TheCarBarns Reviews 83

TrustScore 2 out of 5

2.0

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Paid a deposit for a car,the day of collection came and I was informed by WhatsApp that the car was no longer available as it had a stolen marker on it. Tim asked for my bank details to refund the dep... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Organised a trip having placed a deposit with the promise of being collected from the train station. Car did not have a towbar as described in sales blurb. Discount negotiated. Car developed fau... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Ordered car lexus ls for delivery ask for a clear video showing any paint issues and marks on interior and exterior video was so so quality. Car arrived with paint damage drivers side rear poor repair... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Selling a nice shiny car is easy. Being honourable and decent when something goes wrong post sale is much rarer and worthy of commendation. Within a couple of weeks of buying an XF Jag from the car... See more

Company details

  1. Car Dealer

Written by the company

Welcome to The Car Barns, based just outside of Stratford Upon Avon. Our company specialises in the sale of prestige, luxury vehicles.


Contact info

2.0

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

83 reviews

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1-star

Replied to 55% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 2 weeks

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellant experience

Met Tim today and my experience sorting out the car was Excellent. Everything went very smoothly and very professionally. I would recommend this company to anyone. Thank you

January 27, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dishonest & Elusive

Purchased vehicle, had issues, wouldn't reply to messages although he's read them. Now can't get hold of them to get details of 6 month warranty that was offered with the car. Disappointing!!!!

November 16, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A very disappointing and frustrating

A very disappointing and frustrating experience! 👎Charlie and Tim wasted our time and failed to provide the attention or information needed to purchase a GLC. They offered an unreasonable price for our part exchange car, making the process even more stressful.Given this experience, I would never consider approaching them again, even if they had a suitable car in the future.

May 15, 2024
TheCarBarns logo

Reply from TheCarBarns

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED INVITATION AND IS A FASLE REVIEW

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The entire process was poorly…

The entire process was poorly explained, leaving me confused about what I needed to do. The transaction isn’t complete yet, and I’m disappointed with the lack of professionalism, unfriendliness, and lack of expertise I’ve experienced so far.

May 7, 2024
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Reply from TheCarBarns

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED INVITATION AND IS A FASLE REVIEW

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I enquired about a car and got BLOCKED

I enquired about a £20,000 car - Jag F Pace.
I sent a whatsapp two days ago to ‘Tim’ asking if the correct service had taken place on the vehicle for its 112k/84mnth service .. see the text chain below which ended up with them BLOCKING ME over an enquiry… do they actually want to sell cars? Absolute cowboys - I think they were to palm me off because I’m female and hoping i didn’t know what I was talking about (I also sent proof from JLR website stating that the car needs both cambelts at the 112k/84mth service which apparently this car had ‘full service history’) he said it isn’t an expensive job to do… which is rubbish because the cheapest quote I’ve managed to find for this service is £1500 BEWARE. Please see below:

