Arden BMW Tunbridge Wells Reviews 

DO NOT TRUST THIS GARAGE
I found suspicious items in my car after collecting my car following repairs. A baby seat insert and a pile of soiled tissues was found in my car, I asked the manager to investigate this as I was concerned my car was used by someone without my consent… they refused to fully investigate and give me any answers, offering a gesture of “a tank of fuel and a service” to me as compensation, but now my phone calls and emails are ignored as I am trying to get to the bottom of this / receive compensation.

Update, although the garage has replied to this review… they have ignored my emails again they are only replying not to help but to improve their public image

So I had a letter from BMW saying my 3 series needed the airbag fixed on a vehicle recall, I proceeded to book my car into Arden. Lady was nice booked it in for 2 weeks time, 2 weeks later I phone up the evening before the appointment to confirm the times, and lucky I did as they said sorry we don't have the parts don't bother coming in it wont get done! I booked time off of work which cost me money for that appointment to which the manger responded "sorry nothing I can do" no compensation or anything, why didn't they contact me sooner? Well apparently they missed a digit on my mobile number and spelt my email address wrong (its a simple email address) - pretty convenient, customer service is a joke avoid at all costs go a little further afield!

We recently purchased an approved used mini form Arden Tunbridge Wells. The price was at the top end of the guide price for a young low mileage car of the type bought as we would expect from a main dealer. I failed to spot a couple of faults, in particular a rubber door seal with a number of cuts and a wheel trim that was slightly lose. Neither were pointed out when inspecting the vehicle. When we got the vehicle home, after it had stopped raining it was quite clear the car had not been cleaned, the leather seats were covered in what looked like the spats from a drink can, dust over the dash and cobwebs in the corner of the vehicle...the cabriolet hood had bird dropping marks and green mould along the bottoms. I returned the vehicle the following morning to be valeted (as the salesperson had claimed it had) and for the seal and trim faults to be corrected. I picked the car uo a week later. It has been cleaned but I was told by the rather opinionated "brand manager" that the faults in question fall within Ardens acceptability for an "approved used" mini. As a manager i have no idea where he learnt his customer relation skills but simply to smile at me in a way which suggests that he really couldnt care less felt rather demeaning. My suggestion is look elsewhere for your used mini.....or very very carefully inspect every inch of the vehicle before parting with any money with this dealership. I most certainly will not be using them for any service work.

Appalling, the mechanics are sloppy make mistakes, the service team are unresponsive and fail to handle clear customer service issues, you just get stonewalled. They take advantage and claim work needs to be carried out when it doesn’t. Avoid avoid avoid!

I am a bit of a car head and take pride in any car I own. After having bought a BMW from a non main dealer, I wanted the tracking reviewed. There are plenty of tyre firms out there that do tracking/alignment, but I though the best place to go, would be a main dealer. Booked/took my car to my very local BMW Tunbridge Wells. They did a review of the car (so see if anything else was wrong/needed!!), Came back with a clean bill of health, they said steering was fine too and therefore there was no charge. I first thought was wow this is an honest and professional outfit, how wrong was I!!. I opted for there free car wash, after a few days with my car having gone nowhere, my partner and I were about to go away for the weekend, when I noticed the whole car had scratches all over it, clearly from grit or a stone in a cloth. I wash my car by hand, so I know every inch of it! and these were certainly not there beforehand. I rang BMW to complain, but no one returned my call, so I drove it back to the dealership to complain. After a heated debate in their car park with the service manager, he agreed to have a word with the valet to get the scratches out. When dropping the car off, I was told that the service manager would call me to update me on progress. He did not call, I had to enquire myself on how it went and when I could pick the car up. They had the car all day. It was a complete waste of time. If you want your pride a joy all scratch up, this is the place to go!!

