Group 1 Automotive UK Reviews 

Problems start to finish with Mercedes Bury St Edmunds. When spending so much money on a new car you expect a good level of service. This has been the most frustrating purchase of my life and I’ve felt more valued as a customer shopping in Lidl than here.

Evening Harry,

Further to our conversations this evening.

To confirm, I have discovered today, the above car which we purchased from Group 1 Volkswagen Norwich, on Friday 5 June 2026 has been misrepresented by either Fraudulent Misrepresentation and or Negligent Misrepresentation under
Misrepresentation Act 1967.

A false statement of fact was made by or on behalf of Group 1 Volkswagen Norwich by VW UK. The statement was made before or at the time the contract was formed, we relied upon this statement when deciding whether to enter into the purchase. The false advertisement statement made by VW UK was the vehicle had "2-zone climate control”, which it does not. For convenience the false statement is copied below.

When we first made contact with you it was regarding a new 2026 grey T-Roc. You emailed back informing that vehicle was sold but the above vehicles was available, no specification for the above car was supplied. We assumed as a Life model of the new 2026 VW T-Roc, it would come with the equipment as advertised by VW UK. We purchased it on the understanding that it was a Life model with the level of equipment shown in the attached VW UK advertisement upon which we relied. We have been deceived either fraudulently or negligently by the material misrepresentation into purchasing a car which does not have the level of equipment as expressly and clearly advertised.

We therefore seek to rescind the contract and return the vehicle under the terms of the above act. We seek a full return of our money along with compensation for our loss and inconvenience.

If this is not agreed by 12pm tomorrow Wednesday 10 June 2026, we will report the matter to Trading Standards, submit a section 75 claim on the credit card payment and make a claim for full restitution through the civil courts.
Morning Harry,

Further to my email below of yesterday evening.

For clarity, what I require to remedy the proven deception which I am the victim of is;

1, Acceptance of the return of the above vehicle, a full refund of money paid, return of my previous vehicle WV70LJU and £500 compensation for my loss and inconvenience.

Alternatively:

2, Acceptance of return of the above vehicle and the supply of a new, previously unregistered 2026 model VW T-Roc Life, with specification as set out in the VW advertisement supply.

I am a fully paid member of Which, who I will be contacting today for their assistance if suitable resolution is not agreed.

Additionally, to warn and prevent others becoming victims of the deception, I will make contact with Norwich local newspapers and other media outlets to publicise the practiced deception.

This is a simple straightforward case of misrepresentation. I have no desire to go into battle and would very much like that your company accept one of the above methods of resolution. If they do not, I will have no hesitation in invoking the full force of the law, as set out below, to bring justice and be restored to the position I should have been in. I will be a witness for Trading Standards in any prosecution which they may bring for the deception.

Respectfully, it is for your company and VW UK to resolve who foots the bill for this practiced deception.



Do not trust this dealership

*** update*** the complaints haven’t even attempted to contact me and despite the reply from the company to email them they haven’t even bothered to reply despite sending proof of the quote etc.

On star is too much.

Car booked in at Colchester vw for an aircon service they knew the car the gas etc get there and get told actually the price is incorrect and it’s triple.

No where when booking it did it say prices may be different for my car as when I put the reg in it increased the price anyway which is absolutely fine I budgeted for that to then triple the price

What an absolute bunch of jokers, bought an ex-demonstrator van, garage manager very arrogant, cocked the finance figures up then denied it even though his sales advisor was a witness and backed me up, no apology.
Van was collected but had parts missing, I ordered roof rails which were delivered for the wrong van, 5 weeks on I'm still waiting for correct parts that they are refusing to deliver as I live 50 miles away and they don't have a delivery driver!
I suggested that they send via a courier (approx £15) manager refuses to do this.
absolutely shocking service start to finish, would never use them again.

LAND ROVER PRESTON ( FORMALLY GROUP 1 AUTOS ) SELLING VEHICLES UNDER FALSE PRETENCE TELLING COUSTOMERS VEHICLE GOT FSH. WHERE THEY DONT HAVE. RAISED A COMPLAINT HEAD OF SALES REMI WALKER RELUCTANT TO REPLY BACK. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DESLSHIP. CURRENTLY OPERATED BY HATFIELD AUTOS. RECENTLY SALES MANAGER GOT ARRESTED ON A ANOTHER BMW DEALERSHIP DUE TO FRAUD. NOWDAYS BUNCH OF CROOKS WORKING FOR THESE DEALERSHIPS SPECIALLY GROUP1. Vehicle purchase on 04/12/2025

12/06/2026 I SEND MY CONTSCT DETAILS NO ONE BOTHERED TO GIVE ME A CALL. COWBOY DEALERSHIP JLR PRESTON

I have just had the third year service on my R1250RT and was looked after superbly by Dan and the rest of the team at Brighton Motorrad. Highly recommeded.

We had the perfect car buying experience using the Group 1 Ford Wokingham dealership. It's the first time I've bought a car, and had originally gone to look at cars at BIg Motoring World, but there were just too many red flags that made us feel uncomfortable using them for such an expensive purchase.

We dealt with Jonathan Knowles, who was so polite, friendly, knowledgeable and trustworthy. We both felt totally at ease throughout and completely confident we were buying the car from the right place. If you're looking to buy a Ford, you don't need to go anywhere else.

Thank you!