Sam: Please can I request more information about the Jaguar F-PACE NV16DDE listed for sale?
I’d like to come and possibly view it please - can you confirm if it’s had its cambelt done on its 112k/84 month service?
[16/12/2024, 20:29:50] ~Tim: Hi there - thanks for your enquiry. That’s fine to view, the cambelt is due at its next service (1 years time). Let me know if you would like to view.
‎[16/12/2024, 20:30:12] Sam: ‎image omitted
[16/12/2024, 20:30:20] Sam: (sent screenshot from JLR website stating it needs cambelts on the 112k/84mnth service) No it isn’t?
[16/12/2024, 20:31:16] ~Tim: In the trade we normally work on it being every 80,000 miles
[16/12/2024, 20:31:32] ~Tim: I’m happy to have don’t it’s not an expensive job to do.
[16/12/2024, 20:31:49] Sam: Both cambelts?
[16/12/2024, 20:32:02] ~Tim: Yes
[16/12/2024, 20:32:11] Sam: And water pump with invoices?
[16/12/2024, 20:39:48] Sam Cullen: Because if so I’ll come by at the end of the week to have a look, do you take p/x?
[17/12/2024, 19:53:53] Sam: I take it by the fact I have had no response today is because you’ve realised it’s not a 2 minute job & have no intention of doing it?
[18/12/2024, 08:01:13] ~Tim: I’m sorry I’ve sold the car to a previous enquiry
[18/12/2024, 08:01:28] ~Tim: Thanks for the rude message though 👍
[18/12/2024, 10:26:42] Sam: That’s interesting that
[18/12/2024, 10:26:53] Sam: Shows how terrible the aftercare would of been
[18/12/2024, 10:27:01] ~Tim: I’m lost for words.
[18/12/2024, 10:27:21] ~Tim: I’m super glad I haven’t sold a car to someone as rude as you….
[18/12/2024, 10:27:30] Sam: Very professional for you to reply and tell me it’s sold 😂
[18/12/2024, 10:27:58] ~Tim: Would you rather I sent a letter and say it’s sold?
[18/12/2024, 10:28:48] Sam: It’s polite to let potential customers know if something they’ve enquired about is no longer for sale… you probably sold it to someone who doesn’t realise who needed the cambelt doing full well knowing it’s an expensive job. Cowboys.

December 18, 2024
Unprompted review
TheCarBarns logo

Reply from TheCarBarns

Hi Sam, as you can see in your messages I messaged you stating the car was sold. This has nothing to do with you being a woman as I had no idea, the name Sam could be a chap - and im a bit surprised and offended that you think I would treat anybody differently - and equally shocked that you would even bring this up with you being a woman. The car is due a camblet at its NEXT service which is in August - but I even offered to have it done. I have sold many of these cars so to think I would purposely not carry out a service is a bit unfiar. Also, in the advert for the car on Autotrader I listed all of the service history for everybody to see. Wtih regards to how I dealt with your enquiry, you messaged me at 8pm and expected me to reply that night, yet I replied at 8am the next day stating the car had been sold. I took the advert down from Autotrader the moment is sold as well. If you had called me to enquire rather than whatsapp me I might have taken your enquriy more seriously as I have lots of timewasters that message me constantly on cars who clearly have no intention to buy and I cannot keep up with every message I receive. When you did text me was also beyond normal working hours I cannot be glued to my phone 24/7 to reply to every enquiry I have on a car. I even stated in my messages that if you wanted the cambelt and waterpump chaning I would do this so to state BUYERS BEWARE seems a little strong. My mechanic I use can do this replacement for £600 plus VAT. Good luck with your car search I hope you find a suitable car. Many thanks, Tim

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Total lack honesty lexus ls

Ordered car lexus ls for delivery ask for a clear video showing any paint issues and marks on interior and exterior video was so so quality. Car arrived with paint damage drivers side rear poor repair over spray and damage to bumper then checked the interior what a state clearly never cleaner stains everywhere. Then a total lack of prep on the vehicle. Not an honest description at all. Tot

December 9, 2024
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant experience

I have recently brought a Range Rover Vogue SE from Car Barns. Im really happy with the service i recieved from them. I had a small issue with the the car, which wasnt their fault at all. Tim was very proactive at solving the problem personally and quickly.

The negative comments on here are totally unfoundered. The place is nearly 70 miles away from my house, and this wouldnt put me off from recommending Car Barns to others and using them again.

The buying process was also incredibly easy. Every question was answered honestly and I was helped every step of the way. Communication was great.

Thanks Tim

November 26, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

False praise?!

Strange how the post below appears twice. The same post appeared on the 27th of October, as well as ten days ago. Does anyone else smell a rat? -
Working with TheCarBarns was fantastic!
Working with TheCarBarns was fantastic! They offered a fair price, arranged a quick pickup, and made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. For fast, reliable service, I highly recommend them!

