Gates Automotive Recensioni 2.769

Would you pay a deposit to “Test Drive” a car, and buy it by not test driving it? ?

Would you buy a car (albeit a demo) that is filthy inside & out, human hair on dash, greasy finger prints on leather dash, black dirty hand prints on the hand visa and inner roof… thinking it looks attractive??

Oh yes well it’s the expectation here…especially if you are dealing with David here.

We were asked to pay a refundable deposit to ensure they didn’t sell car overnight when we enquired Saturday afternoon… we drive 90 mins next day to go see and “drive it” and whilst commuting we get called twice whilst driving there by the hi .

The demo car was filthy inside and out…

The sales guy walks out with a yellow duster and tries to rub bird poo off the bonnet but failed the task….them we were asked are you ready to take it for a spin around the block to be told to get in…whilst the sales person drives it!

We Wanted to get answers to our questions….only to be told ”we can discuss next week when you come and pick it up??”

Seriously does no one in the motor trade have any morals these days… excuses like well you only reserved a test drive yesterday afternoon… when you opened at 10am and had over 2 hours to clean it….is not good enough.

We got our refund and left…the salesman was rather shirty with us…but still had the audacity to leave a voicemail two days later still trying to sell the vehicle to us!

What he successfully did was demonstrated why you don’t buy a demo car or any second hand car from them… so we purchased a brand new version of the car…with a dealership with better customer service!
11/3 Response to the response, it would not take much to work out the salesperson I name, the deposit to test drive was made saturday (last weekend) and incident happened sunday (same weekend). We do not want to waste anymore of our time on this.

I picked up my new car today. Macy has given me fantastic service this week. She is knowledgeable, professional and I didn’t feel under pressure from her. The whole process only took a week, from thinking about what I wanted and could afford to picking up my new car. Macy responded quickly to any questions I had. I can’t recommend her enough. Well done, one very happy customer.

I have been left with no car bearing In mind I am still paying for the car that they are not able to work on because of a fault on there side I am struggling to get to places like work and I don’t live in an area with frequent public transport hence why I got a car from there in the first place. My car is a 2023 plate car with only 2000 miles when I got it I haven’t even had this car for 3 months and due to them selling me a faulty car it has been taken away from me 2 times already and on both occasions I haven’t be given a temporary car or any support leaving me stranded.
My job is on the line as I need a car for my role and they don’t care because this is being covered with the one year safety net that they provide the first year when you get a car with them and they have no sense of urgency when dealing with your needs since they are not making money or a profit from it, probably why my car wasn’t fixed properly the first time it went there to be checked because while I was driving my car just shut down to the point i couldn’t even lock my car ( also for extra information my car is not an electric car) They want me to go 3 months without having a car even while I am still paying for it, beating mind i haven’t even driven the car for 3 months.
This is not fair and highly regret ever getting a car from here. Even though though the cars are stated as ‘ Gates approved’ you are still at risk of buying a deathtrap like I unfortunately have.

Absolutely horrific I got a disability car for my nine yr old son we picked up the Jaecoo 10 am 1/3/2026 on driving out warning lights flashed and beep say gear lever problem pull over into safe place and call for service, bit suspicious as a brand new vehicle already had 31 miles on clock went back next day
sat in showroom three hours was almost ignored still no help or no contact. called Today the 3 day asked for manager of the main ford dealership to contact me again no contact this is meant to be a vehicle for a disabled child with medical issues as I have signed for car no one interested be warned I actually had to pay £700 cash upfront also

Great experience throughout the process! All questions and queries were answered. Kept up to date at each stage

Very good service

Tamzin been a star, and been helpful throughout or process of purchasing a vehicle through omoda thanks!

Great service from Tamzin at the dealership. She was friendly, professional, and very helpful throughout the process. Everything was explained clearly and she made the experience easy and stress-free. Highly recommend!

Start to finish everything was excellent. Tyler is the man. Sorted everything out for me. Extremely happy with my new vehicle and ordering from Gates, made it a breeze. Thank you to all at Gates, especially Tyler for doing such a great job.

Tamzin Ahmet
Went above and beyond
Couldn’t ask for anyone better, she helped me so much and explained everything
Smooth transition

This dealership agreed to help me out when I needed to return a Motability vehicle that 4 other dealerships refused to take. Harry from sales was great, helpful, friendly and super efficient. We were in and out in 10 minutes so thank you Harry!

