Stratstone - BMW Derby Reviews 

Where do I start?

I first visited Stratstone on Friday 27 June to view a BMW 1 series I had had my eye on for a little while and seemed very well priced for the age and mileage. First of all, viewing the cars on the Stratstone site isn't easy because the cars were all dirty so trying view paintwork in some detail isn't easy.

The car interested me although the spec wasn't quite what I wanted but then here came the hard sales..!! They offered to give the car a full ceramic treatment and apply tints to the rear windows all within the price so I decided to go with the deal - this is a main BMW dealership of course I have confidence..!!

The car collection three days later was one of the most underwhelming experiences of my life. After arriving at the scheduled time we were then left to wait for 50 mins before somebody finally dealt with us. After completing the paperwork the car was then 'unveiled' to show a car that had literally been washed, no more - the interior was filthy and there had been no ceramic treatment..!!

I drove the car around the corner to the supermarket car park next door to have a proper look and then the fun really started. Sold with 12,200 miles on the clock (and on the invoice) the car had actually done 14,327 miles - so I had been mis-sold a car, which I pointed out the very next day when my list of other issues had escalated.

Don't assume that buying from a dealership brings with it better checks because it doesn't. Along with the mileage issue I also discovered that parts of the car had been oversprayed - generally to a good standard but nonetheless not pointed out to me pre-sale. The car's previous owner had also been a smoker and now that the car was back in use these smells suddenly became very apparent inside the car. Two weeks later the car went back to Stratstone (20 miles away for me) to have the ceramic treatment applied, the tints done and the car was de-odourised to get rid of the smoke smell.

In terms of the mileage Stratstone offered me compensation in the form of a couple of service options going forward - neither of which appealed given my experience to this point. We settled on a small amount of cash although I increasingly wish I had just returned the car for a full refund.

I now have my car in with an independent (trustworthy) valeting company because (surprise, surprise) the smoke smell has returned. I am assured by the valeting company that simply letting off a de-odourising bomb in the car doesn't address the bacteria associated with smoke odours and a more comprehensve treatment is required that takes a whole day to apply and kills this bad bacteria.

I have expressed my conecrns to the sales team on several occasions and whilst I have always recieved a sympathetic response, they promise to look into things and then come back to me - radio silence..!!

My current issue is that the car's tyre inflator doesn't actually work in the car because there appears to be a problem with the 12V socket in the vehicle. So again I was sold a car that wasn't actually fit for purpose, which I assumed would have had some pre-sales checks. I know this is covered by warranty but as I state Stratstone isn't round the corner from me so again another long trip ensues when I finally book the car in.

There is nothing worse in life to me than people who over promise and then under deliver..!! I had assumed that an Approved Used Car from a dealership (particularly BMW) would have to meet quite stringent and exacting checks before BMW would stand behind it - clearly not..!! I had assumed that the details about the car would be correct - again not the case..!! And I assumed that when they said something would be done then it would be done..!!

My advice to any future clients is - check the car as closely as you can before committing to buying and make sure you have any assurances written down.

Thankfully I am not tied into Stratstone for any servicing requirements for which I am quite thankful because I wouldn't trust that the work had actually been done.

Fantastic service from Matt and Chris today. Professional, patient and welcoming.
Thank you. . AC

Adam Trappett couldnt have gave me a better experience picking my new car up. Helped from start to finish.
thank you!

Purchased an approved BMW from Derby . The service from everyone was outstanding my wife loves her 2 series grand coupe. A special mention to Lucy Wood who in our opinion went above and beyond to make the whole experience special and we felt valued . Highly recommend this garage .

I attended last weekend and arranged to test drive a new IX2 this Sunday. Upon arriving at the dealership at the agreed time today , I was instructed that they had forgotten about my appointment and they do not have an IX2 or IX1 to test drive. I thought great! could you not have called me , I have just driven 20 miles for nothing. I have now arranged to test drive the IX1 at Chesterfield Stratstone instead and I must say the Gentleman was very helpful .

Stratstone BMW Derby

This is my second review as my first was deleted as I used the names of the staff I dealt with at Derby BMW and they weren’t very happy about it!!! I have all the e mails sent between myself and Stratstone Derby BMW

On the 5/1/25 Mr X replied to an email I sent saying he had located a car for me.

On the 6/1/25 Mr X sent me a payment request for the car and I paid the deposit for my order.

On the 7/1/25 Mr Y contacted me from Derby BMW to say that the car I paid a deposit on wasn’t available but they had located a second vehicle and he would get that for me instead.