November 6, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I had a disappointing experience with…

I had a disappointing experience with The CarBarns. The car I purchased had issues almost immediately, despite assurances it was fully serviced and in top condition. Within days, warning lights appeared, and I soon discovered the vehicle needed costly repairs that should have been addressed before the sale. Attempts to reach the team have been frustrating, with minimal response and no support offered to resolve the issues. Unfortunately, this experience has left me feeling lcustomer satisfaction isn’t a priority here. I wouldn’t recommend The CarBarns to anyone looking for a trustworthy dealership.

September 5, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Avoid this company like the plague

Terrible service and car not fit for purpose. Bought a car, the promised handbook and V5 never arrived despite several calls. The car had an MOT and had supposedly had a recent service but a warning light on the dash after a week indicated it needed a service. Took it to Audi in Hereford who pointed £1700 worth of faults that needed rectifying, and that several would mean an MOT failure. So no doubt the MOT supplied is bent. No interest in answering emails or calls. Would not recommend this company to my worst enemy

October 28, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

Terrible, these people couldn’t care less about anything except making money. They sell cars that can be dangerous, putting customers lives at risk. They also pad their reviews with fake 5 star ones. Do NOT buy a car from this company unless you want a piece of junk.

October 16, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Engine Seized on Day 1

Bought a car 5 months ago and the engine seized literally on the drive home.
Since then, it's been sitting in a garage waiting for a new engine. Tim has refused to try to speed things up and doesn't answer phone calls or messages.
Originally I was concerned I wouldn't get the family car back before my baby was born. Now I'm concerned I'll not get it back before he's learning to drive!
I've had to hire an alternative as we need a suitable family car. Thecarbarns will be getting the bill, as they refused to organise it themselves.
Avoid this company at all costs.
(Also note the obvious fake reviews boosting the score of this company - these need removed!)

April 30, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The CarBarns made everything so easy

The CarBarns made everything so easy! The quote process was fast, and they came to pick up my car the very next day. The best part was that I received payment right away, with no waiting or delays. I couldn’t believe how simple and hassle-free the entire transaction was. I’m extremely happy with the service and the professionalism of the team. Highly recommended!

September 23, 2024
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst dealership, selling malfunctioning cars!

Trading in my Mercedes for a car at this dealership was a huge mistake, and I deeply regret it. The salesperson, Tim, was extremely unresponsive from the start. Despite numerous calls, messages, and emails, getting a simple update or response was like pulling teeth.

To make matters worse, Tim blatantly lied to me several times about addressing the issues with the vehicle. He claimed it was in perfect condition, but it came with multiple problems, including faulty wheel alignment, ambient lighting issues, and malfunctioning headlights. It became clear that the car had not been properly inspected or serviced before being sold.

The customer service here is abysmal. When I raised these concerns, I was met with indifference and a complete lack of urgency to fix anything. Tim and the rest of the staff obviously don’t care about their customers, and I feel completely misled by this purchase. After trading in a premium vehicle like my Mercedes, I expected far better, but all I got was disappointment and frustration.

Tim constantly made excuses, from his wife being in the hospital to being "too busy" with other customers, even cutting calls short.

Do yourself a favour and avoid this dealership, and especially steer clear of Tim.

August 24, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I had an amazing experience with The…

I had an amazing experience with The CarBarns. The entire process was smooth, from getting a fast and accurate online quote to having my car picked up promptly. Jesus was incredibly helpful and ensured everything went off without a hitch. I received a great price for my junk car, and the payment was made on the spot. The whole experience was hassle-free, and I couldn’t be happier with the service. Highly recommended!

