Great start…Dubious finish…bullying & bad business practice….
Great start…Dubious finish…bullying & bad business practice….
Honest review from our perspective
Initial insurance repair undertaken with decent communication via Sam & myself following exceptional service in the past on a previous vehicle. Whole process started in November 2024 with communications ending in May 2025.
Collection changed to afternoon to allow for final valet & wash which would take a ‘few hours’. It was gleaming in the sun when we collected it, happy customers.
However, I noticed a piece of trim was damaged. CARS organised to have this replaced promptly.
The car returned to CARS for the trim replacement, total time with CARS was around 40 minutes, an acceptable time for careful replacement of a piece of trim.
However, unbeknown to us, & not requested or agreed by us the car was washed. Within that 40 minute window. When it had previously taken nearly 3 hours for it’s final wash… after consulting professionals elsewhere for advice; a “quick” maintenance wash? Answer: it’d take best part of 2 hours to carry out a safe pre-wash, 2 bucket contact wash, rinse off & dry.
Upon collection, the sky was overcast so we didn’t immediately notice the scratches, swirl marks & general paintwork damage that became apparent the next day in the sun. Here, we can only assume, caused by a rushed 10/20 minute wash with dirty gritty rag? The video attached shows the damage done to the freshly repaired and painted side of the car which also extends round onto the bonnet and continues around the rest of the car. (NB – video shown of the vehicle after it had been back to CARS for a third time to be “polished”).
The entire car (which was previously ceramic coated) now needed paint correction & a full ceramic recoat. We researched another Lincolnshire based supplier to undertake this work & was offered the conditional monetary contribution from CARS. From here onwards we experienced nothing but bad communication, false promises, a threat of legal action & extremely poor customer service.
On several occasions we were given information by Sam, which was then retracted by his manager Jason. After 2 months the discussions finally concluded in a solution acceptable to us, UNTIL Jason (the manager at CARS) refused to release any funds to the garage undertaking the ceramic coating unless we agreed that we would not leave negative comments/ feedback, & informed us that any ‘bad-mouthing’ would be met with legal action (his words not ours).
We graciously refused his offer & paid the full cost of the remedial work ourselves, as we felt this ‘gagging order’ showed signs of insecurity, bullying, potential for fake reviews & in our opinion general unethical & immoral business practice for one that’s ‘family run’.
In conclusion: Take a chance on getting a good job done with CARS but beware in the event of dissatisfaction when you challenge any shoddy work. (NB - all messages & screenshots kept).







