S and T Motor Company - Gateshead

Nicolle Hunkin

AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Buckle up, it’ll be a long one. I found my dream car via auto trader from this garage.
I live in Cornwall so when I called the garage to ask if they’d accept an independent AA inspection they declined. Telling me they “are a rip off and tear the car to shreds, and we don’t have anything to hide” alarm bells should have started to ring then.
Fast forward few days, I pay the deposit on the car, and was told delivery would be arranged by them but at an extra cost of approx £600!
I agreed to pay the extra.
A few days passed and I hadn’t heard any thing about the delivery of the car. I called and they said they are having the car checked by a diagnostic team. When I asked why they said given the distance they don’t want any problems. It then transpires the car was found to have “a slight occasional judder” they told me the car was booked in at a local specialist garage for 3 weeks time. This would have taken me up to week 4 after having paid my £250 deposit on a 10k car. Patiently waited to find out the results of this diagnostic test. I received a picture via what’s app of the car outside a Skoda specialist. Later that day after numerous phone calls, I was told the injectors had been checked and they had performed a full diagnostic test and nothing was found. So I assumed the small “slight occasional judder” was nothing to worry about. I waited days to find out when the car would be delivered, in the end I arranged my own collection. It was delivered to me and as described the body and interior of the car was immaculate. This where the catalogue of problems start.
2 bald front tyres. I will attach pictures. I work for the police force and these tyres were way behind road legal.
The car began struggling to start, it would sporadically stall when stationary, and while driving at speed.
Blue smoke plumed from the exhaust, and and it would kangaroo jump while trying to pull away.
I took the car (at my own expense) to a local specialist garage. This is where the true identity of the problems become apparent.
The diesel particulate filter had been tampered with and removed from the ECU. So that when the car is plugged in it doesn’t result in any fault codes on a diagnostic machine. A car with a non working DPF makes the car illegal to be used on the road. The ECU also had 6 updates meaning someone had probably been tampering with it before I received it.
Garage confirmed blue smoke emitting from the exhaust and an exhaust full of soot.
The car was also drinking oil. During the 12 days of driving it I had to top it up twice. Not what you expect from a 10k car.
I sent the garage a what’s app message and a copy of the report from the garage i used and my message was i ignored. So I called the next day and for 2/3 days I was told the “boss was on holiday in Pakistan” and isn’t available to discuss a refund. I have actually lost count at how many calls etc I made to them to only be told the same. Eventually I contacted CAB who advised me to write a letter to them informing them of a right to reject under the consumers act as the car was misold and have it listed recorded delivery. On the receipt of the letter they had 14 days to come and collect the car. During this time more messages and calls were ignored. One member of staff let slip the name of their legal team so I called them myself. The garage didn’t instruct them despite telling me they did. I made numerous calls to their legal team who told me with out instruction from the garage there was nothing they could do. After almost 2weeks I received a message from the garage stating “they will absolutely not be coming to collect the car”.
Ones left with no option then to pay for the car to go back myself. I never received a log book for the car so I called DVLA who confirms the car was still registered as trade. The car goes back to Newcastle and the guy I used to recover it back to NC was left for 2 hours outside the compound with excuses as to why I wasn’t refunded my money. I rang and threatened with small claims and I was finally refunded.

Yasmeen

I had an excellent experience at S&T’s Motor Company. The staff were professional, friendly, and went above and beyond to make the car buying process seamless. They answered all my questions, offered competitive pricing, and ensured I felt confident in my decision. The entire process, from test driving to final paperwork, was smooth and efficient. I highly recommend them for anyone looking for an stress-free car purchase.

S Wahidul

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Found a BMW 520D MSPORT online after looking for a while the right one popped up at S&T motor company

Rang up and spoke to Bari who was really helpful and got me a better finance deal better than anyone else could offer! Left a deposit over the phone and collected the car 4 days later with a fresh MOT, service, freshly refurbished gloss black wheels and also was kind enough to put me a full tank of diesel in?

