“Arnold Clark VW Crow Rd!!!!
Steer clear bought a 19 plate VW Tiguan and after 6 months it has required new wipers replaced day after purchase as they couldn't be bothered
9 weeks after owning car new electronic mirror required.
6 months down the line now had to get a new clutch in auto gearbox.
Forked out over 2k after paying 23k for car.
Do yourself a favour and do not purchase from these weasels only interested in taking your cash then lying on the phone.”
“Bought a Ford Focus EcoBoost Feb' 23 from Arnold Clark Seafield Edinburgh.
The car was seven years old at the time of purchase. According to online research I conducted that engine should have the wet timing belt replaced at 100k miles or 6 years, whichever came first. I asked the salesman (Kenneth Dow), if there was any evidence it had been changed. He confirmed there wasn't. I then suggested they should replace it before we bought the vehicle. He agreed unequivocally. No pushback whatsoever, then informed us that the date we were due to collect the vehicle would be pushed back to allow time to have the work done.
We were contacted a few days later to confirm work had been completed. I asked for an email confirming this. Despite several reminders, that email never materialised. On the day we collected the car, we even asked again to be met with an apology, and that “due to work pressures”, he hadn’t got around to sending it, but rest assured it would be done. That email never came to pass. When we took receipt of the car, we were left in no doubt, a new timing belt had been fitted as agreed.
Fast forward to September 2025, and the engine oil pressure warning light comes on. Long story short, the timing belt is delaminating and blocking oil flow. An independent mechanic confirmed the timing belt has never been changed, and the current one is the on that was fitted to the vehicle when new.
Arnold Clark, specifically their salesman, Kenneth Dow, is now claiming a) the conversation outlined above ever took place, and b) they would never have agreed to do the work as the 6yr/100k miles criteria for replacing the wet belt did not comply with their company policy. This position is an entire fabrication and confirms the salesman lied to my face at the time of purchase on at least two occasions and over the phone at least twice. He is now doubling down on these lies.
I have followed the Arnold Clark complaints process as outlined on their website. After the local Seafield branch manager failed to give a satisfactory response, a week ago we submitted an online complaint to their Customer Services Department. At the time of writing, we have had no reply. Not even an acknowledgement.
This is no longer about money, nor is it about the fact my car’s been off the road for over a month with little prospect of it being repaired any time soon. It’s now about how a company the size of Arnold Clark could condone such unscrupulous, immoral behaviour from one of its employees. Shameless, bareface lying seems to be acceptable with this company, or at least it is for Kenneth Dow. If you do business with this company and you’re unlucky to deal with this salesman, beware. You have been warned!”
“My VW Tiguan went back to Arnold Clark St Helens for a week to fix some bits.I send a mail back on the 15 today is the 5th day and had absolutely no response back
Dear Arnold Clark Team,
I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the condition in which my VW Tiguan was returned to me today.
The following issues are unacceptable:
An additional dent has appeared on the back door, which your driver acknowledged upon delivery. There was only one dent previously – there are now two.
The service book remains missing.
The part to secure the spare wheel at the back is still not present.
I have received no written confirmation regarding the start button being inspected. I expect confirmation that this has been properly checked by a qualified technician.
The vehicle was returned to me with only half a tank of fuel, despite being collected with a full tank.
The silver trimmings at the window are the same no change.
Kind regards
George
There is evidence that someone had a hot drink will thy were working on the car cup ring on passenger seat.
Have no response back from both
Nabil Jarir
Simon Gervais”
“Sale by misrepresentation and a masterclass in gaslighting. If you enjoy being made to feel like you hallucinated your own purchase conditions, this is the place for you. If not, RUN, don’t walk, in the opposite direction!! Shout out to Matthew Gibson sales rep & Manager Mark Rundell in Glasgow. Between the disingenuous smiles, blatant lies, and sudden memory loss, these two could teach a masterclass in the art of being the textbook dodgy car salesmen!”
“I enquired about a new Jaecoo 7Phev from the Aberdeen branch and spoke with Joss Fairweather, got all my details, then passed me onto James Wray who basically was not interested and did not call back when he said he would.
