Customer reviews of Ideal Car Centre

By David M on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

It was a first for me when I bought a 2011 MX5 online! The risk was that I paid for it in full before seeing it. Positives: Danny went to great lengths to point out blemishes and faults with the car. Bear in mind that it is an 11 years old car one does not expect perfection. The body marks were described with absolute honesty and there were no surprises. If anything, I expected a little bit worse. The handover was excellent, I was collected from the train station by Ben who was polite and punctual and wee bit of an MX5 fan. Danny was pleasant and explained everything in the handover. At the end of the day, a fair car at a fair price. Negatives: Nothing really to write home about. I asked if there were 2 keys with the car. Technically there were but both need to be refurbished. The premises are minimalist but designed for out of town buyers, rather than passing trade. The warranty is probably as much use as a chocolate teapot. A £500 limit only on big ticket, catastrophic events which are rare. Hopefully I will never have to test it! I would not hesitate to use again. Nothing was over-promised.

By Robert P on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

Absolutely shocking customer service. Was called a weirdo because I wanted to view a £7000 car before paying for it. After just 2 messages, demanded payment in full without even seeing the car.

Reply from Ideal Car Centre on 10/11/23

Actually this customer is unhappy and became very rude and abusive as we refused to break the law and allow him to view and test drive a car during lockdown and endanger both our business and the health and safety of our staff and their family. This 'customer' enquired over Facebook and stated he would not buy a car without viewing or driving it. We informed him that unfortunately under the current legislation we were not allowed to open for him to do so but were allowed to sell the car over the phone or online and offer click and collect should he wish, including a 3 month warranty on the car and a full refund should the car not be as described on collection. We explained we have sold many cars this way and it was his choice. Unfortunately he began swearing and insulting members of staff as we were not allowed to open specifically for him and we informed him that he was not allowed to leave his house simply to view cars as it was not considered an essential journey and he could be fined for it. He then started accusing us of being 'scammers'. He even drove to our site which was closed, rang after hours because he couldn’t see the car which was inside our locked showroom and then started swearing at our staff over the phone and calling us abusive names. Fortunately we have kept copies of his abusive messages including the disgusting language he used.

By M on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

Possibly the worst car experience I have ever had in 20 years. Arrogant, threatening , and extremely rude when I enquired about a car which I was I interested in but still not satisfied about the price. Quite unbelievable attitude and would strongly advise against giving this company any enquires in the future

Reply from Ideal Car Centre on 10/11/23

We are sorry to hear you are unhappy as we pride ourselves on good customer service. As you have not given your details or any actual details of what happened we cannot confirm who you are however if you are the gentlemen who emailed whilst we were closed during the Coronavirus lockdown on our BMW X5, you informed us very bluntly you were not interested in our car at that price despite it being reduced by £1,000 during our sale, the cheapest in the country, and £3,000 below the market value. You were politely informed of this and advised if you were not happy with the price that unfortunately we could not help you and you would need to buy a different car if you did not want to buy ours at the sale price. We have copies of these emails to prove this. You then wished to complain to a manager at which point you claimed your emails said something completely different. When we read the emails to you to confirm your complaint you became extremely rude and aggressive. We are at a loss to your claims of being threatened or anyone being rude or aggressive. Thankfully our calls are recorded and we are happy to replay them for you to show we were at all times polite and trying to be helpful, you were simply unhappy we would not reduce the car further. Again we are sorry to hear you were unhappy but we are more then happy to provide copies of the emails and phone recordings should you still not be satisfied.

By Steve on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

Great company to deal with, Very professional Team, friendly and knowledgable. i would recommend them to friends and family. Thank you to all at Idea car centre

By Anonymous on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

An excellent used car dealer based in the Manchester area easy to get to and a good selection of cars

By Anonymous on 10 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

Andy the Manager was a dream to deal with and made sure we were all singing from the same hymn sheet before we committed to a £1000 deposit.

By David S on 07 November 2023 | Purchase not verified

The staff were pleasant and helpful with no pressure. I bought the car over the phone and it was exactly as described when I collected it. I would recommend.

By Sam S on 14 August 2023 | Purchase not verified

Not a great experience. Traveled 40 miles to go view a car that I have seen on here for a few weeks with full intention of buying cash but the interior was dirty as well as the car needing multiple things fixed. I was told I could take the car on the day but I would have to pay for the cleaning and maintenance myself as well as no money off the asking price. Or I could wait for a week for the car to be in the condition that it should have been in in the first place. If the car isn’t ready to be bought there and then why not tell me that before I had traveled all that way for my appointment. The only reason it got more than 1 star is because the lad I spoke to Ben was quite helpful but others than that I would avoid this place not a good dealership.

Reply from Ideal Car Centre on 23/09/23

We are sorry you are unhappy but not sure this review is entirely fair. The car was kept outside and the weather was terrible so obviously it wasn't 100% clean, and you were informed prior to travelling that the car was not ready as we were waiting on a sat nav unit that had been ordered. The car was already reduced, £1,000 below the recommended retail and we had several other appointments booked on it which you were aware of. the usual procedure, which you were offered, would be to place a deposit and collect the car another day once it had been fully prepared and had a full valet prior to collection. You didn't want to do this unless we knocked money off for your having to travel, which I am sure you appreciate is nothing to do with us and the car had already been reduced. It seems you have only given us a negative review as we refused to knock money off a car already reduced and £1,000 below retail price.

By John D on 20 April 2023 | Purchase not verified

Car I bought has many issues and not only does the owner not want to know but he is very rude and has no customer service skills. Looking at feedback I can see that others are having same problem.

Reply from Ideal Car Centre on 20/04/23

We are sorry to hear you were unhappy as all our staff always strive to be polite, courteous, and helpful. Can you please confirm which vehicle you purchased, as we have no record of your purchase and have not had any customers telling us of issues with their vehicle, and people often mistake us for Ideal Car Centre Ltd which is an entirely different company.

By Anonymous on 25 January 2023 | Purchase not verified

Very poor communication, after call decided NOT to buy car from this place. If my after service would look as poor as this conversation, i better say NO today. Good luck

Reply from Ideal Car Centre on 25/01/23

We are sorry to hear you were unhappy as all our staff always strive to be polite, courteous, and helpful. Can you please confirm who you spoke to and on what vehicle, as we have no record of your enquiry and people often mistake us for Ideal Car Centre Ltd which is an entirely different company.