Avoid, avoid at ALL cost!!
Took car in for service Dec 6 at a cost of £602. Ardent Tunbridge Wells broke the oil compartment and now wants an extra £700 labour costs to fix it after BMW gave them the component they broke for free!
They still have my car and can’t take it elsewhere as it’s not drivable without the oil component. Extortionists to say the least.
Small claims court is the only choice left as ombudsman takes 8 weeks to resolve and I’m without a car.
Ridiculous

Awful, I would recommend BMW but certainly not that branch. I dropped my car there as requested at 8am and wandered around walking to town as I had the day off, its a long walk, I then walked almost all the way back a good few miles and I got a call to say my car would not be ready, it was now 15.50, as they has even started it! appalling it was a recall from BMW that they were doing. I had to then return and pick my car up another day. When I arrived my car was outside unlocked! baring in mind I had stuff in the car. The receptionist was incompetent and a simple job of getting my car back was drawn out. And they did not give me a courtesy car they said they do not offer that? However I saw someone else had a courtesy car....bare in mind this was also a recall, that put me out ALOT. NO STARS

Very poor service. They are quite happy to let the customer sit for two hours whilst servicing their vehicle. Offering no courtesy car and offering now collect and drop off service. I suspect the ownership is looking to put profit over customer service! These main dealers are a licence to print money but still happy to inconvenience the customer.

13 hours ago
NEW
Today i had taken my car in for an end off warranty check what a waste off time apparently nothing is covered by the warranty ( what a surprise) not even leaking seals according to this delaship it's normal for the inside off your car to get wet when it rains! Apparently it's normal for paint to flake off you trim?
End off warranty check what a joke they did not even take the car out for a drive so it was not fully checked it was only in there for about 40 minutes so not sure how you can class it as a check!
Be warned they will sell you a car but don't expect them to fix it if it breaks!

Only given one star as cannot do none. Worst service I have been given : my car went in for repair and as I had already booked a mot they said they would do at same time . Telephoned Thursday to advise all done and I can pick up car; when I got there handed me the key and when I actually questioned them they suddenly realised it had failed it’s mot due to a faulty tire. It’s a motability car so they were going to let me walk out with a car with no mot and a faulty tyre with a disabled child. I could have been driving around with no idea it was unsafe !!! They then let me leave ; illegally I drove home to be advised by notability that the car actually has 3bad tires and if the police had stopped I would have got 3points for eachbtyre plus £1000 fine : legally
they should not have let me drive that car away ; don’t use them they are complete cowboys

I bought a brand new £22K R1250RT motorbike in Sept 2021 and recently had the annual service done. I asked for the software to be updated as the inbuilt satnav has been dropping off the phone, a problem suffered and widely reported by most riders.
It is also common knowledge from the BMW forums on social media, that a software update fixes this issue in majority of cases.
Arden Motorrad Tunbridge Wells refused to do the update, said they would need to charge me and that it would likely damage other parts (they named the SOS system as an example) and I would need to pay to fix these, said it would take all day.
I took this up with BMW UK who just contacted Arden Tunbridge Wells and relayed the same message.
Other riders report their Motorrad dealer (e.g. Suffolk, Chester) doing it for free and it working without damage. A dealer network be it in cars or tractors or machinery, should have the same behaviours which should be reinforced by the management, or face losing their franchise.
I have since contacted BMW Germany who have passed it onto BMW UK, back where I started.
Unbelievable.

UPDATE
I've seen your reply (1530) asking me to email you directly, you are fully aware of who I am and my contact details as you have been in dialogue with BMW Motorrad UK already re-iterating your position on the damage potential, it taking all day and me having to pay. The whole reason I have taken to trustpilot is to try and ellicit a different response through the use of a public forum.

I bought my S1000XR second-hand from Coopers at T/Wells on 24/08/2018, and it was serviced by them prior to handover with a mileage of 3,502.

The Servicing schedule thus far is detailed below:
Coopers – T/Wells 02/08/19 - 5,390 miles
Coopers – T/Wells 27/07/20 – 6,762 miles
Arden – T/Wells 05/10/21 – 7,739 miles

I have just had the bike serviced again on 28/09/2022at 8,593 miles at a local bike repair shop.

The reason for taking my bike to a different service agent was purely one of convenience, on this occasion, as I have always been happy with the service that I have received at BMW T/Wells.

However, I am very concerned at what was discovered during my recent service.

The rear brake caliper was not releasing properly and this was evident as soon as the mechanic spun the back wheel. There was also a similar issue with the front brake.