On 9/1/25 I received another email from Mr Y stating he had secured the second car from another dealership.

On 10/1/25 Mr X sent through a revised quote on the second car I ordered.

On 17/1/25 Mr Y emailed me to tell me that the second car that I ordered was no longer available and that the Head of business for Derby Mr Z was going back to secure the first car that Derby had offered me (but this wasn’t available)

On 20/1/25 Mr Y emailed me to say that the original car that I had but a deposit was no longer available and that there was nothing suitable in group stock available.

Over the next couple of days I located several suitable cars that were available but unfortunately Derby BMW couldn’t get hold of any that were in their group stock or in BMW uk stock.

On 22/1/25 Mr Z contracted me to acknowledge this hadn’t been the smoothest experience and that a refund had been issued to be back in my account within 3 to 5 working days.

On 4/2/25 I contacted Mr Z to ask why my deposit had still not been refunded but alas he was away from the business. I contacted Mr Y and had no response either.

I then sent another e mail to the dealership and I had a reply from Mr Q. Stating he would look into to this for me

On 5/2/25 Mr Z & Mr Q both emailed to say that a payment would be in my account tomorrow and thanked me for my patience. But no apology was made.

On6/2/25 I eventually received my deposit refund!

Through out this period I was also contacting BMW uk customer services but they didn’t want to get involved as BMW dealerships are independently owned. So if you ask myself what is the point of having a customer services?

So if you are thinking of buying a new BMW there are many other sites out there other than Derby.
This whole experience had a detrimental affect on my mental health. I asked Mr Z how he would feel if he had been treated this way but he declined not to answer.

I’ve have bought 11 BMWs in the last ten years and this has been the worst buying experience I have ever had not only buying a BMW but any other marque in 40 years of buying cars.

I hope my experience of Derby BMW will be helpful.

Very good experience purchasing the new BMW 1 series (which I picked up mid October 2024). However, the after sales has been shockingly very poor!! I have had a number of issues with the brand new car, the centre has failed at every step to resolve the issues. after a unsatisfactory response to resolve the issues I was asked to escalate the matter to Business manager who has failed to contact me since November 2024. Also customer services has also failed.
The matter has been escalated to BMW Customer Services who have also tried to contact the centre and also failing to get a response.

I called midweek to arrange a test drive in a i4 M50. I was put onto James from sales. We arranged for my test drive @ 0900am this morning. I explained in detail that I had to be very quick as I was playing golf at 1000am. So I arrived on time, checked in and then waited, waited and waited some more. James did not show. Reception mailed him once, then twice etc. I waited around for 5 mins, 10 mins and more. No James!! Completely wasted my time and effort. I explained my disappointment to reception and left as I ran out of time. Since then, no call from James to explain or rearrange. Very poor. Another lost sale for Derby Stratstone. If you want better service then visit Sytner BMW Nottingham. Stratstone Derby doesnt get any better. Totally inadequate

Was about to deal with a different BMW dealer and popped in on the off chance on 30th Dec to see what they could offer me.

On arrival I was introduced to Sales Manager Shahin - he was super friendly, helpful and genuine. I wasn’t planning to buy from Derby as I have a closer BMW dealership to my house. He was so good that I ended up doing a deal with him - I had no intentions of doing a deal with BMW Derby but he really did an amazing job and made me a good offer and I liked the way he went out his way to look after me.

He then handed me over to Brad to complete the deal who was equally brilliant. We felt like we had known him for a long time - both Shahin and Brad 10/10. Great asset to BMW Derby.

I came in on 30th - done deal and picked up the next day !

Thanks Shahin & Brad

Poor customer service from start to finish while buying a new car. Calls not returned, emails left unanswered when you do speak to them promise to get better and it doesn’t. Dealt with several salesmen and managers all as bad as each other. If you want a new BMW avoid Derby!

I brought my car in for a simple service, trusting their reputation, even though their prices were higher than other garages. Unfortunately, the experience turned into a nightmare. They kept my car for three weeks, and now it cannot be moved unless it is repaired. Their mechanic damaged the oil pan and refused to take responsibility. When I requested proof to claim the warranty, they claimed it was discarded and shifted the blame onto the previous mechanic. To make matters worse, they charged me £1,500 instead of just performing a routine service. Contacting their service department has been nearly impossible, as no one responds to phone calls. They assured me that the customer service manager would reach out, but no one ever did. This experience has been a complete disappointment and reflects poorly on the BMW brand.