GATES BRAINTREE....1 of our about 80 of our driving school cars a Peugeot 208 in for a Peugeot recall but they phone and say "the bonnet wont open. its £160 plus VAT if you want us to open it". Since they changed from John Pease Peugeot to GATES it has become in my personal and professional opinion the stereo typical corporate "dealership" that will take you for every unnecessary penny they can Rude staff when i dropped off the car and another one that I will avoid!

If I could give the experience a minus star it would get it.

Bought a Focus in April 2024 (£18k) and since then 4 gear boxes have gone in November 2024, April 2025, November 2025 and now again in Feb 2026.

In Nov 2025 we said we no longer wanted the car as it was not fit for purpose and unsafe to drive as clearly there is a systemic issue with the gear box. They refused to acknowledge it and offered us a trade in offer with no compensation for any of the inconvenience. This offer was not fair and would have meant a big financial hit.

In Feb 2026, when the gear box went again, they have acknowledged that this is an issue and it is not normal for 4 gear boxes to go in less than 2 years. They suggested to look at their website to see if there were any cars that might suit us. There was the same car (year and spec) with a slightly lower mileage than ours and we asked for a straight swap as we did not feel safe driving the current car even with a new gear box, seeing they have never adequately investigated what the actual issue was.

They came back and said the couldn’t do a swap and it suggested we pay £1200 for the new car. This offer is disappointing and really shows that despite the website talking about the importance of customer care, they in fact do not care at all. This straight swap would have been a good resolution to this ongoing issue which we have had to endure for nearly 2 years. It would have restored our faith in Gates but now it just shows them in a real petty light with zero interest in customer care.

I have tried to escalate this higher than the garage but to no avail. Apparently there is no one higher than the manager in the local store, which again is not in line with the family run, customer caring business they portray themselves to be.

We are really disappointed with the level of service we have received as we are loyal
Customers to this garage, it’s our second car with them and we have them the opportunity to fix the first few gearboxes.

We have now sought legal advice as to what our next step should be.

Our experience at Gates St Albans was great from start to finish. We were left to browse without being hassled but the moment we were ready to proceed our sales person Sarrah was there with help, guidance and explanations when needed. The whole process was easy, relaxed and informative.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tas was an amazing sales guy! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the whole experience easy and enjoyable. He really knows his stuff and goes above and beyond for his customers. We will definitely be back!

Thanks
Stacie, Tom and girls

I went to the showroom to look around and was greeted immediately by Harry who was very friendly and reassuring. I had an idea of the car I liked and Harry was able to show me the cars and discuss the features. I booked in a test drive for the following day with Harry and he kindly explained all of the funding and finance options that would enable me to make the purchase, but with no pressure to make the purchase there and then. Harry gave me time to think and talk with my partner to ensure I made the right decision.
Once I had made the decision to get the car, the paperwork was sent to me to read and sign and within a few days I was able to collect the car. Harry made sure it was taxed and I had drive away insurance in place. His communication throughout was excellent.
I am grateful for Harry’s help and reassurance through the process and would recommend Gates Waltham Cross to others going forward.

well either my Jaecoo 7 is a bock, 6 months, 4 software updates, no sat nav on holiday couldnt get home from Wales. alarms going off for half that time because I travel with dogs. alarm going off still unless latest updates have worked. however despite having ariel fitted today for radio, Ive come home without voice activation working

I have just has the best welcome to a car dealer - and I mean the best ever
I turned up and was greeted by a gentleman on the gate in a hi vis jacket
He was so friendly, professional and welcoming
What an ambassador
Nothing seemed to much trouble and greeted me like an old friend
Just brilliant. Well done and my apologies for not taking his name..
First class

I have been using Motability vehicles for over 25 years, and I can honestly say that Joe Hayden from the Motability team at Gates Harlow is the best member of staff I have ever dealt with. From start to finish, Joe was professional, knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely caring. He made the whole process smooth and stress-free, and nothing was too much trouble for him. He is a real credit to Gates and to the Motability scheme, and I would highly recommend him to anyone. Thank you, Joe — truly excellent service.