FG Barnes Group Reviews 116

I had a great experience and found my desired car hassle free. Good service all round . Well done .

Highly recommend Luca who had endless patience as I completed my purchase over the phone.
Thank you :-)

This is the highest level review I give as I believe we are all constantly growing and improving and need something to aim for.

I had a fantastic experience with FG Barnes Group Nissan Guildford. The team helped us purchase our dream Nissan Qashquai . From the moment we walked into the dealership, the team were attentive, knowledgeable, and went above and beyond to ensure we got the perfect vehicle for our needs. The team patiently answered all of our questions, explained the features, and even took the time to demonstrate how everything worked. Sales team professionalism and friendly demeanor made the entire process enjoyable. I left the dealership with my Nissan Qashquai and a big smile on my face, all thanks to this exceptional salesman's dedication and expertise. I highly recommend them to anyone in search of a great car-buying experience!

Well it was all down to Ian Burgess. He was amazing from start to finish. Made the whole process enjoyable, easy to understand and he’s a very personable and professional guy, a true gentleman and I would recommend anyone who wants a Vauxhall to ask for him.

We have had a really poor service from Nissan Barnes Guildford. We put our trust in their services which has not only resulted in continued problems with our car but additionally extremely poor treatment from the manager (Vicky T).
Agreeing having work completed on our car we obviously had a few questions to find out the condition and what we were paying over £500 for. Vicky had no time to explain, repeatedly telling us she had other customers to deal with.

£680 later were still having issues with our car- I have to make several attempts of pressing the starter button before the engine turns on. I was told this was normal and if I want the car looked at again I will need to pay another £130 diagnostic fee.

Getting the car to start was the problem we had when we first took the car to Nissan barnes. We was told there was a water leak and due to the car heating up it shut down. Nissan barnes couldn’t turn the car on so they contacted us and told us we needed a new thermostat which needed to be done to even be able to switch the car on- we was therefore charged £550 plus £130 diagnostic fee. Following this, we was told all had been fixed, collected car, drove out and shockingly the next day it wasn’t starting again. We returned car, told it could need a new engine for £5000. This caused me alot of worry as we can’t afford to pay this. Spoke to the mechanic who reassured us it didn’t need a new engine (Nissan shouldn’t have put this on our evaluation form!) and it was just the ignition that needed fixing. I needed reassurance as I couldn’t have the car break down with my two year old and as I’m 30 weeks pregnant.They said they would keep the car and do serveral tests- they then reassured us car was fine. We took the car back and it failed to start again. Rang Nissan Barnes who told us this was a different issue and if we wanted them to sort it we were required to pay another £130 diagnostic fee!

Never knew this was a different issue let alone having to pay a separate diagnostic fee for them to even investigate further an issue that was already there when we took the car in the first time!

Bought a used MG from these guys, great experience,best trade price for my old car, George Hunt you worked your Magic, no pressure selling, totally pleased with the experience.

I would give 0 stars if I could. Their customer service is appalling, left several messages and phone calls for the service manager (Nathan Bye) to call me back - still waiting!
After a cock up that they are at fault for they refuse to take responsibility. They don’t know how to service Vauxhall cars, if you value your car at all I wouldn’t take the risk!

Grace at Carsave FG Barns was so helpful, friendly and professional I couldn’t ask for more 100+%

Worst car dealer experience ever. Had to take my vauxhall to dealer since it had a complicated fault which my local garage could not fix. Explained the problem upon dropoff and faults were noted on the form. Informed the team I was NOT interested in general checkup just wanted the fault repaired. Waited until late afternoon, they didnt bother to call me so I called them. They had done general checkup and hadnt really looked at the fault but said it was probably caused by the thermostat which they could replace for £350. Too car back to my local garage where the very competent guy was very doubtful about the thermostat being the cause but had it replaced anyway for less than half the money. It didnt make any difference with the fault and had nothing to do with it.

Very friendly and Colin smith was excellent and very helpful, nothing was to much trouble, would definitely come back again. Mr Edward wort

Customer service staff attitude is appalling, my partner purchased a brand new mg3, we realised it hadn't been PDI inspected on collection and we had to return with the vehicle for this to be carried out, collected car and found black handprints all over the headlining! They promised to organise valeting of damage and never did so we had it carried out at our own expense. 18 months after ownership battery died unexpectedly over a four day period, basically staff suggested we left the car unlocked and might as well have called us liars with their attitude! Now five weeks later the car smells damp inside and has all sorts of electrical issues with dash, called FG Barnes again and the attitude was its not likely to be covered by warranty (on a car that's done just 4k miles) and that we'd have to pay £134 for diagnostics, utterly appalling staff attitude. We're now taking the car to a different dealership to have the problems investigated! FG Barnes also told us that we would have to pay for a new battery as its not covered by the warranty despite having a guarantee for x number of years and all this from the service receptionist who is apparently is also an expert mechanic with a crystal ball! Would give zero stars if possible, don't take your vehicle to this garage and I'd strongly advise looking for a another lo Al dealership who are polite, helpful and competent! Will never buy from or use FG Barnes services again!!!

Avoid FG barnes maidstone at all costs.

