Great bits: initial call to book appointment, communication, understanding and enthusiasm from sales person (Bilal), good range of vehicles, efficient service for part exchange and lovely purchase.... See more
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Established in Somerset in 2003, Carbase has grown into the South West’s largest independent used car and van supermarket. Proudly named Used Car Supermarket of the Year, we’re committed to providing an exceptional experience for every customer. With multiple locations in the South West, we offer thousands of RAC Approved vehicles, from compact hatchbacks and family SUVs to reliable vans, ensuring there’s something for everyone. In 2024, we celebrated the incredible milestone of over 100K customers now driving a Carbase car or van. Our dedication to quality and customer satisfaction is reflected in our Rated Excellent status for customer service and our Great Place to Work certification, a recognition of our fantastic team. Alongside our vehicle range, we offer expert servicing, MOTs, and repairs at our Auto Centres, ensuring your car or van stays in top condition. Visit us to explore our extensive stock and enjoy a seamless buying experience.
Netham Road, BS5 9PJ, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Overall a good experience ,good customer service friendly staff

Reply from Carbase

Reply from Carbase
My car broke down just outside Weston Super Mare and I asked the RAC to tow my to Carbase ( car was bought from them with a warranty). Emily Preston at the service desk was so helpful and went out of her way to comfort me and help me get it sorted. Initially it was going to take a bit of time to get sorted ( again further panic for me about work) but she went over and above and 3 days later it was sorted and back on the road. Emily ( an angel in disgust) can thank you enough. Hope you all enjoyed the biscuits. Would highly recommend carbase

Reply from Carbase
John ( sales) Owen ( finance) both brilliant, without being pushy.

Reply from Carbase
Purchasing and follow up of the purchase and service of the present vehicle has been stress free

Reply from Carbase
This was the second car I purchased from Carbase and both cars have been absolutely awful. The first was a 3 year old Mercedes and faults found after 2 weeks, spent 6 months taking it back and forth with no issues being resolved, so just got rid of it he car.
Had a few years break and last September bought another car advertised as ready to go, bought on line and when collecting from Bristol the car was absolutely filthy inside and out, I was going to walk away but was convinced to wait an hour for a quick clean, I should have walked away as within 2 days the car was faulty shaking terribly on the motorway and it took 3 months of chasing to get it looked at, in the meantime i took it to an independent dealer to have the wheels refurbished as scratched and they informed me the car had been hard damaged to the front end pushing it out of line, this wasn’t acceptable to car base who would not acknowledge this and 7 months later still have a faulty car, I will be getting rid of this one too and never step foot in Carbase ever again.
The cars must just be bought and sold quickly and wait for complaints!!

Reply from Carbase
Joe was a great help, super friendly and walked me through all the steps to buying the car
Tim was also great going through all the financials of it as well

Reply from Carbase
Viewing the car and the test drive were good. The hard sell for the extended warranty and other insurances less so. I should have expected this and been prepared to say no, but I wasn't, and was talked into spending a lot of money on insurances I don't really need.

Reply from Carbase
We purchased a vehicle from Carbase in January 2026. Unfortunately, within a few weeks, the vehicle developed faults that were not discovered at the time of selling.
The company immediately offered to repair the vehicle but unfortunately the faults proved lengthy to fix so an alternative vehicle was offered. Tony Radnedge was able to provide us with a suitable vehicle and get us quickly on the road again with little fuss.

Reply from Carbase
Matt at carbase Bristol was very thorough and helpful in sorting me with a new car.
The whole process took a little longer than I anticipated as there was a bit of a wait in trying to sort payment, but the shop was incredibly busy as it was a Saturday so perhaps this is to be expected/ factored in when you visit.
On the whole it was a positive experience.

Reply from Carbase
Dimitrios was Extremely helpful and the process was easy and straight forward. Second car ive have purchased from here (last one still going strong after 10 years)

Reply from Carbase
What a truly awful car sales organisation would give no stars if I could, bad experience started when I enquired about a blue hyundai santa fe in early January, was tod it was in prep and would be onsite in a couple of weeks its now March and the caris still in prep what does that tell you??
3 weeks ago I paid a holding deposit on a silver kia sorento and arranged a test drive car was for my wife and she was bombarded with calls. At 4pm the day before the test drive Jason rang to confirm we were coming the next morning then on the morning of the test drive when we had left home he rang to say he couldnt find the car and said its probably still in prep. Alarm bells rang and we cancelled our deposit. What is wrong with cars that they take months to prep?? Would never go near Carbase again.