Very professional and friendly. From start to finish I felt I could trust Sophie and she explained everything.
I would highly recommend the dealership. The displayed pricing was highly competitive.

This dealership is woefully understaffed in the servicing department - and they appear to operate a "who shouts loudest" policy in allocating workshop time.

My car was recovered to Stratstone Derby on Monday this week under warranty - and after several attempts to get an update, I drove down. The car hasn't even been looked at (5 days in), and the very apologetic lady couldn't say when it would be looked at to work out what is wrong with it.

This situation happened to me earlier in the year, when it needed a very straightforward repair.

If I had a like for like replacement then I wouldn't have minded, but I am told this isn't possible. For a premium marque, the service levels are much worse than other brands.

Derby Branch BMW Stratstone

Absolutely outstanding service from the minute I walked in until the second I left. The reception girls were super lovely and really accommodating.

They both made sure I was sat in the comfiest of chairs whilst I waited and got me a hot drink. They made the business manager come and introduce himself whilst I waited for someone to become free, leading to me meeting with Brad who was just great and super professional. Really impressed

Tryed for 4 days to talk to someone to book my car in for work to be carried out past from one department to another plus waiting time to book a car in on phone 20 mins then hung up rang back pressed option to buy a car and someone answered after one ring on phone strange that advise to bmw you need to look after your loyal customers not just the rich ones after 4 attempts to get car booked in on wed I decided to take my buisness elsewhere total let down

Awful service. Viewed a lovely pre-owed vehicle and placed a holding deposit to be told I would receive info on the car via email that same day and I would receive a call the following day to chat about the vehicle and quote. I was really looking forward to purchasing the car and waited all day for the follow up call and email but I didn’t receive either. I called numerous times to chat to the sales rep, to be offered a call back each time I called but didn’t receive the call back for 3 days! I didn’t receive my quote or vehicle info as promised either so had to go through the process again. It was like they had lost all my information. The quote I received was higher than what I received at the showroom. After being messed around and left in the dark I decided to look elsewhere where I received fantastic service and was really looked after.
I kindly asked for my holding deposit back and was told it would take 3-5 working days, I had a hunch that I wouldn’t receive it and I was right. I called again after waiting a week and finally received it. I partly think that it’s because I wasn’t purchasing a brand new car. I was really disappointed and let down.

I enquired about a BMW and received a call to visit the showroom. I test drove the car I wanted and purchased it on the same day. Samee was superb and professional all the way through the process. Best experience so far from start to finish. To top it off, Samee went even further and put the car in a bay so it could be unveiled. What an experience and I will definitely recommend Stratstone BMW to family and friends.

I've been driving for 44 years now so, as you may guess I have a bit of experience with service centres, small and large garages, but never in my life have I experienced such appauling service that I have experienced over the last two weeks with a car that is under warranty. They never answer the phone, when I got a call it was to advise me what was happening: and it didn't, this on more than one occasion. I ended up traveling to the site to try and get answers to no avail, so took my car back. Incredible how bad the customer service is. My first BMW after driving Mercedes for years,
based on this level of service it will be my last!! "I can't make excuses" was the excuse!

Looking at the replies, from the reviews they don't bode well either, don't give me any confidence.

Excellent service on my partners new 1 series, all the way through the purchase and handover (thank you Chris). No hesitation to use these guys for my next purchase.

Edit 30/1/25: I have changed the five stars to one star due to the appalling after care that my partner has received due to a few issues with the car. Despite numerous calls the issues persisted. We have tried to escalate the matter and left numerous messages for someone called Craig Lofthouse. We are not sure if he really exists because we have had no callback despite trying over and over again. Spoke to someone called Katie, who was very apologetic about the poor service but we never heard back again from Katie. BMW customer services have interjected and tried in vain to also get Stratstone to give us a call. We have still not received a call. This centre is letting the BMW marque down and should be ashamed of the abysmal level of service. My partner previously owned a Mercedes and is regretting buying a BMW.

I recently booked a recall service at MINI Centre / Stratstone Leeds, & I spoke to Gemma Hefferdan at Stratstone Derby who booked the recall and I couldn’t be more impressed. From start to finish, the process was incredibly smooth. Gemma was professional, friendly, informative and quick to address all my concerns. Booking was made simple, and she accommodated my schedule perfectly. The attention to detail and communication throughout made the experience stress-free. I highly recommend their service for anyone looking for a truly seamless and positive experience! Truly an amazing experience!