Annie P

Terrible experience

I am due to have a baby in March. Needing a bigger, safer car, I bought a used Honda Civic from Ataris Cars at the start of January and part exchanged my Fiat Panda as part of this transaction. Despite being told that the Honda had recently received a full service and MOT, within a week it was clear that there was an issue with the vehicle as a metal on metal scratching sound was coming from the brakes. Indeed, the rear brake disks and pads required replacement. Luckily Ataris agreed to cover the costs of this but offered no apology for the inconvenience caused to me for having to take my new car to the garage for 2 days and arrange alternative transport during this time- something that you don’t want to have to do when you are due to give birth in 7 weeks. During the second week of owning the car, further problems emerged: the car was pulling to the left, a clunking noise was coming from the underside of the vehicle and the car was very loud when being driven (a problem that I initially thought was the exhaust). Ataris again agreed to look at the vehicle for me and arranged to meet me at the garage and provide me with a replacement car whilst mine was being repaired. I took a morning off work and drove out to the garage, just to be told that the salesperson who was supposed to meet me hadn’t shown up and that it wasn’t possible to have a replacement car- why hadn’t they rung me to inform me of this prior to me taking a morning off and driving out to Trafford Park? Again, no apology was offered for the inconvenience caused to me. However, later that night the salesperson picked the vehicle up from my home address demonstrating some good will on their part. The next day I received a phone call from that same sales person informing me that I would be issued with a refund on the vehicle. He admitted during this phone call that there was a problem with the suspension which had been causing the clunking noise but also insinuated that I was the type of person who would ring back in a couple of weeks with additional issues. Actually, every issue I had highlighted up until that point had been a legitimate concern that required work. I was shocked at the way I was spoken to and the personal comments that were made about me. As part of this refund that they proposed to issue me with, I wouldn’t receive the Fiat Panda I had part exchanged with them for £700 (now advertised on their website at £2490), leaving me without a car 6 weeks prior to my due date. In response, I said that I would rather have a working vehicle and requested that they carry out the repairs on the Civic. Eventually, Ataris agreed to carry out the work that was needed on the vehicle and repaired the suspension and tracking. Again, no apology was made, I was without a car for a number of days and incurred costs using taxis and buses- something that you don’t expect to have to do when you have just shelled out all that money on a new car. When I received the car back for a second time, the clunking had gone. However, at this point I had totally lost trust in the safety of the vehicle and the loud noise that I thought was the exhaust was still there. I took the car to a garage that I have been using for many years and asked them to look over the vehicle. They advised me that a new gearbox was needed and that I should return the car to the dealer. I owned this vehicle for 30 days, during which it spent the majority of the time in the garage. Ataris did issue me with a full refund but I was left without a car 4 weeks prior to my due date. Also, I got £700 for a 2011 Fiat Panda with 63,000 miles on the clock; a car that I would not have surrendered had I known I would be left without a vehicle; a car I could have got well over twice this price for had I arranged a private sale. I incurred £50 administrative costs for transferring car insurance, £36.50 in vehicle tax for a car I barely used, close to £50 in using alternative transport whilst my new car was in the garage, costs for taking days off work and numerous sleepless nights as a result of the intense stress this situation caused me. Needless to say, I cannot recommend this company in any capacity whatsoever. I have been left over £1000 out of pocket and with no car, with the arrival of my first baby now imminent. I have received no apology from the garage and no attempt to compensate me for the financial losses I have incurred, and I can only conclude that the individuals involved are completely morally bankrupt.