I was blissfully unaware of these issues, as I am not that mechanically minded, and that is why I leave all of my servicing needs to the "professionals".

My service bill was inflated by an extra 2 man hours due to the time it took to disassemble the brakes so that the problem could be fixed without having to resort to buying new calipers etc.

It was reported that there was absolutely no sign of any grease or copper slip and that is why the units had rusted up, thereby causing the problems.

I am told that it is fortunate that I had not been on any long trips whereby the brakes could have over-heated and possibly failed or at least not have been so effective in an emergency situation, or heavy braking from speed.

I have photographs that show that the extent of the corrosion was the result of neglect in the servicing for some time.

Now I know that Coopers are also responsible for this state of affairs and that Arden has only performed the service in 2021 but I would have expected them to have noticed the poor servicing of my bike and corrected it on that service.

However, and I quote from their Director "I do disagree with your accusation that Arden should have picked the issue up on a routine service". I thought that checking the brakes on a bike is part of a service as they are rather important on a 160 BHP bike.

Anyway, my complaint has fallen on deaf ears and no responsibility has been accepted so I will vote with my feet and have my BMW car and bike serviced elsewhere and will not purchase Car or Bike from them in future.

I have had a response from Arden which can be seen below. The service they performed included changing the brake fluid for front and rear brake so I would have thought that they should have seen the problem then. The rust on the front caliper was so encrusted that it would have been evident to the trained eye as it had built up over a number of years. The box has been clearly ticked with regard to a visual check of the calipers. Sorry but no defense for this omission.

How I wish I could take away 3/4th of that single star that I am so reluctantly putting up for this messed up set up they call Arden-BMW...

Avoid this Service Centre if you don't want to be conned !

Most unprofessional, misleading, disappointing and dishonest BMW service centre experience ever.

My 7-seater car was booked in for just a 1 day job involving a BMW part recall inspection + recalled part replacement.
This booking was made a month in advance.

In lieu of my car, I was given a tiny four seater 'courtesy (replacement) car' from Enterprise car rental; rental cost of which was to be borne by Arden-BMW Tunbridge Wells.

My car's recall related parts replacement job (which initially was to be completed within a day's time was finally completed after 9 days as the replacement part was not in stock and supposedly coming in all the way from Germany, I was told) with no prior intimation or communication to me for first 4-5 days of taking my car in (while all my desperate calls to contact Arden-BMW were only ending up in their voicemail which were never returned)!

The most disgusting part of this whole ordeal was that despite of the complete job completion related delays being caused purely by Arden-BMW's inefficiency and poor planning (on part availability delays even though they had 1 month lead time to plan on these parts availability from the time of my service booking) and for no fault of mine - and inspite of me telling them clearly that I should not be expected to pay for the Enterprise rental car for delays caused by them; Arden-BMW Tunbridge Wells had the audacity of 'authorising' Enterprise car rental company to charge my card with replacement car's rental for the entire duration of the delay that Arden-BMW had caused and that too without any prior communication to Or an agreement with me!

Would it be unfair to call these Arden-BMW, Tunbridge Wells guys a bunch of cheats? I wonder...

Have never seen a setup being run so unethically and in most unprofessional manner...

Take my advise - Steer clear off them at all costs!!!
Strongly NOT Recommended!

car given for a day job on Friday, no one called back and we kept calling and promises made someone will call back. Called on weekend. Eventually told no one in service department and we will get a call Monday. No one called on Monday and we called few times. Then we decided to to go to the BMW face to face only to be told job has been done but no reason given when this was done and why so much delay. Very poor

I purchased my x5 Jun 21 and after I purchased it the front seat drivers plastic surround broke. I also noticed that the leather seat at the side was cracked. I booked this in and it was fixed and the cracks repaired. This did not last and when I brought the car under warranty back to fix a coolant leak the service department stated because it was repaired its not covered. I challenged this as it was repaired before. No answer from Arden and keep on getting the I will speak to the manager and get back to you. Untrustworthy. No customer service. Please avoid.

