I bought a car from Alastair Cars last year and to be honest I have had nothing but problems. From the initial purchase things were dealt with shoddily. Had some work done on refurbing the wheels. When the car came back it was missing a bolt on 3 of the wheels. Waited a week for rear parking sensors to be installed only to find it was not done when I came to collect it. Installer was doing it when i came to collect it. Didn't bother to mask the area when he sprayed the sensors leaving paint smeared around the installation area. Alistair cars cleaned it up but made me feel like I was being argumentative. 6 months after purchase had a massive moisture issue. Took a while to annor it down to 3 inches of water standing in the boot. My usual garage reckoned it had been there for quite a while. Alistair cars did helped me to clean the water out and remove the rusted jack but really didn't want to know beyond that. Then less than a year after getting the car, had it MOT'd only to find significant corrosion underneath it. Just had to replace the front calipers, discs and pads after they seized for around £500. And to top it all, one of my neighbours hit the side of the car. However what it revealed was that the car had been in a significant accident before. I was told it had never been in an accident. Have also been told that whoever did the job did it poorly. All in all a horrible experience and I would never consider using these guys again. Car may have looked good but all that glitters is not gold, particularly in this case!!

As a single mum of 2 young children, I bought my Toyota Prius car through a dealer (Alastair Cars) in the hope that it would give me more peace of mind than a private sale due to having a 3 month warranty period post-sale. I also chose an AA accredited dealer in the hope that it would be even more of an assurance that it was a reputable dealer with minimal problems. During the first 3 months I noticed that the driver side windscreen washer jet wasn't working, that there was a sporadic whistling sound coming from externally and that the gears wouldn't always engage when the car ignition was started until the ignition was turned off and on once or twice (this happened on a number of occasions). On voicing these problems to Alastair Cars, I was advised to go and see them with the car to resolve any issues. It was established that the washers were clogged with limescale and I was advised to buy myself new ones from eBay and told that they would fit them for me if needed. Bearing in mind that the washers were blocked with limescale, this is something that has clearly built up over time and isn't something that happened since I bought it. On this basis and knowing that they will need fitting by someone with the right tools as the insulation is not something I can remove myself, would you feel that it is fair to ask me to source and buy them myself? Regarding the squealing sound, I was told that it was likely that inferior brake pads had been fitted and that there was about 10% left on them but that if I returned when the light on the car come on showing that they needed changing, that they would change them for me at a cost. Would you be happy to hear sporadic squeaking on a car that you have just bought, be told that it has 10% left on the brake pads and that you should come back when the warning light appears on the dashboard and pay to have it fixed? Whether or not there is a lot of mileage left on the brake pads, it isn't pleasant or reassuring to listen to sporadic squeaking (also, why is it sporadic if this is the problem?) With regards to the gears, I was told that this was normal for a semi-automatic not to always engage immediately. Would you feel reassured to know that a car not wanting to get into gear until the ignition is turned off and on once or twice is normal? I appreciate that it is a second-hand car but buying through a dealer should provide a customer with more peace of mind and service as and when needed within the warranty period. At present I do not feel that this is the case and am therefore unable to provide a positive review.