right awful to both me and my husband. They only care about the bottom line and nothing else. Avoid at all costs. Spend your hard earned money anywhere else.