From start to finish Bari was really helpful and kept me updated on the progress of my new car I will definitely be looking at buying another car from S&T in the future!

keven hall

Put deposit down on car as seller said it only has a few minor scratches. We traveled 260 mile round trip to pick car up and it was a rust bucket. Two rear panels rusty, boot lid rusty and rear drums looked terrible, inside the car wasn’t much better. On a plus side we were given a full refund. A little honesty would have saved us a wasted trip. You said it had minor scratches you mentioned nothing about all the rust maybe be truthful next time SIMPLE ‍♂️ oh and your welcome

Nick Ridley

AVOID - brought a car off S&T motors in February which broke down the day I got it. The garage refused to take it back so 5 months later after back and forwards phone calls with finance companies and solicitors I finally got permission to hand it back. They was multiple failed repairs on the vehicle and I was lied to on a daily basis. Terrible customer service. If I could score 0 starts I would.

I never missed a payment on the car and you’d failed to mention the car was in and out of the garage on multiple occasions looked at by the mechanic and staff on duty

I was also trying to be changed damages which were already on the vehicle but due to sufficient evidence I was not changed this goes to show S&T motors try to scam customers

Adam Holt Digital

18 hours ago
AVOID AVOID AVOID
AVOID AVOID AVOID

Absolute disgrace of a business, like many others I see across the web, these guys take deposits to hold a car, and then regardless of whether you go ahead with the purchase or not, they keep this and then cease all communication with you.

Nowhere on their website does it mention this deposit being non-refundable - in fact, they don't even HAVE a Terms & Conditions page on their website, which is a regulation.

The car in question was only on hold for a few hours before I crunched the numbers and decided against it - asked for my deposit to be returned and was simply told NO - they then ceased all communication, despite me warning them of the pending avalanche of bad reviews I'm about to rain upon them.

I've messaged the guy on WhatsApp, where I retain the entire transcript (which I'll post in a later follow up review) and I have called twice now, once I was told the manager would call back, the second time call ignored, left a message, no response.

I don't care about my deposit anymore, this is about the principle, the atrocious business practices and stopping others from falling into the same situation, god forbid I was young buying my first car, or elderly....

If you enjoyed this review, come back tomorrow where I'll be posting another....and another....and another....until I get my deposit back or this company gains its 1 star review status.

David Biswell

Not the buying experience we were hoping for. We went to look at a Peugeot RCZ that was up for a decent price considering the way the car looked and drove. But since then a few major faults have become apparent; serious oil leaks from both the rocker cover gasket at the top and the sump at the bottom, resulting in our driveway becoming badly contaminated. Also the drivers’ side driveshaft boot is leaking grease badly, which had been jetwashed off in order to get the car through a fresh “advisory free” MOT- our mechanic said the oil leak had been there some time due to belts being badly oil contaminated. Ok, so our part exchange wasn’t immaculate and had its problems too- the rear brakes undoubtedly needed attention and the engine management light was on-which it had been for the majority of the six years we’d owned the car without it giving cause for concern-but we made no attempt to hide the facts, S&T just didn’t even look over the car when agreeing a deal or taking the car in.
When considering the Peugeot, I was told that the car would come fully serviced, and it would get “whatever it needed”. On collection there were the faults mentioned, a stain in the leather on the rear seats hadn’t even been looked at as promised, and the washer bottle was bone dry-some “advisory-free” MOT…..without any emissions printout. Be very careful when buying a car here and do your checks. We have not raised the concerns with S&T before choosing to put this review on, as a result of reading the hostility noted in other previous reviews and also the fact that a previous colleague works here, so I was under the impression that I was safe. Thanks “mate”.

Danny Rathbone

Bought a Range Rover from this garage on the weekend both lads were helpful didn’t have to do a thing all was done for me! Car was as described which me and my wife love

Thanks s and t motors will recommend you to my family and friends