Reply from Carbase
Purchased car so far so good, its the WARRANTY bit that need legality’s put in place, I declined, then comes the hard sell, pretending to talk to his manager, coming back with reduced price, I am 69 year old pensioner, I had been there almost 3 hours, tired just wanted to get out with my new car, oh no manager Andrew NOT excepting my ‘NO’ continuing with the hard sell, stupidly I did eventually break and agree, signed nothing however signature not required, on arriving home the very same day I messaged Dimitrios car salesman (lovely man) saying I would like to cancel warranty as costing over £1,000 which I could not afford, after my request being ignored, also contacting RAC who were helpful but advised it’s at Carbase Managers discretion if refund provided, ignored on contacting Manager Andrew several times, eventually it transpires Warranty has NO cooling off period, the law is an Ass, had I purchased warranty offsite, there is a cooling off period, because I purchased ‘ONSITE’ there is NO COOLING OFF PERIOD, don’t be badgered, if you don’t want it, stand your ground !
Be prepared for the hard sell, pick you keys and run out that door and don’t look back.
Strangely enough option to leave review on Carbase website is no longer valid, there’s a surprise, enjoy
On seeing response below, I contacted Carbase many times, by phone, by email, by text, I also contacted RAC who tried to help, but ultimately it was Managers decision, Managers response was to say read your ‘terms & conditions’ regarding warranty.
When I purchased my car I left with zero paperwork, terms and conditions emailed to approx 10 days after I requested cancellation, this can be proven, T&C’s only sent then as a tickbox exercise.
I have also contacted complaints 7 weeks ago several times and still no reply

Reply from Carbase
The sales person, Danny, was very welcoming, knowledgable and supportive throughout the process of purchasing a new car. Great explanation of options and no pressure selling, just what you want when buying a car. Highly recommended.

Reply from Carbase
Friendly staff, good choice of vehicles and good after care support.

Reply from Carbase
From reservation to getting my car was a smooth process. Things got done in time and as expected
Joe was handy all step of the way
Vida from Newport

Reply from Carbase
I cannot stress enough how terrible my experience with Carbase Bristol has been. From the moment I drove my car off the lot, it has been riddled with problems, and their “aftersales service” has been non-existent!
Within the first 48hrs of owning the car, I have encountered multiple serious issues:
- Both front tyres were unsafe due to the axle not being straight, the tyres needed immediate replacement and axel needed straightening
- The car is covered in scratches and dents – not disclosed at purchase
- The key fobs arrived with dead batteries
- The windscreen was defective at purchase and I was assured it was sealed – this was not the case and legally shouldn’t have been driven – it has been booked in to be replaced
- Most alarmingly, the car (seatbelts and floor of boot) were covered in mould – posing serious health risks. Carbase told me it was normal during winter for the interior of cars to be mouldy!!
On top of this, I was forced to pay for a warranty I explicitly did NOT want, which feels completely unethical (other google reviews say the same about being forced to buy this warranty). Every time I tried to raise these issues, Carbase Bristol’s staff have been dismissive, slow to respond and unwilling to take responsibility for the issues. There has been zero accountability or real support.
The have also refused to reimburse the £874.75 that I have had to fork out to rectify issues that should have been sorted during the cars “extensive RAC checks and Valet”. This dealership puts profit above customer safety and satisfaction. Buying from them has been stressful, expensive and unsafe.
Avoid Carbase Bristol at all costs – this is NOT a dealership you can trust.

Reply from Carbase
John was fantastic! He was super informative and took the time to answer all of my questions, even the ones about owning the car after the purchase. I really appreciated his patience and thoroughness throughout the process. Highly recommend!

Reply from Carbase
No pushy salesman, from reserving the car to purchase.

Reply from Carbase
The care of the customer is evidently a priority.
After a few admin errors, the staff all supported me to ensure my car purchase happened.
The staff are calm and polite with great communication. You feel you have undivided attention at your appointment to ask questions.
Neil dealt with my purchase from start to finish and he was great, couldn’t have asked for better.
When I got home and opened the boot they had put an umbrella and hold-all in, a very nice touch.
Thank you all at carbase Western

Reply from Carbase
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