Matt
Not even deserving of 1 star
Having gone through a tough few years, I decided to treat myself to a car I could really enjoy. Due to purchase budget and begrudging paying sky high vehicle excise duty, I decided on a B7 Audi S4 because there's nothing like the sound of a V8 engine. After travelling some miles looking at a few rust buckets with flat batteries, I decided on a 2005 model that had reasonably sound bodywork at Highland Motors in Rochdale. The guys there were friendly and even chauffered me for a test drive so I could concentrate on listening for the dreaded timing chain rattle I'd read so many stories about. I put down a deposit to get things moving and returned a couple of days later after arranging my finances, traded in my 2012 BMW 320d efficient dynamics with full BMW service history, and paid the remaining balance on the S4. They said all the DVLA paperwork was done online before I left the office, so I taxed and insured the S4 and went straight to work. I returned 3 days later after noticing blue genies coming out of the tail pipes, a sign that the engine is burning oil. I suspected the valve stem oil seals but just wanted them to have a look at the car since their sales invoice stated a short engine and gearbox warranty. I was turned away as there were no mechanics in with it being a Sunday, and told to top up the oil to the recommended level and see how I got on for a few weeks. It took 3.5 litres of oil to reach the recommended level, so I checked the other levels on the vehicle to be safe. I had to top up the brake fluid, and all four tyres had less than 20psi in them, running practically flat so I inflated them too. I also spotted signs of an oil leak at the bottom of the sump/gearbox bellhousing. I received a phone call later in the day from them saying they had spoken to an Audi specialist they use (in spite of having Audi certificates on the wall in the office), and they were adamant that blue smoke is perfectly normal, and that I only need to worry if the smoke turns black. I just couldn't seem to get them to agree to look at the vehicle. The next week I received a NIP from West Yorkshire Constabulary because one of them had been caught speeding at 96mph on the M62 in the vehicle I part exchanged, 3 nights after I traded it in. More visits and phone calls proved fruitless, I was stopped by police because my S4 was showing up on their ANPR as no registered keeper just as the 6 weeks it can take for the DVLA to issue a V5 to a new keeper was up, so I had to apply for the V5 for the S4 myself. I had to book in with an Audi main dealer for an initial diagnostic thinking I'd get on paper what is wrong with the vehicle so I could urge them to fix it, but I was given a quote of £2,504 to fix suspension problems I didn't know the car had when I bought it, and to remove and strip the engine for further diagnosis. By the time I returned for the final time to ask them one last time to do something about it, I'd put 12 litres of oil in as top-ups, and the EML was illuminating. They refused to do anything about the problems with the vehicle and also refused to reverse the sale, even though my part exchanged vehicle was still for sale there with a price on it of almost double the part exchange value they gave me for it. When I realised I wasn't getting anywhere I asked them to confirm for me that they were leaving me with no option but to report them to trading standards and seek court action, their response was to say they weren't trying to intimidate me, but if I go down that route their lawyers would keep me running in circles for two years and that would incur a lot of costs for me. I left, had to park the car up as it became undriveable, and reported them to trading standards, sent a recorded and signed for letter giving them a final chance to make it right and received no response, sent a letter before court action recorded, signed for and still no response, filed a court claim and still no response, so now I have requested a CCJ against them, and I am fully expecting that I will have to escalate it to high court and get bailiffs involved. To summarise, Highland Motors look great while they're selling you a lemon, but when it goes bad the after sales service is nonexistent and they try to make it out like it's all your fault and tell you that they think you bought a car you can't afford to run and have changed your mind, then recommend you part exchange it somewhere else for a much cheaper car. I would strongly recommend that people avoid this group of cowboys no matter what name they trade under.