Avoid.
I held off posting a review as I wanted to give the dealership a fair opportunity to resolve this. However, between ignored emails, repeated inaccurate information & unresolved safety & reliability issues, I have no confidence in them.
I agreed to purchase a vehicle from Stonebridge Motors on 13th March, with several issues discussed & promised by the owner to be resolved before collection. I was also trading in a vehicle, which Stonebridge mechanics inspected & used to negotiate the trade-in price.
I didn’t collect the car until 10th April. I was told the delay (almost 4 weeks) was to carry out an MOT & ensure everything was completed to agreed standards. I was also told the MOT had flagged three tyres for replacement, however no advisory appears online.
When I collected the car, several agreed repairs had either not been done or were completed to a poor standard. The rear bumper had not been repaired, the wing mirror appeared to have been sanded & not repainted, and there was a failed repair attempt on the roof where a square outline remained visible.
There were also further issues raised beforehand: trim hanging down in the passenger footwell, centre console not secured, interior & exterior not properly cleaned - as well as issues which arose within the first couple of days: sat nav stuck showing the car in Yorkshire, hands-free microphone not working, knocking noise in the steering, brakes juddering, faulty front left sensor, no log book (three weeks later, still no log book and DVLA records show one hasn’t been issued since 2020), warranty information or MOT certificate not provided, tyre pressure warning shortly after collection, and the car pulling to the left indicating they didn’t correctly inflate the new tyres.
I returned the vehicle on 20th April (as agreed with Adam) for these issues to be addressed. I was told by Dan 48 hours later that everything had been completed aside from the sat nav & hands-free system.
When I returned to collect the vehicle, this was not accurate. None of the issues had been resolved other than some Isofix fittings. I had hoped the mechanical & safety-related issues would have been prioritised, but they were simply ignored.
To make matters worse, a new scratch was present on the rear driver’s side door which was not there before the vehicle went back into their care.
As a result of the unresolved safety-related concerns & repeated inaccurate information, I exercised my right to reject the vehicle within 14 days.
After several days without a response and being informed that my email had not been received by aftersales the dealership got back in touch.
Stonebridge rejected my rejection. They stated that I had to allow them a chance to repair (a quick Google search proves this is incorrect) they also stated I had not allowed sufficient time for repairs - again, the timeframe had been agreed in advance with Adam, & I had made it clear that if additional time was required I would need a courtesy vehicle. Despite this, I was still told the work had been completed when it had not.
I also sought contacted Consumer Advice, who confirmed I was within my rights to reject the vehicle within the first 30 days and I was not required to allow them an opportunity to rectify the issues - though I had given them a chance and they had failed to do so.
Overall, this has completely taken the excitement out of buying a new car. The constant misinformation & lack of aftercare have left me with no confidence in the dealership. I am now left chasing responses to emails with my only options being escalation to the Motor Ombudsman, Trading Standards and a Section 75 claim.
In the meantime, I have had to hire a vehicle for work travel whilst the car purchased from Stonebridge remains unused due to reliability & safety concerns.
What seemed like a “premium” experience - a showroom tour, a promise of flowers on collection (which never materialised) - has fallen well short once issues have arisen.
I would strongly advise others to carefully consider my experience before purchasing from this dealer.