Evans Halshaw Sheffield Citroen – Beware! Our 5+ months of hell

sheffslayer

Evans Halshaw Sheffield Citroen – Beware! Our 5+ months of hell

I want to make other readers aware of our long nightmare scenario of dealing with Evans Halshaw Sheffield Citroen. Myself, family and colleagues are appalled at their behaviour and I know they have lost significant business directly because of our problems.

We bought a 1 year one Citroen C3 for my wife from them without at first test driving it, as it was ‘unavailable’ as told by the dealer (Our 1st big mistake). Being a main Citroen dealership, the vehicle being only one year old and top book price, we trusted Evans Halshaw statement it was in good condition (Our 2nd big mistake) so we paid a deposit for the car.

Primary Issue: When we went to collect the vehicle (May 2011), the first thing we noticed was the car smelt very strongly of stale cigarette smoke. I was a smoker at the time and even to me this was majorly overpowering. Immediately we made Evans Halshaw aware of this smell, we were directly told this was not a problem and promised it would be resolved (Our 3rd mistake trusting this comment).

Secondary Issue: After a few days, we also noticed the specification of the car was different to how it had been originally sold to us. We were told factory fitted Bluetooth phone hands free, but our vehicle did not have it.

To cut a long storey short. We gave the dealer over 5 months and multiple visits to resolve the issues but they failed to resolve either. We believed they had far than enough time to resolve the issues and our good will had run out. We were unable to use the vehicle as intended and had done nothing like the usual mileage.

We then asked for a full refund in writing and by recorded delivery. A few days later I received an angry and rude phone call from there managing director of the Evan Halshaw dealership stating they would not give us any money back, they were washing their hands of it and we were stuck with the car as was. He then told me to take the case to trading standards but they would not help (an untrue comment and possibly a scare tactic which has now backfired).

The whole dealer group also seem disinterested; I complained to Pendragon group head office by letter and email months ago but have yet to receive any type of contact from them.

On the plus side after contacting trading standards (despite Evan Halshaw comments this would not help!), we have been told we have multiple legal avenues to pursue them for a refund even though it has been over 5 months. Trading standards have the option of taking legal action for us if the dealer still won’t do anything.

I’m confident this will be resolved to our satisfaction, but I want to make readers aware not to trust dealerships promises and do not be intimidated. This issue has not only tarnished the dealers reputation but also included he Pendragon group and indirectly Citroen. This has taught us a lot about trusting even main dealers and we will be very careful in future.

Ranger8

No - Its your fault

Basically from what you`ve said the car smelled of smoke and didn`t have Bluetooth, I`ve never smoked and would imagine that wouldn`t be nice but to be honest I personally think those `faults` are extremely minor (the dealer obviously thinks so too ) and not sufficient grounds to refuse the car.

visidigi

No - Its your fault

you bought a car you didn't see or drive. You paid for the car and you took the car off the forecourt - knowing the smell of smoke. I would have refused to take it until they sorted it.

The bluetooth thing, happens all the time, dealers often under spec used cars. Some features they can retrofit, some they can't. I don't know where this falls.

BUT you've had the car 5 months - you are not entitled to a full refund, no matter what trading standards seem to think - there will be deductions for use - the milage you quote doesn't come into it as you can't prove its been under utilised - I cannot fathom how or why you could not use the vehicle - because it smelt of smoke?

I'm sorry, but after 5 months, I really do hope you have more facts and proovable evidence than provided here, otherwise you may find this ends up not falling in your favour...

Ranger8

No - Its your fault

Try one of these to remove/disguise the cigarette smell

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dakota-Odour-Bomb-Fogger-Car-Air-Freshener-Neutralise-Odours-NEW-CAR-SCENT-/110771391147?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item19ca7d4aab

bod1467

On the face of what was written (smell of smoke and no Bluetooth) by the OP I'd be inclined to agree with the other replies. However I suspect there's more to this than what the OP has written. OP needs to clarify.

ThumbRemote

The dealer should undoubtedly have fixed the 2 problems stated, but "Our 5+ months of hell" - really?

proactive

what good is the poll doing then if you just want to get the warning out? not sure what a percentage of people voting either way will achieve for you.

dreamypuma

I'm not voting yet, as not all the facts are available to make and informed choice.

Two sides to every story.

1) What does the OP have to evidence the fact that bluetooth was offered on this car?
2) Was the dealer given a reasonable chance to rectify the the issue?
3) Was the OP offered anything by way of remedy

If the OP wasn't happy with the product, why drive it for over five months. The goods should have been rejected immediately. Your either happy with it or not.

sheffslayer

Yes - The dealer should have fixed the issues

Thanks to everyone who has commented your feedback is appreciated and valued. I can see my description of the issues needs a bit of clarification. Its right there is more to this story than just a smelly car but I want to try and be as subjective as possible to warn other people not to just to take this or any other dealers word.

More Info on the Issues
When I said smell I should have used a stronger word, Its more stench and fume like. If you were to drive in the car more than 10 mins without having the windows open, the stench gets you at the back of the throat (and I was a smoker) and is unbearable. We can mitigate by having the windows open , which is fine in summer, but that’s not practical when you have our young baby in the back. The dealer has attempted to mask the stench with 2 very strong perfume bombs, this succeeded in reducing the smoke stench a little, but if anything made the car worse with horrid perfume. So to avoid subjecting our baby to this, we avoid using the car and other vehicles or public transport whenever possible.

To this day, the dealer has not tried to fix the Bluetooth problem or offered us any recompense. The Bluetooth was on advertised sales literature and highlighted by the sales person.

More Info our dealings with Evans Halshaw
The dealers have been given more than a chance to rectify the issue (5+ months and 5-10 visits), perfume bombed the car twice, cleaned and changed parts. To be fair at first they did try to rectify the issues but have failed and washed their hands of it leaving us with a greatly devalued car. We have taken this vehicle to other dealers for use in a possible trade in, but have been offered far less than normal book value directly because of the stench.

After we 1st formally complained, we were encouraged by the dealer manager’s first response, but then every time we had had to deal with other staff, something has messed up badly. Communication and customer service within the dealer seem to be a week point.

I would not have drove the car off the forecourt and trusted the dealers promises in hindsight and will learn from this. All we want is to walk away, we accept we have used the car a little so deductions for use could be made.

Summary
To us this car has been a nightmare, dealing with Evans Halshaw who have cocked up everything they can has far been the worse experience, my use of the word ‘Hell’ is justified in our case. In my experience of buying many used cars from main dealers, this though has been far the worse experience I have ever had.

This is now being dealt with by 3rd parties and will be rectified but at great cost to us in time and money. We will be out of pocket a little, but I hope this storey will help others avoid our mistakes.