Steven E

THE WORST CAR EXPERIENCE IVE EVER HAD!

0 stars!! An absolutely awful experience from start to finish. I would strongly advise anyone considering buying a car from Houghton Motors to think very carefully.I bought a Range Rover from them and the engine problems started within just 8 days of purchase. I contacted the dealership during the warranty period and made repeated attempts to get the issue addressed.What followed was months of stress, uncertainty and incredibly poor communication.The vehicle ultimately developed serious engine problems and I was advised not to drive it. I then had to go through the Ombudsman Service to resolve and have the vehicle rejected. The fact that it took the involvement of the Ombudsman to reach a resolution tells you everything you need to know about the experience.Even after the vehicle was collected and driven 159 miles with an engine fault - the problems continued.There were repeated failures to properly arrange collection and return of courtesy vehicles (both broke down on me) including vehicles being collected/returned in a completely disorganised way. I have had to deal with broken or unusable courtesy vehicles, missed collection arrangements and endless communication simply to try to get basic matters resolved.The Range Rover was also returned/handled with damage to the front bumper which was not present when it was originally collected from me.The vehicle has also left oil/fluid staining on my driveway, creating yet another problem and expense that I should never have had to deal with.What should have been a straightforward car purchase turned into months of hassle, stress, disruption and dealing with multiple parties just to try to get a problem vehicle properly resolved.My experience has been:❌ Serious engine problems within 8 days❌ Warranty issue not properly resolved❌ Months of stress and uncertainty❌ Poor communication❌ Repeated failed collection arrangements❌ Problems with courtesy vehicles❌ Damage arising while the vehicle was in their possession❌ Oil/fluid staining left on my driveway❌ Ultimately required the Ombudsman Service to resolve the disputeI have retained extensive documentation, photographs, call records and correspondence supporting my experience.I would NEVER use this dealership again and, based on my experience, I would strongly recommend that anyone considering purchasing a vehicle from them carries out extremely thorough independent checks and considers very carefully how they deal with problems if something goes wrong.The biggest disappointment isn’t just that the car developed a serious fault - cars can go wrong. It’s the way the situation was handled afterwards.For me, the customer service and after-sales support were completely unacceptable.