I contacted the head office to see if I could get the car from another dealer which was in Glasgow and too far for collecting the car, he said if I was happy to speak with a manager at the Aberdeen branch which I reluctantly agreed, Joss called was apologetic and we then continued with the purchase of the new car.
Joss said James would be in touch the next day with an update on delivery, 2 weeks later I called and spoke to Lorenzo the GM and told him about the severe lack of communication and I was told James would call me, next day I get a text message saying the car would be in Aberdeen on 26th August.
I eventually got a phone call asking if I could pick the car up on Friday which I couldn’t and Saturday I couldn’t but agreed on Sunday @ 12:30 and Joss Fairweather would be finalising everything with me.
We arrived on the Sunday 12:25 spoke with a young salesman and said we had an appointment with Joss to pick up the new car, he came back and said Joss was busy and he would deal with us, we signed all documents and were asked if we knew all the cars controls etc which I said I was ok with, the young salesman said thanks and did not even take us over to the, had to just find the car ourselves.
Joss did not even have the decency to speak to us.
When we stopped in Portlethen, I noticed we had no mats and the steering was not straight, I called and got put through to Lorenzo who has had the car collected today for the alignment to be done, received the mats and was given a £100 cheque
I feel the £100 is a joke for some kind of compensation for the absolute shocking experience from start to finish my wife and myself have had to endure.
There are more details but it is too long and I’m just so disappointed
Customer services have been in touch, but have not heard anything for 5 days now.
Even my finance was not what was agreed with the sales manager.”
“In February 2025, we bought our first family car from Arnold Clark in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. From the very beginning, the vehicle had constant issues. Despite repeatedly telling the dealership by phone and email that the car was unsafe and had even stopped mid-drive, we were continuously reassured that it was “in good and safe condition.”
We trusted their word, but in August 2025, our trust was shattered. The car completely broke down on the A3 motorway in Germany while we were on our first family holiday to Romania, with two infants in the back seat. We were left stranded in dangerous conditions, on a busy motorway, in a foreign country where few people spoke English. It was terrifying.
What makes this worse is that the car had been into the Arnold Clark Hanley branch for multiple checks during our six months of ownership, including just five days before our trip. Each time, we were told everything was fine. When we called the dealership from Germany in distress, their response was completely dismissive: “It’s not our fault.” We were left to find our own way home.
Once back in the UK, we returned to the Hanley branch expecting support. Instead, we were met with rudeness, humiliation, and indifference. Staff stared at us, offered no help, and acted as if we were a burden. We felt unwelcome, humiliated, and as if we were the guilty ones. They left us without support or guidance, after our lives had been endangered by their negligence.
I have serious concerns about the MOT process as well. I brought the car in at 8 a.m. for its check, later I received a notification saying the car was in the garage for repairs, but I was there the all time and watched and it wasn't on the premises for most of the day. At 4:50 p.m., they told me it was still "in progress," even though I could clearly see the car wasn't there. Then, at 5:40 p.m., they said it was ready. I was waiting outside the entire time and never saw the car in the garage.
Following the breakdown, the vehicle was inspected by four separate, independent, and registered mechanics in Germany. Their collective diagnosis was consistent and alarming: the service your centre claimed to have performed was either superficial or not carried out at all.
We were in shock!!!
They found no recent signs of mechanical work.
Specifically, they discovered:
* Major damage to the timing belt, with at least 13 broken teeth—a condition that would have been obvious during a proper inspection.
* A faulty water pump and leaking cooling liquid.
* Significant rust under the car and degraded parts surrounding the water pump and timing belt, which indicates a complete lack of recent maintenance.
* A severely degraded and nearly dry battery that tested at only 2 volts.
Photographs and video evidence clearly document the rusty and broken state of these parts, proving they were not inspected or repaired as your service report claims. You "ticked green" on everything, despite these critical and pre-existing faults. You certified the vehicle as safe, putting my family and me in great danger.
This experience has left us shocked and appalled. We trusted Arnold Clark with our family’s life, and were let down at every stage, they sold a faulty car, denied responsibility, and treated us with a complete lack of respect or empathy. I never expected such an immoral and careless approach from a company of this size. They put my family in a life-threatening situation and showed no accountability.
Avoid this dealership at all costs. Your safety is not their priority—sales are.”
