Cowleymotors Reviews 5

I’m a new driver and a mum to a 3-year-old. My partner and I bought a 2005 Honda Jazz from this garage, hoping to have something small and safe while I build my confidence driving. I wasn’t expecting perfection — just a car that runs safely on the road.

After only six days, the engine light came on. My partner used it to take our daughter to school, and while driving, the exhaust suddenly fell off. I was shocked and terrified thinking what could’ve happened if my little girl had been in the car at that moment.

The garage told us the MOT was done just days before we collected it, but how could that be true when the car was already juddering, the exhaust fell off, and even a wheel stud was spinning? It’s clear the car was not safe or roadworthy.

I returned the car, but up to now, I haven’t received my refund. The garage has the car and my money, and they’ve completely stopped answering calls and messages.

This whole experience has been so stressful and heartbreaking — as a new driver and a mum, I just wanted a safe, reliable car for my family. Instead, I was sold a dangerous one and left with nothing but worry and frustration.

Please be careful before buying from this garage. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I’ve been through.

Terrible experience, do not buy from this seller!

I bought a car from Cowley Motors Bradford for £4,500 and I regret it deeply. The car broke down on the motorway on my way home and I was stranded for hours. I tried to contact the seller multiple times, but they never answered my calls or returned my messages. I decided to go back to the place where I bought the car, but they had disappeared. There was no sign of them or their business. I felt cheated and scammed.

I think they targeted me because I am white and they thought I was an easy prey. They probably sold me a faulty car on purpose and then ran away with my money. This is a clear case of fraud and racism. I have reported them to the police and the trading standards, but I doubt I will ever get my money back or see justice done.

To make matters worse, I had to spend another £1,000 to get the car fixed by a mechanic. The car had several problems, such as a faulty engine, a broken gearbox, and a cracked windshield. The seller had lied to me about the condition and history of the car. They had sold me a lemon that was not worth a penny.

Do not make the same mistake as I did. Avoid this seller at all costs. They are dishonest and unprofessional. They will rip you off and leave you with a useless piece of junk. They are the worst car dealer I have ever dealt with.

My mother got a car from them and they totally ripped her off, the car broke after over a month having the car and then when they rang up to see if they could take it back to the garage they said that my parents can’t take it to the garage because they have had the car for over a month!!!! They are con-artists would not recommend buying cars from them!

I put my daughter's car in for a service and MOT. It had already been thoroughly checked by my brother in law who is an AA mechanic, so I knew it was fine. It was booked in for 9.am. I had to keep ringing only to be given excuse after axcuse as to why it had not been MOT'd, and was not ready. Finally at 4.45 the same day we went down only to be told that it had failed on a list of different things. We were charged for a full service as well as the MOT fee. I spoke to my brother in law about it and he said that this garage are not to be used again as the car should have passed its MOT and that apart from changing the oil the garage had done nothing else to warrant a charge for a full service. We took this car to another garage and it passed the MOT.

We have used Cowley Motors for our MOT’s for the last couple of years, so I felt confident in asking them to undertake some of the advisory work on my son’s and daughter’s cars.
Our daughter’s car was dropped off at Cowley Motors for a new sump, 4 budget tyres and a service. We were given a cash price of £300.00 and the work was completed within a couple of weeks. Our daughter, a student, had saved the money to pay for the repairs herself.
Our son’s car was then taken to Cowley Motors. There was a problem with the car, in that something kept draining the battery. Despite installing a new battery and glow plugs ourselves, the problem persisted so we decided to take it to the garage. The car was able to be jump started and would run for a couple of days before the battery would die again.
Over the next ten weeks, we contacted Cowley Motors on several occasions to ask how the car was coming along. We were given every excuse going, first it was the injector, then an electrical mechanic was coming to see it, then the wrong parts had been delivered. After around six weeks of them having the car, we were told it was the ECU unit and quoted £450.00 for a reconditioned ECU and to have the car coded.
Again, we would periodically enquire as to the status of the car. Our son was eager to resume learning to drive in the car and had saved the money requested by Cowley Motors to fix it. However, after ten weeks it was clear that they either could not or would not fix the car so we arranged to collect it and asked if they would ensure that the battery was charged so that we could at least get it home.
On arriving at Cowley Motors, the car was completely dead. Seals on the bonnet had been removed and the engine cover was missing. It was clear that someone had looked at the injectors, as a number of the plastic casings had been removed and just left on top of the wiper blades. The car had obviously been moved several times, but the engine bay had been left unsealed, without the engine cover over the three coldest and wettest months of the year.
Despite trying the garage’s jump pack and a set of jump leads attached to our own car, the car would not start. The owner brought out a diagnostics machine and spent five minutes talking to another colleague before informing us that the car was “goosed” and offered to have it towed back to our house later that day (Monday).
Now I do not profess to know anything about cars, but if we could start and drive the car when we dropped it off, staff at the garage had managed to move it, at least a couple of times then how do I know if the car deteriorated due to their negligence?
The car did not arrive on the Monday – instead, we were asked if we wanted to have it scrapped from the garage – we did not! Eventually the car was returned to us on Wednesday, minus the engine cover and despite repeated requests, they cannot find it – apparently it has been taken by the bin men!!!
Feeling dejected by the service we had received, we thought we had better check the work on our daughter’s car too. Yes, there are four budget tyres and the car has a new oil filter and new oil in it. However, the new sump is the old one – it has been “bodged” with filler and the air filter and plugs are certainly not new.
I have wrestled with my own conscience as to whether to write this review or not as a family member works at this garage. However, if this is how they choose to treat relatives of their staff, I dread to think of how other customers are treated. I am afraid Cowley Motors have lost any repeat business, as well as yearly MOT’s from our family in the future and I would suggest that they look at their own internal procedures to ensure that people get the work they pay for and also start to display a duty of care to the vehicles of their customers.
I have photos of my daughter’s car which show the sump and the air filter and plugs have not be replaced, as well as photo’s of how my son’s car was returned to us and am happy to share them with Trustpilot at any time.