After braking down on a motorway we got our car to this dealership as it’s the only one in Maidstone. The car still under warranty.
3 months it took to diagnose. The staff kept lying to me that they were looking at it but weren’t. I’d even had a date for a service and MOT three weeks after the brake down which they could use as the slot for diagnosing the problem. Once diagnosed it took 3 months for them to figure out that couldn’t get the parts anymore. So a new engine was agreed. No idea why as the car is worth less than a new engine. The car got given back 3 weeks ago. I took it back twice as I could smell fuel and it was losing fuel whilst I was driving. This was denied and it was just excess fuel at the back of the engine. The smell was still bad and they put a cleaning bomb in the car to take the smell away. However it was still present. Today driving to Tunbridge wells from Maidstone the smell got worse and worse. Then steam coming from the bonnet. I pulled over and there’s fuel all over the new engine bay. I’m fortunate enough it’s not caught fire. Thank god it’s minus degrees.
This has gone on since march this year. So many complaints and still they put me and my family in danger.
Do not trust this company or garage.

As most of the reviews about this company confirm, this is a company to steer clear of. There have been too many issues to list them all but basically, I found a car that I was interested in and put down a deposit to secure it. Went for a test drive and took a mechanic with me. Found an endless number of problems with the vehicle and reported them to the sales department. Sales manager Stuart got involved making excuses but basically, he hadn't had the vehicle thoroughly checked before putting it up for sale. He took the car off the market and refunded my deposit. I said I would still be interested in the car if the work required was carried out but he said he didn't think they would be selling it again and it would probably go to auction or to another dealer who was prepared to do the work. I asked him to let me know either way but he didn't. The car has now reappeared on their website at a much higher price then I had agreed to pay but I doubt all the work has been done because it wouldn't be cost effective. So I feel the reason he didn't get back to me is that the car still has issues but they are hoping whoever buys it will not do as thorough check as I did. This is definitely an Arthur Daley set-up and they should be avoided at all costs. Look at some of the other reviews and you see there is a familiar pattern emerging with this company. Not to be trusted and incompetent staff especially sales manager Stuart.

Yet again, Service Manager (Guildford) has failed to respond to any of my messages. My van that you had for 3 weeks whilst I was on holiday, returned with the exact same problems it arrived to you with. The fact that you don't even acknowledge my emails, or attempt to phone me regarding these issues will leave me with no choice but to involve a third party to settle this. Extremely disappointed as this van is my business and having to ask customers to jump start my vehicle is embarrassing!!!!!

Abdul Hannan Maidstone :

From the moment we first visited FG Barnes Maidstone to enquire about a car, through to the day we took ownership of a car, Abdul Hannan has been a pleasure to do business with.
Both myself and my wife have been impressed by Abdul’s patience, courtesy ,professionalism and pleasant manner in dealing with our car purchase from the start of our enquiry to the day we collected the car.
All our questions and concerns were answered satisfactorily and we never once felt pressurised into making decision to purchase a car . Options for our car of choice were explained and recommended leaving us time to decide what worked best for us

Maidstone Vauxhall work well as a team to support the customer needs as well as providing a welcoming sales environment, I would certainly use this dealership again.

Hannan Abdul Maidstone
when first walking into the dealership and meeting Hannan we were greeted with a smile, we didn't book an appointment and he was with a different client but still had the time to explain he will be free as soon as possible which gave us the confidence to wait, he was very patient and understanding recommending different types of vehicles then we test drove, never once was he pushy just very supportive of what would work for us
Maidstone Vauxhall comes across as a team more than a sales environment, I would deal with this team again

I purchased a BMW from FGBarnes Maidstone in July. When I picked up the car I was informed that it only had one key. I had not been made aware of this at the time I agreed the purchase. I also noticed a large scratch on the front bumper. I made FGBarnes aware of these issues straight away including photos. Several emails later I have had no response. I stand to lose £378 in the cost of a new key and around £100 for the cost of the scratch repair.

*ATTENTION* ATTENTION*

Do not conduct ANY Business with this pathetic joke of a car dealership, their customer service and car standard is absolutely abysmal. A car crash of an organisation - no pun intended. I bought a fairly new used car, when i picked up the car and drove it back home - the car started to vibrate and shaked excessivley at motorway speeds. This is callous and dangerous to sell a car to a customer when it's not roadworthy. In addition, the rear wiper blade was broken. I asked several times before picking the car up for the service checklist, it took three weeks for them to get back to me on this. They sold a car on the deception that is has been through the appropriate checks when this was all A LIE! To top it off the courtesy car they gave me broke down the motorway, which Tony threatened me to pay excess LOL!

I have since noticed on the service checklist that they happily sold a car with 80% wear gone on the front and rear brakes, squeaking noise when reversing and car movement when braking at high speeds. Tony (attached photo) is running a sinking ship - do not alight here. Robert has to be the most sarcastic, rude salesman i have ever witnessed.This company cut corners to save on time and money, but this can lead to your sudden death. Is it worth it?

I am still waiting for Tony to get back to me regarding the wear on the brakes as this is not the expectation i expect from a "FCA regulated" company.

I wish to bring to attention to all, about the service I got from the service manager MG Canterbury (Ryan). He was very professional and friendly. He got the job done correctly and in good time. He said he has only been at FG Barnes for 4 weeks, so this was the first time I met the man. I have great faith in this man, hope to see him Feb. 23 for my cars next service.

Yet another poor experience at the Maidstone auto centre….. literally have no words to describe how poor their service is, so unprofessional and have no idea about customer service