Extremely Disappointing Experience
Disappointing First Car Experience – Cars Club Limited
As a young man buying my first car, this should have been an exciting experience. Unfortunately, my experience with Cars Club Limited resulted in months of stress and frustration.
The customer service I received from one of the dealership’s colleagues was poor from the beginning, but I liked the appearance of the car and decided to proceed with the purchase.
From December 2025, I experienced steering problems, oil pressure concerns and engine fault codes.
I returned the vehicle to the dealership to give them an opportunity to investigate and repair the faults. Unfortunately, the issues were not satisfactorily resolved, and within a day of receiving the vehicle back, I experienced another fault.
This led to further emails and disagreements. Throughout the process, I found the dealership extremely difficult to deal with. Rather than feeling supported as a customer experiencing repeated vehicle problems, I felt that responsibility was continually being shifted onto me.
After the ongoing issues, I returned the vehicle to the dealership on 26 April 2026.
What concerned me most was the dealership’s handling of my rejection and its proposed £1,244 in deductions.
On 26 April, the dealership emailed me proposing £634 for mileage, £360 for front-wing damage and £250 for an allegedly missing key. I disputed this because I had returned both keys and had evidence supporting my account.
On 27 April, I received another email. The missing-key charge was no longer listed and had been replaced with £100 for alloy damage and £150 for rear-wing damage.
Despite these different allegations, the total proposed deduction remained exactly £1,244.
I found this extremely concerning and questioned the accuracy of the deductions. I have attached the relevant correspondence so readers can see the differences themselves.
I also had photographs documenting the vehicle’s condition when I returned it. Close Brothers subsequently identified pre-existing damage in the dealership’s own pre-sale photographs and stated that the evidence available did not substantiate the additional deterioration being claimed.
Close Brothers upheld my complaint on 1 June 2026 and accepted the vehicle rejection. However, I experienced a prolonged delay recovering my £2,000 deposit, requiring further involvement from Close Brothers and Car Finance Genie.
Eventually, I received my full £2,000 refund after arrangements were made to resolve an approximately £700 shortfall disputed by the dealership. I also received £590.28 in compensation.
This was my first car, and instead of enjoying it, I spent months dealing with faults, an unsuccessful repair attempt, disputed deductions and repeated correspondence.
I understand that used vehicles can develop problems, but I was extremely disappointed with how my concerns were handled within 2 months of purchase.
My advice to other buyers, especially first-time buyers, is to document everything, photograph the vehicle and retain all correspondence.
Based on my personal experience, I would not purchase another vehicle from Cars Club Limited.








