READ HERE WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY

ARNOLD CLARK AUTOMOBILES LTD

Don't forget to update your bookmarks. www.arnoldsucks.com

Oh how I wish I knew about your web site before I got my repairs done at Arnold Clark in Armadale.
Got an ABS warning light on my Xantia and took it to Arnold to get repaired, late afternoon they call me to say we have replaced your rear ABS (£111) sensor but the Front one is also faulty and that will be another £115. I wasn't buying that and suggested they replaced the wrong sensor in the first instance.
Elite inspections (nice chaps) suggested that 2 sensor faults is highly unlikely and I should ask for the old spare for independent testing, but warned me that 90% of their work was in litigation against Arnold Clark garages and not be surprised if the rear sensor was busted up when I got it.
Sure enough when I got the sensor, it was busted up and the cable snipped. Arnold Clark still say both sensors were faulty and tested as such before removing. The rear sensor had apparently seized in the casing and that was why it was busted.
I've had it with these guys, its not the first time I have been suspicious of their work and their extortionate charges. I have spent £2500 on repairs with them in the last 20 months and when I ask for the benefit of the doubt they won't give me the time of day.
I don't suppose you know of any independent Citroen maintainers that can service my car from now on? I am never going back to AC again, not for repairs and not for a new car.

I have just been informed of your wonderful site and I am not surprised to
see my name on it, complaints page 14.
My name is Douglas Reid and I am the owner of Elite Inspections, I deal with
automotive concerns where the customer is unhappy with the service that they
have recieved from a dealer/repairer. We are the experts in the industry
unlike some garages/dealers, all the stories I have read on your web site I
hear every day from customers, we can help when it looks like you have just
been stung and there is no where to turn!!!.
Our website is: www.eliteinspections.co.uk
Feel free to give us a call and we will help.
Douglas Reid, AMIMI, MIDiagE, MIAATI.

well mate my story starts with Arnold Clark east dock street Dundee as I got a used car it was a ford escort saloon turbo diesel m reg I only had it a matter of day when I seen gray/white smoke from the exhaust more than there should of been I went to a friend who is a diesel mechanic who then told me my lifter in the pump had a fault so I phoned the dealer back where I got the car from they told me I had to speak with the after sales manager so they took my mobile number and said he will phone me back when he got back two days later I phoned them back and demanded to speak with this person I got him in the end and he told me book it into Clark fit Hawkhill Dundee that's there own garage I had to wait a week to get it in for repair when I took the car on the date I told them what the problem was and left the car hoping to be fixed soon so after a week went past I phone Clark fit up to see what was happening with my car they said to me my car was not fixed because they cant find t! he fault and the diesel system was totally stripped down but the best bit was when I ask where my car was they told me franks fast fit Dundee this garage is a typical back street botch up garage then I wanted a courtesy car to get me around did I get the corsa or a ford ka no I got someone's trade in a k reg VW passat estate car what looked like my bin parts of the dash falling off opened the n/s front door and it didn't close again it was a shed so I told them to come and get it before I scraped it and demanded my car back next day I got my car back 3 hour later when I left work to go home about 5 miles later I looked in my rear mirror I couldn't see the cars behind me there was thick black smoke belting out of my exhaust next day the car went right back to Clark fit Dundee they got abuse that day so the next day and I was having a chat with a man at my work he told me I can exchange the car within 28 days this was day 26 of having the car so I gave the east dock street branch a ! phone to check up on info I got they told me that I can so I told them to keep the car as I didn't want it after franks fast fit had his hands on it so I went back to the showroom to look at another car it was a astra m reg looked good but needed some rust removed a week later after getting mot'd cylinder head done rust removed I get the car every thing was fine for 2 weeks then the exhaust burst I repaired it myself as I didn't want to wait weeks to get it back after the last time then the rust came back so I checked the car over the cylinder head got a flush out and oil change to get rid of the gunk in the oil the water pump was leaking that's how the gasket was away to blow I was boiling by this time but the best thing about it was it was also bouncing at the back so I went Kwik fit to get a puncher fixed so the boys takes the wheel off and then told me I needed new rear shockers I went to myself he's trying to con me here but it got the better of me so I had a look rear shockers! totally gone all the fluid what is meant to be inside the shocker was outside the shocker so I told the boy to check my whole suspension every damper was leaking then I said how could this have happened the cars only had an mot for 2 month and its had new springs fitted to the rear that was the problem they put new springs on but never replaced the shockers which made the car bounce around and fell unstable which put pressure on the front damper some mechanics at that Clark fit or was it franks fast fit that meant that the mot was non valid as it was unsafe for the public highway at this time after sept 11 I lost my job so I phoned the finance company Nissan finance was the company to see if can extent my payment over an extra year till I got another job they told me no if you were working we can do that so you will still have to pay the agreed price monthly I just told them to pick it up I don't want the car anymore so some months later after a few threat letters I seeker leg! al advice about the matter so I took them to court because I paid over 1/3 of the payment to try to keep the car my solicitor could not got any response from the finance company then he got the info he needed about 8 months later and they still wanted full payment and the arrears but sadly the car got picked up and is now going to an auction to be sold leaving me over £1300 out of pocket plus what it gets sold at auction for and they expect me to finish of the payments my answer ends in off I think that is wrong I see the point if it was a new car so my advice is do not think of buying a car from a man how owns thousands of car and cant give his own daughter a car for free you've seen the advert on the TV that greedy Arnold Clark for you the bigger car rip off dealer in the UK so if this letter gets put on your web page so anybody can read it I would like to say if you live in the Glasgow area beware of an green/blue Astra 1.4 ls m386gkh it needs at least £500 spent on it to get! t it right and the rust is quit bad after sitting idle for a year if you do own it email me to find out about the car well I'm gone for now    