I started taking my 3-series to Group 1 in Cambourne despite it being less convenient than Bedford at the time because the Bedford reception was staffed by the rudest individual I had ever spoken with as a prospective customer. Cambourne did a fair job on an MoT and a service last year and the staff were, until now, helpful and polite.

When my diff sprung a leak over the weekend, they were naturally my first port of call. I was advised the diagnostic was complimentary, but that I'd have a wait on my hands - which was fair enough since it was on the day, so I bagged up my work gear and some lunch and headed over.

To my surprise, upon arrival I was told the diagnostic was £200 and they were fully booked. Now, this is a company vehicle and if I'd been told that from the outset I'd have taken it on the chin and gone anyway. However, since I was lied to and had nigh on two hours of my time wasted, I walked - and I won't be back.

Not only have they lost any work on my current vehicle, but they won't be getting the sale for its replacement, or any work on that car either.

Between that and getting the car booked in elsewhere, my morning is a write-off, so another ten minutes leaving an honest review or two doesn't make much difference.

Fast to book in. Work carried out in the time I was quoted. In and out in 1 hour. Impressive

My partner brought a used Ford ecosport on 24/02/2025 with Platinum Plus Warranty for roughly £12,000 from Group 1 Farnborough.

Shortly after buying the car, the window washer broke. I got the window washer repaired and then when I turned on the air con for the first time, the air con never worked.
As the car was purchased in Feb 2025 and did not turn the air con on until it was hot, which was around June 2025. I had no reason to use the air con prior to this as I would only use the air con when the weather was very warm.

I informed Group 1 and was told the repair could be covered under the Platinum Plus warranty that I took out when buying the car, however they could not guarantee this and was told if it was not covered under the warranty I would have to pay £340 to just have the broken parts put back in the car, so I declined to have it fixed.

On 28th October 2025 the car had its MOT and to get the car to pass its MOT I had to pay £960 for urgent repairs.

When I began communicating with Group 1 regarding all these issues, they informed me it was just wear and tear. However, I had only had the car for 8 months and only driven the car for around 4000 miles (at the time of the MOT). None of the repairs were covered under the Platinum Plus warranty.

During my communications with Group 1, I again informed them that the air con was still not working. Eventually they said they would NOT charge me the £340 to check the air con and would replace the air con if it was covered under the platinum warranty. However, the parts needed to repair the air con are not covered under the warranty and would cost me over £900 to repair.

The last email I had about the broken air con from Group 1 was they would only deduct £200 of the repair for the air con, this was in December 2025.

After this I decided to contact the Motor Ombudsman to see if they could help get the air con fixed for me. After their investigation they came back and said there was not enough evidence to suggest the car was sold with the air con broken. So, as of 8th June 2026 I still don't have the air-con working.

So, my advice would be is be very cautious when buying a car from Group 1, especially from the Farnborough branch.

This review was wrote on behalf of my partner, Emma.

Brian.

Excellent service from salesman Duncan at Group 1 in Reading. Very helpful, knowledgeable and quick to respond to queries. Bought my last two cars from him and felt his price offers for buying and trading in were very fair compared to other BMW dealers I approached.
Only complaint is the service department could do with improvement when I used them a year or so ago, I had to complain to their new manager to get things put right. And getting through to them on the phone was impossible. But they were making staff changes at the time so things may have improved since then.

Any one looking for a car would recommend having a look at Kia cars. They are good to drive and the dealers have their own repariers on site to help with any problems you might have

I always buy my cars from Group 1 Coulsdon and I always deal with the same sales adviser (Zeeshan) he knows what I want everytime and is so easy to talk to. His manager Ollie is exactly the same. And their car service department and reception are excellent as well. I would 100% recommend

Having purchased a car in March 2026 I’ve had nothing but hassle trying to get a small issue resolved & unable to get contact. Now 3 months & still not resolved, escalated complaint & still nothing , unfortunately this a very poor service for a nearly new car which cost £35k . Thanks for the reply although I have previously filled in that link without response & filled it out for the 2nd time so hopefully it can be resolved.

Purchased a car for £16k. Had an issue within a few months. Repaired at their request by a garage which they paid out for. Same issue crops up again which garage says is part of wider issue and deems the car dangerous to drive. I utilise option to reject, they decline due to some weak reasoning. So court it is! AVOID unless you too want to risk wasting money on an unreliable and dangerous car.

Very helpful and efficient

It's not a big thing I know, but called Group One BMW in Reading earlier today asking if they could fit a new set of number plates. They said I didn't need an appointment and I could just drop in. So I did and introduced myself to Daniel Knight on the Service Reception desk. Within 30 minutes and after a couple of coffees, Daniel returned to say the car was ready and there was no charge. As I say, I know fitting a couple of number plates is hardly a free service, but in this day and age such customer service and Daniel's professionalism is a refreshing change from the norm. I just had to say. I'll be back...Thank you Daniel and Group One BMW Reading.

The staff at Cambridge branch are really arrogant. I have been chasing service team since the last week. They don’t respond to emails and not come to attend the calls

So having been a car technician for 35 years I rather reluctantly took my lovely car in for a major service today, and rather sceptical, marked all the filters before submitting my vehicle to their care. I have not used another garage since 2003 so was a little anxious about it. Now upon its return it seems i am vindicated in doing and being so. So far:
1) oil level below maximum
2) screenwash not topped up
3) hybrid battery air filter not changed despite being charged for it!!!
Absolutely livid. Lookout Group 1 Toyota in the morning.......