“Bought my dream car from Arnold Clark. DS9 delivered to Liverpool from Scotland.
March 2025 noticed a fault light on the dash. Down loaded a hand book to see what the fault was and it had to do with the drivers attention (camera ) took no notice due to the book stating it could be down to wearing dark glasses etc. Decided I did not like the car so I tried to trade it in . Only to find the dealers would not take it due to the fault.
took it back to AC and told them of the fault . advised to take it to a DS dealer because AC could not fix it. contact AC for my money back. They said they will pay to get it fixed .Gave me a warranty for DS cars. Took it to DS took near on ten weeks for it to be booked in and I would need to go to Manchester. So from March and it is now September. Still waiting for the fault to be fixed. The MOT runs out end of October and will fail its MOT due to the dashboard fault.
Three lessons to be learnt 1 DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM AC.
2 And do not buy a DS car due to the limited places you can go if it develops a fault.
3 if you do buy a car from AC check everything before handing over any money.
Still waiting for a part from god knows where ,to arrive at this time. Slow donkey from china”
“Arnold Clark has gone downhill since the passing of Mr Clark. He was a lovely man, met him many times and he'd be turning in his grave with the shambles it is these days. The staff, in particular at the reception in the Dunfermline branch are miserable and unhelpful.”
“I have a Vauxhall Grandland 1.2 and the last 8 months have been delusional, I don't know where to begin. I have seen that people have complained about wet belts, and I am also in this mess. For 2 years my car ran smoothly and then in November last year I had a red oil warning light come on, so as it was under warranty and was due its service I took it back to AC where I got the car from. after a few days i get a call saying i can collect as they cannot find the problem but gave it and oil change, mini service and charged me for this, we thought everything was fine and i could continue in my routine. a week later the light returns and back we go , this is where they decide they have found another problem and it’s a Wet Belt fault and after a few weeks of umming and ahhing it has been decided that the best option is a for a full engine replacement was required. This is in December, a busy time for work and family and i have no car but what they can offer me is a car through there service plan that i can have for 72 hours, not a full courtesy car but one where i would have to pay for extra use and i went over by 12 hours so I paid what was owed - still no car though. as i was never even offered a courtesy car i was borrowing from family which luckily got me around in this very busy stressful period. new year comes and goes and then sometime in the second week in January i get a car with a brand-new engine (apparently). The car has also had its MOT and full service completed whilst it is here, so i collect the car knowing that I only have to come back after 500 miles to do a mini check to ensure things are running and then i won't have to return till next service day............
in my current work and travel I do about a 1000 miles month and quite regularly update the app with my mileage. Its nearly September and the car has done 5000 miles since I collected it with new engine.
April 26th Saturday afternoon on way home from Football RED warning lights appear and the car eventually breaks down 4 miles from home, I do a call out and RAC get me home to find there is no water in the car and after some tests they find that one of the pipes that the water flows through hasn't been connected properly and insist i take it back to the garage for a check-up, it goes back in on the Monday and they say there are no problems with it and i can have it back. 2 weeks later same warning lights appear and i'm losing water again, they have it for a week cannot find no faults and send it back to me 162 miles later warning lights appear again no water. whilst they had it for a month doing tests, I was given a car to use and when they said it was ready to collect i returned the car and picked up mine. You know what happened next warning lights on the way home and no water, this time they send it to a Vauxhall dealer to solve the problem, which they say is a water tank fault and will need replacing and then present me with a bill for £500 as to which i look at them with a blank look on my face and tell them NO wrong person as everyone cannot seem to find the problem and have wasted my time and why should i Pay for it AC agree to cover the cost - oh yeah i should say they still hadn't provided me with a courtesy car. when Vauxhall decided to take on the job I asked for a courtesy car so i can get around and ferry my disabled partner around, they said that i would have to speak to Arnold Clark regarding a car, and they said that they did not have any available, this went on for another month by which time we are in July woo hoo 3 months later and that car is ready. oh dear here we go again, so originally i had dropped my car at the Arnold Clark garage and they had it moved to the Vauxhall dealership, however they were short staffed and had nobody available to collect the car for me they said it could be a couple of days before i get it back, in the end i got fed up and had a lift to collect the car. Really poor service all-round no help to me the customer who had been paying for the car (PCP) all the time its was in garage.