 
Thanks for the info on your best mate Arnold and his fine organization.
Due to my remote location up here in the wilds of Skye I was seriously considering using them as you can search there stock on the web , when the sodding site worked!, before I made the trek to Glasgow or Edinburgh to look for a new motor.
A neighbour did tell me about buying a Golf from Inverness which turned out to be a heap of Sh#te , so I was a bit wary in the first place and having reviewed the seemingly endless e-mails from dissatisfied customers I think Not!
I shall now be taking my custom and hard earned cash elsewhere which I hope will be some satisfaction.

 

we bought a fiat brava from them 2 years ago and it has been hell in the first 6
months we drove it for a week cause it was in getting faults fixed
brakes, exhaust, a large dent, the boot was a different shade off red, and loads of
other things the car has had 7 exhausts cause they are too thick to fit one
properly this was the Arnold Clark in Castlebank st do not ever go there all
they want it the money they are not interested in anything else the salesmen are
con men they don't want to know if you have a problem .what id like to know is
how did the car pass the mot they said it had? .

 

Hi there man this is the best laugh I've had for a while. Thanks to you
Arnold Clark will not be £3000 richer in a week. fuck that. The guys cars
are over priced piss. You've got to remember he doesn't build the cars. 



My mother bought a 98S megane liberte. 1Year ago. 17K on the clock.

Price - £5000. 
The actual cost is about £6400
So in three years when she's finished paying him She's left with an
8 year old heap of shit which is worth about 1500- 2000 pounds.
My mum buys things without consultation. Silly bitch.
The motors running slopping already. Don't want to bore you though.
All the best mate. Sue the bastards

 
sucks isn't strong enough for them.
the first motobility car i got was from AC fiat Allison st Glasgow. while it was
due for service i asked for a car to use. big mistake ! they claimed i needed to
give at least 2 weeks notice. when i pointed out that i was doing that the
service adviser asked me to hold on a min. but on the way to putting the phone
down i heard him blast "ffs some people" when he returned i challenged him. but
he claimed he said nothing. i told him this was the last time i would use AC.
so the next car i got was from V reg Vardy ek. everything was going great until
AC bought them over. that meant i was stuck with them (AC) again. on the 13th
Friday Dec 2002 i got into my car. the car was fine. after about ten mins i
heard a noise , like the engine tappets. i pulled over but they seem to quieter.
so i continued onward. suddenly the power steering went . i was lucky i was less
than a mile from the nearest Renault dealer. but it was bad news. the nearest
was AC Pollokshaws. i told the guy Sid Quinn) i heard a noise from the engine
first then the steering went. that's ok but we don't have a car u can use at the
moment but we will have a look at it and let u know "i will call u tomorrow".
the next day at 12pm i phoned him. he claimed the car needed part so he put them
on order. "I'll call u Monday as soon as they arrive". Monday 5.20pm i called
him. he told me that some parts have arrived but they didn't send a bolt and he
would put it on order. but not to worry , the!
y would do all the other work then just add the bolt. i should have the car
early morning Tuesday. "I'll call u as soon as its ready". Tuesday about 5pm i
called him. he claimed they had been sent a modified pulley and didn't have the
tools to fit it. but he would send it off to get fixed and it should be ready by
the afternoon Wednesday). "ill call u as soon as".
Wednesday 5pm i call him. "you wont believe this" he claimed. the pump
they parts) sent was leaking and they needed a new one. I've still no car i can
give u but "ill call u on Saturday the car will be ready by then". Saturday 12pm
i call him. there's a problem with the car. there's a noise off the engine ! i
told him that's what i brought it in for. he said he didn't remember that. i phone
motability, who confirmed to me that i was right. then he claimed that there was
very little oil in the car. i pointed out that they had done a service on the
car about 8 weeks before. and i had checked the oil only 3 weeks before i
brought the car in. he claimed the gauge must be broken then. he said he would
have a look at the engine and get back to me on Monday. "the engine is
knackered" we need parts for it. i asked how long that would take. he said he
would need to order the parts first." I'll call u tomorrow to let u know about
the parts. Tuesday 5pm (after trying all day to get through) i c!
all him. it will be next Tuesday before we get the parts but i could call him
sometime in the week for an update and to see if he could get me the use of a
car. Friday 27th dec. i call him. he still didn't have a car for me to use but if
i call him tomorrow at 10am on the dot, he would have a car for me.
Saturday 10am on the dot ! a girl answers the phone and says its sids day off.
and they didn't know anything about a car. but the girl would sort this out by
Monday. Monday the 30th. i called about an update on my car I'm told some of the
parts where on back order and the weren't sure when they would come in. but they
had a car for me. at last !!!!
it only took them 18 days to get me transport. this is now the 10th Jan 2003 my
cars still not ready and i don't have a clue when either....so watch this space. 
invy

 

AC's would of charged us 20X the amount of Cash(as he wanted almost everything
replaced) for mot If we had believed his health check. We took it to our local
garage which is the best!!) and they charged us hardly anything. Plus Arnold
forgot to put two vital things on his list which could cause the car to break
down .

