Philip H

Buyer beware

Buyer Beware I may have just been unlucky, but I wouldn’t want anyone else to experience similar problems without being forewarned. The Company is not a member of the Motor Ombudsman Scheme. In July 2024 I bought a Jaguar XF from Global Automobiles in Blackburn. I had read excellent reviews, and was reassured that the Company promised a complete pre delivery check, a full service, cam belt replacement and new MoT test. I also purchased their extended 12 month comprehensive warranty for a further £399, and paid £399 delivery since am a 72 year old disabled driver and my home is in Kent, 288 miles from Blackburn. On delivery the cabin had a musty, smoky odour which I assumed might have been from the delivery driver smoking or from the previous owner. I quickly discovered the AC unit was inoperative and thought this might account for the smell. I advised the Company and took the car to my local Formula One Autocentre. Their Ecotechnics analysis revealed 0% refrigerant and 0% oil recovered, and that in their opinion the system had been unchecked for several years. The Company insisted all their pre-delivery checks had been “ticked”, but after some negotiation they refunded my costs. However the smell not only persisted, but got worse, and it was now obvious that fumes were entering the cabin. I could only drive with the air re-circulator off and the window open. My local Jaguar specialist garage discovered a leaking cross over pipe and quoted £2200 for repairs (25% of what I paid for the car). They also commented that even the most cursory checks would have revealed black, sooty deposits in the engine bay that should have flagged a problem. The Warranty Company refused the claim since the part was not covered. I reported this to Global Automobiles and they again insisted that all pre delivery checks had been carried out, but that their outsourced valeting might have cleaned any soot before they did their checks, and that since I had completed several thousand miles they couldn’t be sure the fault was present at the point of sale. They offered to assess the car if I delivered it to their Blackburn site. By now I was suspicious that the promised checks had been absent or cursory, and was anxious that the service and cam belt replacement might also have been overlooked. The constant illumination of the “service” light on the dashboard did nothing to reassure me. I asked for further confirmation that these had been done but none has been forthcoming. Returning the vehicle to Blackburn, with no guarantee they would agree the fault was pre-existing, was impractical since this would involve a further £399 delivery charge (probably both ways), so I offered to pay for the car to be assessed independently at a local garage (to me) of their choosing, or with the AA. They declined and I had the car repaired locally. The garage retained the cross over pipe for me. It was completely corroded and leaking at both ends, and this had obviously not been a recent development. I advised Global Automobiles, with photographs, in the hope they would do the honourable thing and offer at least some reimbursement. On 5th February 2025 they declined. As I said, buyer beware.