September 14, 2024
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A great car buying experience

A great car buying experience from Tim, Danny and Charlie. They brought the car over to my home, gave me a driving lesson for my first ever ‘automatic’ experience, showed me everything including the wheel nut location. The guys were great, really patient with me and answered all my questions. A month has past since ‘Betty’ was purchased and I’ve had zero problems and feel very confident that the team would be equally helpful if a question arose in the future. Tim, Danny and Charlie, thank you x

July 25, 2024
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Avoid at all costs

****PLEASE READ: This company has flagged our review 3 times on Trustpilot to try to get it removed. Trustpilot has put it up again. They have now gone on a rampage putting out many 'positive' Trustpilot and Feefo reviews which all have linguistic similarities hence could be fake. I have alerted both Feefo and Trustpilot to investigate this. I have also sent our County Court Judgement against this company to Trustpilot.****

I cannot warn you away from this company strongly enough. Take the negative reviews seriously – you can find more by googling the old company name “TH BOLER AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED” – I suspect the name was changed to escape numerous previous negative reviews.
We purchased an Audi Q7 etron as a family car when our youngest daughter was just four weeks. This car developed a charging fault within a week. We decided to return the vehicle using the consumer rights act’s Right to reject, which was agreed to by Tim. As part of this we requested return of the vehicle we part exchanged. This was when the responses disappear. I’ve seen other poor reviews describe him as hiding and this is exactly how it feels. Multiple emails are sent without reply. When we pin him down by phone we find that he has sold our part exchanged vehicle and he promises to arrange the refund for the car shortly. But we hear nothing. Multiple further unanswered emails with only very occasional replies. All promising to arrange a refund by a specified future date – which then goes by without any contact or apology from Tim. In fact - he acts aggrieved at being chased for a refund legally due months ago. We find out later that he sold the part exchanged vehicle 2 weeks after we requested it back in breach of the consumer rights act – presumably to try to extract some profit from the situation. This we might have ignored if he had actually paid us our refund rather than leaving a couple with a newborn without the car or the refunded money so we could buy a new one. We instead had to dip into our savings and take on more debt which made for a stressful maternity leave for my wife and I. Tim and the company were very much aware we had a newborn so draw your own conclusions about the moral integrity of the man.
We had to take the company to court where the claim was undefended (for anyone having trouble with this company, his threats of speaking to his legal representatives are reliably false. The company agreed a settlement but only partially paid (and even then after promising several different payment dates which expired repeatedly).
To get our money back, we had to obtain a county court judgement which took 1 year and 8 months after the, to quote Mr Boler, “no quibbles” 14 day refund was due. Despite multiple proclamations that he will be talking to his lawyers, Tim did not even attend the hearing.
This is not the first review that states they had to take this company to court so please read all the negative ones and be aware. If Tim Boler or this company owes you any money please do not hesitate to take them to small claims court – we represented ourselves throughout the entire process.
We have also reported this company to Trading Standards and suggest that anyone with a similar experience does the same.

Update 1: The company flagged our review as containing 'harmful or illegal content' in an attempt to remove it but Trustpilot reviewed it and found that not to be the case. Additionally, in the 24 hours since our review was posted, they have proceeded to put up 3 positive reviews which is quite the coincidence given they have not had positive reviews in the past 6 months and all the reviewers have never reviewed anyone before so they likely set up a new account just to review the company in the 24 hours after our honest and negative review. I have alerted Trustpilot to this so they can investigate.

Update 2: The response that there is an open legal case is categorically false. We won a court county judgement against the company in 2023. I have forwarded this document to Trustpilot. It seems that a lot of people are having to take legal action against this company from previous reviews.

August 11, 2023
Unprompted review
TheCarBarns logo

Reply from TheCarBarns

Hi Steve, Faye. I am staggered at your determination of hurting my business despite an open legal case and genuine reviews for my business. I have opened a legal case of defamation with Lawgistics who will be writing to you in due course.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

CHARLATANS

They advertised a Tesla which looked suitable. Having asked some questions I put down a £2000 (returnable) deposit. Then the problems began. Slow to respond. Evasive and inconsistent. Delays with no proper explanation. In the end there was no sign the transaction would go through so I asked for my deposit to be returned. And waited...and waited.. more obfuscation and delay. In the end I was forced to threaten legal action. But not until I was about to submit a Letter Before Action did my refund arrive

Please do read their other Trustpilot review - not just mine - and reach your own conclusion

Edited in respect of their disingenuous response:

1) Initially they claimed the car was pretty much an immaculate one-owner vehicle
2) At no stage did they say £100 was sufficient deposit. I paid a big deposit based on their assurances about the vehicle
3) I did NOT insist everything was replaced! That's absurd. I simply listed the known common faults to look for (Not everyone is familiar with common faults on the Tesla S)
4) Then they said they'd found some damage to the seat and would repair it.