120 miles later on my way to work i get stuck in roadworks on M1 4 lanes of solid traffic fight to get into one lane and then it happened, i notice the temperature heading towards the RED line again and then we all know what happened there RED WARNING STOP vehicle immediately. i forced my way over to recovery bay to see that we had no water again (WHY!!!!!!!!) i limped it to work and then first thing that morning Back To Arnold Clark we go and they said i needed to take it the Vauxhall dealership. i may have lost it at this point and said NO this is where I have to bring it and this is where it needs to be fixed.
here we are now 4 weeks later they eventually provided me with a courtesy car that isn't up to scratch, it was meant to be valeted but was left with dog smell and hairs in the boot, it feel like it could break down at any time and in this time and just my luck i got something stuck in the tyre as to which they said bring it in and we will set you off in another vehicle, when I got there I was told different and that i would be priority and they would change the tyre it took over 2 hours. this is an issue to me as I work nights and i had t wait 2 hours for the AA to help me get to Arnold Clark and then i had the next 2 hours waiting for repair. i got to bed about 1pm i had been up for 29 hours at this point and ruined the rest of the week as sleep was all over the place. but this brings me to where i am now and i still don't have my car back because i found out this morning that they are waiting on a decision from Vauxhall head office that this vehicle may need another engine replacement.
so, as you can imagine i am not very happy.
I have been going to this dealership for about 10 years now and I have never had any problems until this year and I am done once my finance company come back to me and I think they are looking at backing me over this lack of service from Arnold Clark. I have struggled with the use of a car for nearly 5 months and me and my disabled partner are very lucky that our family have been there to help but we have not been able to do or plan anything else as we have not known what is happening. This year has been rubbish not only due to this but this company has been this biggest problem in it causing too many stressful issues.”
“I am disgusted with Arnold Clark’s service it’s absolutely appalling service buy a car from them nothing but hassle 30 days warranty I will tell you why there give you 30 days warranty so there can fling you aside after it car went back into the garage 3 times with the same issue and problem and the 3rd time i had enough of it so i had to trade the car in and take £1100 loss on it I will never be buying from Arnold Clark again I would avoid at all cost and save your self the hassle go somewhere else for your car”
“I phoned them to confirm me about my booking car and they said to me the appointment has been cancelled and booked for another day after two weeks and half. My car was broken and recovered from street few days before and I needed to be recovered from my house to the garage to fix it. I told them about my auto care warranty to fix it these days or if not possible they can loan a vehicle how long will be at the garage my car. I am disappointed how I was treated from Arnold Clark. They passed me from one to another person and now I am forced to go to fix the car at private garage because I need the car every day.
I am sorry but Arnold Clark is a joke, a shame.”
“Customer service absolutely shocking, when you have a issue with your car and you ask for the salesperson you bought it from ,oh he's with another customer I'll get him to call you back ,lol 2 days and still waiting , rubbish if a had checked the reviews a would have stayed clear of them, oh and purchased a car for it to have a issue on way home , light on , ding in door ,booked it in on a wed to be told wed evening it's sorted but the wing mirrors caps need changed due to them been aftermarket ones ,ok put them back to original ones ,oh they need painted great ,3 days to paint 2 wing mirror caps who u kidding, I've still no car”
“Bought a new Vauxhall mokka in 2021 not knowing that it had a wet belt if I had known I would never have bought it, on the 3rd service the mechanic said that the belt was cracking told me to get it replaced Vauxhall say that the belt should last 60000 miles or 6 years the car is 4 years old and has done 24000 miles Arnold Clark agreed with my mechanic that it is cracking but don’t want to do anything about it last time I put a review on line I had a phone call to ask me why I had posted a negative review on how they treated me and he would go and check up on it and call me back that was about 6 weeks ago and guess what I never got a call back. They are a complete failure in customer care”
“Very pleased customer collected my new car from Northwich depot yesterday. Very helpful staff I spoke to Josh and Richard were superb very helpful if you need to know anything. Highly recommend. Very quick process too definitely be back in the future. Receptionist very helpful too.”
