Group 1 Automotive UK

Great professional service

Extremely professional and relaxed atmosphere from the moment I walked through the door. It genuinely was a pleasure dealing with Shaun Corr who really impressed on every level. I really cannot think of anything that could have improved my experience.

Buying a used car from the Derby branch of Toyota. The whole process was slick and easy. Kyle was friendly, helpful and able to answer all our queries.

Excellent service from the dealership. Friendly and helpful staff, The technician was very friendly and helpful and did not try to force me to have any unnecessary works done. He was thorough and knowledgeable and honest.

Claire Anderson(Group1 Mini Southend), THANK YOU. Absolutely delighted with my recent MINI purchase. You were brilliant !!!. Claire is really knowledgeable, super patient, and genuinely a pleasure to deal with. There was zero sales pressure, which made the whole experience even better. Honestly, the best customer service I’ve had in a long time. Claire found me a fantastic deal on a young used MINI, at a price I didn’t think I’d ever find. The car drives like a dream, amazing value and such a fun experience. Can’t recommend Claire enough if you’re looking for a MINI! Fantastic in every way!

Southend VW have been amazing. My car broke outside of warranty. They gave me a demonstrator car and also challenged VW the brand for goodwill support for the repair. I could not fault them, they have been amazing, especially David Rogers!

Straightforward initially to arrange service visit. When necessary to change car drop off arrangements at the last minute this was dealt with in an efficient and friendly manner. Works carried out to agreed timescale, and properly. Car returned fully cleaned. All staff friendly and efficient.

Not a good experience with group1 worthing. Had tyre insurance bought from them on a brand new vehicle, they advised they will only change 3 to a different brand and leave me 1 tyre with 3-4m on a m car. This or wait another 7-10 days for replacement tyres. Mismatched tyres on a high performance vehicle dont go well. This dealership are happy for you to drive your vehicle in this state. BMW Roadside claim to give you a like for like but they wont. I went out of my way to use this dealership as i was recommended, i even bought my car from here in August instead of my local. Huge regret, il stick to Partridge of Hampshire who have good customer service

I recently had one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever encountered at Group 1 Farnborough, and I feel compelled to share it. If you decide to only skim this review due to its length, please take care to read the last paragraph as it will help you have a more balanced opinion. I contacted the dealership on 05/04 about a BMW 320i and spoke with a salesman, He gave me some helpful details and told me the car was being "prepared" off-site. He said if I paid a £250 deposit, I’d get first refusal and the car would be prepped faster. I asked multiple times if the deposit was refundable and was reassured that it was. At no point was I asked if I was shopping around or if I was 100% set on the 320i. Over the next 10 days, I called the dealership several times for updates until I was finally offered a test drive for 14/04, which I had to reschedule to 15/04 due to work. During that period, I also booked a test drive for a Kia Stinger at Group 1 Coulsdon, which seemed like another strong option. When I arrived on 15/04, the initial greeting from the receptionist and Salesman was pleasant enough. The representative asked about my job and then took me to see the car. It looked great, and we went out for the test drive. After a few minutes, I mentioned I’d also booked a test drive at Group 1 Coulsdon. That’s when things changed. The representative responded in a noticeably cold tone, saying, “Not to be rude, but I assumed you weren’t looking at multiple cars,” and then told me he’d taken the BMW off the market for me. He asked critically if I’d booked the Kia viewing before speaking to him (I hadn’t and I told him this). From that point onward, his attitude completely shifted. He barely spoke during the rest of the test drive, offered zero enthusiasm about the car, and gave one-word answers to my questions. I felt like a burden, not a customer. The tension he created made me cut the drive short, as I no longer felt comfortable. Back at the dealership, the representative didn’t greet me when I returned. I explained I wanted to test the Kia before making a decision and was fine with the BMW going back on sale. His response? “You know you kinda screwed me over. Someone was actually going to buy that car before I took it off the market for you.” That was completely uncalled for. I asked about my refund, he said it would take five working days, and I thanked him for his time. He didn’t acknowledge me or even look up as I left. I’ve never had such an unprofessional interaction with a salesperson. It felt like the salesman actively didn’t want to sell me the car — as if I’d personally wronged him by wanting to test drive a BMW before committing £10,995 of my own money. The whole experience has put me off not just that dealership, but BMW as a brand. I came into this process thinking that buying Approved Used would be a step up in service and professionalism. Sadly, I felt more welcome and respected at dodgy daves industrial estate dealership than I did at Group 1 Farnborough. I have written a complaint the next morning (making sure I had slept on the matter so I could give my feedback with more clarity) which I then emailed to the relevant organisations regarding my sales experience, I am yet to recieve any response from Group 1s complaint team, I have recieved an automatic email from BMWs complaint team. I was pleased that at 1416hrs on 16/04/2025, Gary, the New-Car Sales Manager at Group 1 BMW Farnborough has called me and offered his apologies for the incident, he has appeared sincere and has assured me the matter will be investigated by himself and given an outreach that if I consider purchasing a BMW in future, to liase with him. This has been appreciated and saved this review from being entirely damning.

