St Leonards Motors Reviews 36

I wouldn’t trust SLM Select Hastings to run a popcorn stand, let alone prepare and hand over a used car.

I visited on a Sunday to view a Mitsubishi Outlander. I already knew this was the model I wanted, so I only needed to check the condition of this particular car. Within a short look around, I spotted several obvious issues that were apparently news to them.

The driver’s door had clearly been badly repaired and still had a dent. The chrome trim was cracked. On the test drive, I also flagged that the heating was not working, which is a fairly common issue on Outlanders. I told Jack that I would be interested in buying the vehicle if those issues were properly rectified.

I returned the following Wednesday to check whether they had diagnosed the heating issue and had a repair timeline. They hadn’t, and I was told they wouldn’t look into it unless I put down a deposit, because there was a queue of “hundreds of cars”. That should have been the first proper red flag. They either had not checked the car properly, or were pretending not to know about the issues.

Before returning, I had also checked the MOT history and noticed the front brake discs had been advisories on the last two tests. I asked for these to be replaced too. After a long back and forth, they reluctantly agreed. I paid the deposit on the clear understanding that the door and trim would be repaired, the heating issue resolved, and the brakes replaced.

I was told the car would be ready in two weeks. A collection date was agreed.

The day before collection, I got a call saying the heating fix had not worked and the car would not be ready. Another week passed. I was working away on the Monday and had already told Jack that if it was not ready that day, I would not be able to collect until Friday. At around 3pm, I got a call asking whether I could collect at 5:30pm.

I arrived at 5:30pm. Jack was busy with another customer, so he gave me the keys to check the car myself. The handover inspection seemed to consist mainly of handing me the keys and hoping I had poor eyesight.

The car was filthy and had not been valeted, so it was not ready to collect anyway. I sat inside and the heaters still were not working. The door had been replaced with one from a much older donor car, with a poor colour match, scratches behind the handle, poor fitment, and it did not seal properly at the top corner.

Once again, Jack seemed unaware of the issues. Which raises the obvious question: who is actually checking these cars before calling customers in to collect them? Apparently I was the quality control department, which was odd as I don’t remember applying for the job

I refused to take the vehicle.

The next morning, I was told Mitsubishi would need to look at the heating issue because SLM could not fix it, but Mitsubishi could not inspect it until June, around four weeks later. I was also told that even if I was prepared to wait, they did not think they could get the car into a condition I would be happy with.

At that point, I agreed. They had shown no real competence, no proper preparation, and no meaningful quality control.

We agreed to part ways and my deposit was returned. The part of the process which worked properly was the refund.

For balance, the deposit was refunded without issue. But the overall experience was poor from start to finish. The car was advertised and sold as though it was ready to go, but the reality was a vehicle with obvious defects, failed repairs, poor communication, and no evidence anyone had properly inspected it before handover.

I went to another dealership further afield, bought another Outlander two days later, and drove it home the same day. That experience showed exactly what this one should have been.

Avoid unless you enjoy wasting time, chasing basic answers, and being invited to collect a car that still isn’t fixed.

Very poor communication and behaviour, please avoid this company. Due to pick up a car in 4 days time as agreed with the salesman, only to get a call saying it is no longer for sale. Why do they do this? After sales manager agreed to look into the salesman, gave him until 18:00 to reply and no reply. Just save your effort and buy a car from a more reputable company and not SLM Select. Still hoping company will explain their behaviour.

Since taking ownership of a vehicle from SLM in Hasting last July, I have experienced ongoing and repeated issues. Despite the vehicle being covered by a 6-month warranty at the time of purchase, the problems have persisted throughout my ownership and have now escalated significantly.
At the point of sale, I was informed that the vehicle had been serviced. However, it has since come to light that the vehicle had little to no oil in the engine. As no oil warning light was triggered, I was completely unaware of this issue until the engine began making a loud and concerning noise, which has ultimately led to me being advised that the engine now requires full replacement.
Given these circumstances, I am extremely concerned about the condition the vehicle was sold in and whether it was properly prepared prior to sale. I have tried to contact the dealership to seek some sort of compensation but having already done this once before due to another issue, I have 0 hope anything will get resolved.