Then they variously said they would/would not get it checked by Tesla. Would send me a report/would agree a price reduction due to faults found/would return my deposit. Would trade it at an auction. In other words a catalogue of incompatible excuses
5) Finally they claim they are trading it out via BCA.. except according to my industry source it ISN'T listed on BCA
6) I gave them my bank details and they responded "I will send over deposit this afternoon" Except they did NOT do so. So I was left chasing and chasing. So eventually I threatened legal action.
7) All of a sudden they claimed to be on holiday. No access to funds etc. Who runs a business like that? When I insisted no more excuses they finally refunded my deposit

So make what you want of this litany and more importantly read their other reviews

July 24, 2024
Unprompted review
TheCarBarns logo

Reply from TheCarBarns

Once you placed your deposit on the car and the car was finally delivered, we put the car through a Vehicle Health Check where it became evident there were some faults that needed rectifying. One of which, was a replacement navigationscreen which is over £1800 to replace. There were also suspension faults on the car. We had quotes to repair these and it became clear it was uneconomic for us to do this. At this point, I called you Graham to explain this and said I would like to refund your deposit as I am going to trade out of the Tesla.

You also send me an email with a list of the following that you wanted me to check had been changed:

At this point after I said I don’t want to sell the car to you, you stated you still wanted to buy the car with the faults but at an adjusted price, which I reluctantly said I would investigate a repair cost with Tesla.

Unfortunately booking into a main dealer to have. Vehicle health check had a 2-3 week wait.

I then called you again Graham and said I’m sorry, I just want to refund you I am going to trade out of the car and put through BCA auction.

At this point, you went silent but then send me a text message saying you weren’t sure you would “ACCEPT MY REFUND OFFER AND INSIST ON PURCHASING THE CAR”. I declined this, as I am not happy to put my name to the car.

On top of the damage to the screen; suspension and other areas of the car the seat had a tear in the fabric which after asking multiple repair companies it became evident a repair would involve a lengthy and expensive process that again, I was not prepared to do on the car. I have photographic evidence enclosed of the messages back and forward to repair companies.

Then; when it was left that I would get a price from Tesla to repair the car and discount that amount from the car I have had a week away on holiday, which Graham did not believe. I also have photographic evidence to support this.

The car was waiting to be inspected, yet suddenly Graham wanted his refund which I immediately agreed to. I was staying in a villa up a mountain with very poor phone signal or internet so doing an online payment involves driving 1 hour to Rhonda to complete.

I asked Graham if this could wait until my return on Thursday and he denied this staying he would take legal action. I jumped in the car left my family and made the payment.

The subsequent review is totally unfair and an attempt to hurt my reputation for not wanting to sell a car that was not mechanically sound.

I have never in my career kept a deposit on a car and I would never do this. All deposits are subject to a satisfactory viewing and I always take £100 not £2,000! You send the £2k without telling me that. The amount is irrelevant though, I have stated at every point I was happy to refund you. I actively instigated it; so to say I tried to keep your deposit is a total lie.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bought a golf from these.

Bought a golf from these.

What a mistake, the car is dangerous and despite several attempts they have ignored every attempt to rectify the situation.

Bonnet doesnt open - which obviously means the pre sale checks were not actually done.

Gearbox fault, car suddenly stops working and wont go above 2nd gear.
Acceleration is severely lacking to the point right turns are dangerous.

Screw in a tyre - cheers

Apparently a full service history - no service book.

Absolutely zero customer service.

Reading other reviews, it seems to be a theme.

I have had to resort to going through the finance company to sort it out.

Avoid this dealer at all costs

They had this deleted once

January 21, 2024
Unprompted review

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