The company is very good and you are looked after well but my experience is that alittle more communication would result in a 5 star rating

This is an unusual review, I am a Mercedes owner and have been for quite a few years, today I was in Sussex on business and my on board computer shut down so I could not use my sat nav, radio etc. On the off chance I stopped at Group 1 BMW to ask if one of the technicians could have a quick look and see what was wrong. Well what a fantastic experience, from the ladies on reception and then from one of the managers called Bethany and finally Ryan the technician who sorted out the problem in a few minutes. Thank's to all of you and also to the three other staff members who asked if I would like a coffee or some water. I run a large sales business and am focused on looking after my customers. I have to say that all of the people that I saw were just outstanding in terms of their attitude and professionalism. Whoever runs this business should be very very proud of the staff you have. Thanks once again. Paul Smyth.

I contacted MB Cambridge for an approved B200 described as a gem. They suggested to be quick or they would have sold the car, cancelled other commitments to get there. Spent the whole Saturday between travelling and spending my time in their fancy meeting rooms with the seller trying to give me any sort of useless and very expensive additional services on top of the car that would have added pretty much added +50% on original price. Bought the car and 2 years warranty. 3 weeks later I am told that they sold the car to auction as would have cost them too much to fix their gem. Amateurs. Avoid them as you would with the small dealers with ghost premises. Tried with MB customers care to strike a deal. Big apologies followed by nothing. Suggested alternatives within the group asking to come a bit my way. No answers but the deposit back after 3 weeks. Really disappointed, won’t get a MB for the rest of my days and will suggest others to do so whenever possible.