Stressful experience - seemed to be 0 customer service or care for customers which is a shame as car looked great. Emails ignored numerous times / having to be chased up politely in order to get a response (after putting a deposit on the car) Also received a phone call followed by an unprofessional voice mail when I was 1 minute late to my appointment (got stuck in traffic and arrived 2 mins past the time agreed) - Didn’t end up purchasing from as worried this would be the same treatment received if ever a problem with the car. Went elsewhere and had a fantastic experience and a new car within 7 days.

Just brought my car from St Leonard’s Motors. What a wonderful experience from start to finish. Dave guided us through the process, excellent customer service and professionalism. All of the staff we met were helpful and polite. Thank you SLM . We shall return.

As there are varying reviews applying to different branches, mine is about SLM Select in St Leonards, Hastings, East Sussex.

Well, what can we say about this company in St Leonards except that it was a great experience. From the time we met David Siddle we bought a car through him and asked for a couple of things to be sorted, before deciding to go ahead. These he agreed to without question and he was always very friendly with a great sense of humour, yet so professional throughout the process. Hopefully things will continue this way and we can only recommend using them. No sales pressure gimmicks and very willing to help and advise. Excellent service, thank you David.

If you have been given a ‘warranty’ on your vehicle from SLM, make sure you read the small print.
Sadly, being given a loan car whilst yours is being repaired, you will be dissapointed.
I was given RAC cover for 5 days but then the hire company asked for an extension as my vehicle was not ready to collect.
All it needed was a new battery but it took 11 days in total to do. They will say 9 as they do not count weekends!
For 3 months I have tried to recoup £318 that the hire company took from me (without telling me). SLM refused to accept responsibility for this and have refused point blank.
I asked for GDPR which has just arrived and, reading the small print, they have, in small print, stated they do not give you a loan car if they have none available!
So, make sure you can walk home!

Carried out some warranty repairs on my Nissan e-power Qashqai- kept me mobile and updated throughout. Thanks to Callum and his team.

We purchased a Volvo V60 in January 2025 from Jack Humm at SLM Motors in Hastings. We were told the car had been thoroughly checked by "Bosch' engineers which gave us a frankly fraudulent and false sense of reassurance the car was in good condition. This should be the minimum expectation for a car costing over £12,000.

However, after just one week there was a loud clicking noise on turning and, after investigation, it turned out the car was sold to us with faulty driveshafts. We can only presume this was known to the garage. On informing them of the situation they showed very little sense of duty of care and showed no interest in helping to fix the issue or maintaining customer satisfaction.

I would be very hesitant buying anything from them, there are far more honest and decent garages around.

Bought a used Aygo x from Hastings branch. Simple hassle free deal - no pressure selling to buy add on extras when these were declined. Car itself very well prepared and handover painless.

Recently purchased a car from SLM motors in Hastings and the customer service was excellent from Ian. I had been let down by a dealership which left me carless. Ian loaned me a car while they prepared the one i had purchased and took away all the stress i had about getting to work etc. Really pleased with the car and will be using SLM for future purchases when my wife needs to change her car. Great selection of vehicles to choose from. Wouldn't hesitate in recommending SLM and Ian.

Awful. Everything from low quality paint correction, which had to be rejected, to dangerous repairs with track rod ends scraping on the wheels which was then not seen by their mot tester. Close to zero communication and I'm still waiting for documents. A month to get the car to me. Dismal incompetence in every department.