 
I bought a T reg Citroen Saxo from them in March last year and stupidly bought
the Extended Warranty. The car was fine for a while apart from a leak from the
sun roof/Ariel region which they attempted to repair, UNSUCCESSFULLY. I then put
the car through the famous 41-point service 69 pounds. I just knew the car
would have a major fault diagnosed by the ejits. Apparently my brakes were non
existent and needed replaced at (discs and pads) I argued that the car had only
done 20,000 miles and maybe I was just a stupid woman who knew nothing about the
technicalities of cars but they chose the wrong one to pick on here. I called a
friend of mine who happens to be a mechanic and he came to the A.C. branch and
checked the car in front of the workshop Manager. The repair supposedly needed
was costed at 218 pounds. The car did not need any immediate repairs to the
brakes although the pads were worn but I had a good couple of months of use
still on them. They didn't know where to !
put there faces and as a result a number of customers waiting to book their cars
in about turned and left. Quite right too.

I eventually got my brake pads replaced and the discs cleaned at a total cost of
35 pounds, how do Arnold Clark justify their prices?

In December my steering failed on my car almost causing me to crash, luckily for
me and my young Son, I was in our street and driving slowly. I read my
Warranty details and thought "great, the steering is covered". They came out
and towed my car away and phoned later to say you're right, the power steering
has failed, but the part needed to fix it is not covered by the warranty, I
wasn't surprised. Again I wasn't surprised at the ridiculous price quoted at
380 pounds plus VAT. I queried this and the idiot said I was lucky because my
car had been towed in to the garage free of charge!!! Shut up I said, the
recovery of the vehicle is determined in the warranty and this so called favour
has actually cost me 400 pounds. I phoned around other dealers and asked about
the costs for the same repair. A very reputable Citroen place quoted 134 pounds
parts and labour, I agreed to this and they also arranged to collect the car
from Arnold Shark for me. I got the car back in a couple!
e of days and it's going great now.

I have also written to Citroen asking them to justify the prices Arnold Shark
quote for their parts as this must be detrimental to them, I for one would not
have considered purchasing another Citroen had I not had the sense to shop
around. There must be thousands of people who believe they must pay these
extortionate prices for repairs.

So be warned people ARNOLD SHARK is out to get you..

 
Hi excellent site, its about time this crook and all his seedy franchises got
some truths told about em.
I was lucky I 'suppose - I popped in to look at a car, and agreed a trade in price
for my old car - we shook on the deal and signed the "sale contract".
Three days later, I got a phone call from the branch, informing me that "the
manager had decided that the sales rep had over-valued my trade in by
£250".....and there was nothing they could do !!!
I called the manager, who avoided me for hours, and I finally challenged the
sales rep, who said that it wasn't a legally binding agreement - their customer
sales manager also quoted the same nonsense.

Some enquiries later with trading standards, have revealed that this is
happening more and more in Arnold Clark branches - as I type this.....Traded
Standards are investigating the whole issue !
Needless to say, I have told em to stick the car where the sun don't shine..!

Lucky escape or what !!!!.

 
Well done for creating this site. I remember the anger and frustration I
experienced after buying a car (my first and only car to date) from Arnold
Clark. Not only was I sold a car with undisclosed faults (my partner also was
sold a faulty car by them and had numerous problems, which is a whole different
story) but the moment I had paid the money, nobody was interested and it took 6
weeks to even begin to get anything done. I have had a catalogue of disasters,
including rude staff and promises broken (yes, not quite "promises delivered" if
you ask me), not to mention all the phone calls that were never returned and my
messages that were "lost" and not passed on. I also had a long wait for parts to
be ordered, only to find they ordered the wrong ones!

I won't bore you with all the details, but I have never been so angry as I was
when faced with the uncaring attitude and inefficiency of Arnold Clark
dealerships (I've dealt with two of my local dealerships). At the end of my
tether, I wrote to Arnold Clark himself. As you will know, Mr. Clark is not
interested in dealing with customers, and a rude man called Alasdair Craig does
his dirty work for him. I was disgusted with the response I received from Mr.
Craig, I have long since destroyed it was fit for nothing else, but he was rude
and patronizing, and did not read my letter - or if he did so he chose to
ignore rather than address any of the points I raised. He certainly did not want
to know that his colleagues were doing a shoddy job. Seeing as I was female, he
appeared to take the attitude that I was inventing problems and causing a fuss
about nothing.

 

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