The most dishonest dealership I have ever come across and the worst car buying experience in my life. Considering the amount of issues, which I was not aware of before the delivery, the car is missold. In the past I was the owner of new and used approved vehicles from VW and Audi from other dealers and was happy with their customer care. I was very wrong to believe that switching to Mercedes Bentz from Group 1 would be a step up. The car itself isfantastic (EQC 400), but the customer care is simply unbelievably appalling. I had a dozen issues with the delivered vehicle and tried to raise them with MB Loughborough (Group 1), but after the delivery they lost any interest to make things right. Then I tried to reach out to inchcape.co.uk - received an automated response "complaint has been logged" and then nothing for 6 month, even though I sent reminders. Wrote the same to tellusmore at group1auto.co.uk and complaints at group1auto.co.uk - zero response, Lodged the same with cs.uk at cac.mercedes-benz.com - it has been over 6 months, nothing has been resolved yet. The story is the following: I purchased a used approved EQC 400 (2021 plate) in October 2024, which was delivered to my address. After the delivery I found a long list of things that were not normal at all for an approvedused vehicle (please see the list below), I had to take the car to the nearest MB dealership (Milton Keynes) where the vehicle spent 3 days in total in repairs. Their staff advised that a vehicle should not have been delivered to a customer with such issues and in such condition. The damaged parts should have been replaced by the seller. ISSUES: - broken locking mechanism front passenger door (fixed by MB of Milton Keynes, under warranty) - issues with the battery cooling system (2-day repair by MB of Milton Keynes, under warranty) - problems with high the beam assist system (fixed by MB ofMilton Keynes, under warranty) - cracked in two places central console panel (please see images attached) – MB Loughborough first said that it is perfectly normal tohave broken parts in used approved vehicles and then they changed the story and started to tell that I was informed about it before the delivery, which is a lie and I have a chain of emails do demonstrate it. - applied ceramic coating missed the roof and the back of the car, it is obvious to differentiate between hydrophobic surfaces in wet weather, plus there is a distinct smearing of the ceramic compound between the treated and untreated surfaces - they replied that everything was done according to MB standards. - missing parcel shelf - first they promised to deliver a replacement, three months later they said that I never mentioned that it was missing and just recently they said that it was delivered to me on the 10th of April - which is another lie, as I have not received anything. No tracking number, no information provided to investigate. - "smart repair" of the running board (done just before the delivery) lasted two month and now it looks way worse than it used to be (please see attached) - repair quality not fit for purpose; - there are signs of previous repair around the front wing driver's side and strange noises around that area after ~30 min of driving, I requested the repair history, but the request was ignored. - advertised as 20k miles, when in fact it was 21k, flaking off rubber grips on the running boards and lots of other less important things.

I received my car from Group 1 VW Telford and I’m pleased with it, however there were some other serious issues which the company have refused to address. The car was delivered with two rear tyres which needed replacing straight away with new ones as they’d perished. The side walls had cracked through to the structure. When the tyres were taken off it was also evident they were cracked between the threads as well. This was pointed out to the general manager and despite the faults being at least MOT advisories, they refused to acknowledge the issue. The car in question was was supposed to be filled with diesel prior to delivery, it came with a third of a tank of fuel, the delivery mileage was 166 miles with a tank capacity of 70 litres and range of 700 miles or over. I went my local town and it cost me just over £77 to fill it. When this was pointed out to the general manager their response was to immediately blame the delivery driver rather than look into the matter, they weren’t interested in finding out what actually happened. Regarding both these issues, the vehicle is the responsibility of the Group 1 VW Telford until it’s delivered to the customer. The condition of the vehicle and what’s agreed during the sales process is the responsibility of the company. Overall it’s a shame that that the General Manager and Group 1 VW Telford have let themselves down over things that could have been easily rectified and shouldn’t be the responsibility of the customer. PS I emailed the company as requested. They weren’t interested, no answers and there were just more cover ups.

Staff Very welcoming great service car washed good coffee had a mobility car number of years and Toyota Nottingham as been 10/10 and the car bz4x top car

Collected my car after a service and mot only to find two warning messages on the dash to say visit workshop. I had this flag up on my app at 11.08 but no one appeared to of seen this during the visit. Have not got to make another appointment to have this sorted

Arrived at Group 1 Audi's Macclesfield dealership on Tuesday morning (08/04/2025) to collect my Audi A5 Coupe 40 TFSI vehicle.Was welcomed at reception and one of the dealership's sales executives offered me a coffee whilst I waited for Joseph Bowen's arrival.Joseph welcomed me and we then went through various documents to confirm/clarify terms and conditions of the sale.Had an issue whilst attempting to obtain road tax as I (deliberately because of security concerns) do not have the banking app installed on my android smartphone.After liaising with the manager ( Rick Gunby) a workaround was invoked and road tax acquired so enabling me to drive my new Audi model off the forecourt.In summary very pleased with the sales service and,of course,the car itself!

The complimentary wash has damaged the paintwork, which is now full of swirl marks. Been trying to contact them about it, but received no response. 6-7 unanswered calls, an email to them and a chat with Group1 helpline chatbot. No response from anyone... At all...

After purchase

Great service