I brought a car for this company and Tom the sales man was great.Intill you deal with the after sales team. Had problems with the vehicle so had to take it back then they gave me a courtesy car which had a chip winscreen and now the are charging me 475 for a new winscreen. I won't be dealing with this company again stay clear. If you have a problem with a car to get fixed good look

Could not have wished for a better experience when buying my 2nd car from SLM. Buying a car as young person can feel like a daunting experience but Dave was brilliant in talking me through the whole process from the test drive, to the spec on the car, to the part exchange and the paperwork that goes alongside purchasing from them! If you’re lucky enough to do business with Dave, you’re in very good hands!! 🚗🛞

Sadly I have to give one star to the servicing department of SLM in Norwich. When I first bought a brand new Aygo X in 2022 I paid for the Toyota Protection for the bodywork and interior cloth. When I went to collect it I checked the body panels and it was very clear to me that the protection was not applied. I know this because I have had this protection on other vehicles and the body panels feel like glass after it has been applied, and it wasn't. I pointed this out to them and then insisted it had been done. I insisted it had not been done. They eventually admitted they had made a mistake and said they would do it. A few days later I went to collect my car and checked the panels...they had done the bonnet and the roof with the protection, and not the doors. I pointed this out and after some debate, they agreed it was an 'oversight' and that they would do the rest . I pointed out that the wheels and the interior cloth was included in the cost. They agreed to do them. I finally returned to discover they had done all of the bodywork panels but not the alloy wheels and clearly not the interior cloth. I was beginning to lose the will to live at this point and just accepted the situation! I had the vehicle serviced at the same garage (because the next nearest Toyota garage, not owned by SLM was 50 miles away!) and they were supposed to replace the brake fluid. I had photographed the precise level of the fluid in the reservoir before I left the car with them. When I went to collect the car I checked the level again and I was in exactly the same place. I confronted the servicing manager who insisted it had been done. I told him I didn't believe it had and he said 'as a token of good faith we'll do it again'. I had to take him at his word. Several months past and I discovered there was such devices to measure the moisture levels in the brake fluid. So in June 2025, barely seven months after the fluid was apparently changed I bought a decent brake fluid tester and the fluid within the reservoir gave a reading of 1.8 which indicated to me that either there was a serious leak within the braking system or, as I suspected, the fluid had never been replaced. You decide. I will never go back to this garage in the future, despite the general manager and sales managers being very personable and polite.

Great service, a good amount of cars to look at, went for a Nissan Juke, which has been great, All the paper work done, (Car Tax, Extended Warranty etc) a big thank you to Mark who made this all so easy

Hi I gave my van in to be fixed a lenards moters they guy said it would be a few days I was fine with that after 5 days he said its ready cost 3700e he said I changed 4 injectors . Lies because he only changed 1 .. the van broke down 15 kilometres later refused to fix it for 3 weeks over no staff refuse to refund the money for injectors not changed I will see them in court shaun myers

SLM was recommended to me by my sister who has purchased two cars previously. I visited the site on BH Monday, we were immediately impressed with the site and available cars … having wandered around the cars at our leisure , we had been immediately acknowledged by David, salesman who just offered to be available for any questions, advice etc. we did not feel pressured in anyway. Once I had demonstrated an active interest in a vehicle David made sure it was opened & accessible to me, again he was available and attentive without being pushy in anyway. David was able to sort out a test drive as soon as requested and allowed me to give the car a good test. The whole time David was polite, funny and informative had a real skill in being able to match the level of interest and enthusiasm that I was demonstrating. Once I made the decision to proceed with the purchase I landed him with my timescale of needing a very tight turnaround of three days to pick the car up. David arranged this including arranging the full health check, MOT, service and additions I requested like little bits and pieces to be addressed. I understand he persuaded a Service team member (Reece) to ‘stay late’ in order to meet my tight timeframe. I cannot praise David and the Team enough for their attention to detail and ability to be professional at the same time as managing expectations and a not very easy customer (my timeframe). I would, and have, already recommended SLM to a friend based on my experience Easter Monday 2025.
Thank you David and the wider Team for an exceptional service and experience.

SLM select have been amazing! Viewed a car last weekend, and Ian was extremely helpful! Very kind and honest. Staff all helpful, and I was proud enough to walk away with my new car today! Just 7 days later. A big thank you to you all for such smooth organisation. Further thanks to Ian for his kindness and being so helpful. Highly recommend.

Major Service carried out and MOT, very satisfied with the work done, plus the advisory which needed urgent attention. All carried out on the day