Had my car serviced last week, a very good experience. I turned up early and my car was done within an hour and a half. This is not my closest BMW dealer, but my dealer of choice.
Steve the Service advisor was very good and Ed in the parts department was also great.

So, you may not be interested in a trade-in against one of your motorcycles advertised on the national Motorrad site, but a courtesy response costs nothing and could have led to an alternative sale. I am no stranger to the brand, my 6th BMW car is on order and I'm currently enjoying my 2nd BMW motorcycle. I will be now looking elsewhere for my next bike.

Cherished BMW held hostage by ARDEN BMW after BMW recall work and MOT took SIX month to complete!

Our cherished BMW K1200s (sports bike which is no longer available new) has been in the family since it was first produced in 2005. It has always been garaged in a heated garage is all original and has only covered 6k careful summer miles!

Being the only BMW franchise dealership in Kent, who has always looked after it in the past IT WAS RECENTLY TAKEN OVER BY ARDEN!

In April 2021, when we wanted to get it ready for the SUMMER 2021 season I discovered she was a none starter.

I phoned up Arden who told me they have a pickup and delivery service. I was over the moon falsely believing our beloved bike to be in good hands. Arden agreed to pick up and return the bike, service and MOT the bike as well as sorting out accumulated recalls (one being a fuel pump BMW recall, believed to be the reason for the starting issues).

They picked up the bike in April, with the service and MOT scheduled that same week.

After SEVERAL weeks of silence I unsuccessfully tried to contact anyone of the service team, I was only able to leave messages with the front desk. Assuring me of a same day recall which never happened!

Eventually I was contacted by an apologetic service manager (I think) who asked me to be patient stating COVID related staffing issues as the reason for the delay. I told him not to worry, explaining that quality rather than speed being more important to us, being our cherished BMW. He telling me not worry, and that she was in good hands and they would be looking after her!

After several more month of infrequent communication we have had enough and decided to sell the bike, having found a buyer. We simply didn’t want to have to deal any longer with the ONLY BMW FRANCHISE DEALER IN THE VERY SOUTHEAST OF ENGLAND (Kent)!

I relaid this information to Arden in June/July 2021 stressing the need to expedite the work and MOT in a timely fashion!

It goes without saying that no action was taken!

The bike’s MOT was FINALLY done in the later part of OCTOBER!?!???

We have lost the buyer, our lovely as new condition SUMMER ONLY bike is now ready for the WINTER?

To add insult to injury Arden BMW is now refusing to return the bike to us as PROMISED. The ARDEN representative stated: RETURN BY US IS “NO LONGER VIABLE”! NO LONGER VIABLE?
After pressing them for an answer he stated that they now save themselves the expense of a van and driver!

THIS IS ALSO A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE LACK OF INTEREST SHOWN BY BMW UNITED KINGDOM!

Yes, BMW UK themselves state that they WILL NOT take any action to remedy the situation! They state not to have any responsibility or influence on the “DECISION MAKING PROCESS OF THEIR FRANCHISE DEALERSHIPS! BMW Customer NONE Service washes their hands of the whole thing! Various different BMW Customer NONE Service consultants state ALL the reasons ANY one of them can think of to NOT deal with the complaint! From being “out of warranty” to “It’s my colleagues case!”

All very, very disappointing as the bike was with BMW Arden Tunbridge in the first place to have more than 12 official BMW (safety) recalls sorted. Work BMW UK had written to us for the work to be carried out and paid for by BMW UK at one of THEIR BMW FRANCHISE DEALERS!

But STILL “BMW STATES TO BE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR BMW FRANCHISE DEALERS!”

Still after more than 6 month, loosing the SUMMER season we are STILL without the bike! No help from BMW UK or BMW Arden I will have to at least road tax and road insure the bike for a day (the bike will otherwise be SORN AS USUAL for the winter month)!

In spring I will have to get the bike hundreds of miles away (round trip) to the next nearest BMW franchise dealer in order to get the bike summer season ready and to sell. I would not choose to have a fresh service and MOT done FOR THE WINTER MONTH when the bike is SORN! Whatever cheeky Arden is going to charge me will be undoubtedly TOO much!

What about compensation for being without our beloved BMW for a lost summer season!