This report is regarding a Vauxhall Corsa we purchased from Checked Cars in July 2023. The review is very long and in-depth as we wanted to be as honest, thorough, and accurate as possible. If you don’t wish to read the full review, there is a synopsis below. As there is a word limit on Autotrader and Google, we have had to upload pictures of the document of the full review (Google review only). For full transparency and to ensure Mark isn’t able to deny certain things or make things up, we have included screenshots of all text communication between ourselves and Mark (Google review only). We have also included a copy of the receipt we got from Mark when we paid the deposit (this is important evidence regarding the glow plugs issue), Vauxhall’s vehicle report, and the invoice from the car having full service in October. Synopsis - There were several inconsistencies/red flags prior to and following the purchase of the vehicle which led me and my partner to strongly suspect that a service and/or glow plug change was not carried out as agreed prior to the purchase. - Given our suspicions (which everyone reading the full review will agree are justified), we asked Mark to provide an invoice or receipt showing that a full service and glow plug change was carried out prior to the purchase. If Mark had not received the paperwork or had gotten rid of it, we also gave him the option of simply telling us which garage he had the work carried out at. - Mark never provided the above evidence and began to make rude and misogynistic comments towards my partner, including “you’ve lost the plot” and “you wouldn’t know what a glow plug is”, and made completely out of proportion threats towards myself such as “you will regret that comment you p*#ck” and “I will come over to you, I promise I will tear your f#!*ing head off”. - As these threats are not only unprofessional but also a breach of the malicious communications act, the police were notified and provided us with a crime number. - To this date, Mark has never shown us evidence that the agreed work was carried out or even told us the garage the work was carried out at. In our minds, this confirms that Mark cut corners and the agreed work wasn’t carried out. - Ultimately, Mark may have cut corners and sold us a car that was not as advertised and possibly dangerous. If we are mistaken, all Mark had to do was provide us with very basic evidence. Again, he has failed to do this. Red flags In the context of this review, red flags are occurrences that either: a) Seriously question that agreed jobs were carried out prior to the purchase of the vehicle b) Seriously question the integrity of the dealership c) Seriously question Mark’s competence as a car dealer Red flag 1 – Mark initially stated that the service would be carried out earlier in the week, only to remember on Thursday that it required a service. Red flag 2 – Mark managed to book a last-minute full-service at a local garage and fit what should have been a 3-hour full service into a 90-minute time slot between 8:30 and 10:00. This is impossible. Red flag 3 – Engine management light illuminating within 24 hours of a full service. Red Flag 4 – Service book not being stamped by the garage that carried out the work. Mark ignored initial requests to provide proof that a service was carried out as agreed. Red Flag 5 – A misprint in the advert. We accept that mistakes are made, but if he’s making mistakes and getting confused when writing the advert, couldn’t he also be making mistakes elsewhere? Red flag 6 – Mark stated that the locking wheel nut was in the inventory. It later turned out to be the case that the vehicle did not even have one. This shows that Mark wasn’t referring to any inventory and was simply making things up. Red flag 7 – An issue with glow plugs showing up on a diagnostic despite glow plugs apparently being replaced prior to the purchase. This would be a massive coincidence. Red flag 8 – Mark stated that there was no mention of glow plugs, was then provided with proof that he was incorrect, and then confidently claimed that they were done. This is a contradiction and shows that Mark is either highly confused about the matter or a massive liar. Probably both. Red flag 9 – Mark stated that glow plugs are covered under the warranty plan we are on. This turned out to be false. More evidence that Mark is either a liar or incompetent. Probably both. Red flag 10 – The service/inspection light came on less than 3 months after it supposedly had a full service. Red Flag 11 – The car required an oil and filter change approximately 10 weeks after it apparently had a full service. Red flag 12 – A reluctance to engage in written communication with myself, possibly to avoid a record of things that he says Red flag 13 – Mark insisting that we use his preferred garage, rather than allowing us to use garages that are much more convenient for us. Red flag 14 – Clearly misunderstanding what we were asking of him. We did not expect Mark to take responsibility for any repair work. We simply wanted proof that these jobs were done prior to purchase. Red flag 15 – Mark threatening violence against a customer who had every right to be frustrated with his behaviour. What sort of dealership behaves in this manner? The fact that Mark would rather go down this route than attempt to offer evidence to put our minds at ease speaks volumes. Full review In July 2023, as were expecting a baby later in the year, we decided that we needed a 4-door car to make things easier. After searching the internet for several days looking for a relatively cheap car that was good on mileage, I found a Vauxhall Corsa that was being sold by Checked Cars. I called Mark on July 15th and he was happy for us to come and look at the car on the same day. Our first impressions of Mark were largely positive. He greeted us both with a handshake and allowed us to view the car at our leisure and test-drive it. Although I had the intention of purchasing the car right there and then, Mark insisted that three jobs needed to be done before he could sell us the car: 1. It required a full-service (the warranty would apparently be void without this) 2. It needed a glow plug change. 3. It needed to have some bodywork done to remove some scratches Although we were slightly disappointed as one could argue this all should have been done before it was listed on their website, we were happy that this would result in us buying a car with fewer problems. We therefore agreed to pay the deposit and pick up the car on Thursday. So far, so good. On Thursday 20th July, we were set to pick up the car and I had made arrangements to pick up the car after work. However, just a few hours prior, Mark messaged to say, “Can you collect tomorrow or Saturday as I forgot the service needs to be done”. This immediately raised red flags as we both recall Mark saying the service would have been completed earlier in the week. Nonetheless, as we understand that people make mistakes, we agreed to pick up the car on Friday morning as he agreed to have the car serviced in the morning and back at his dealership by 10:00. In hindsight, this is potentially a red flag in itself. Numerous sources state that a full service typically takes approximately 3 hours: https://www.theaa.com/car-servicing/advice/how-long-does-a-service-take https://www.lookers.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-a-car-service-take#:~:text=A%20full%20car%20service%20takes%20about%20three%20hours.&text=The%20full%20service%20is%20the,time%20for%20a%20major%20service. https://www.f1autocentres.co.uk/news/how-long-does-a-car-service-take https://myurbanjungle.com/explore/blog/how-long-does-a-full-car-service-take/ Kwik Fit even states that “it’s impossible to give a precise answer” with regards to how long a full-service will take. This is because it’s impossible to foresee what issues the car will have and what parts may need to be ordered and fitted. https://www.kwik-fit.com/blog/how-long-does-a-car-service-take The question is, how could Mark guarantee that the vehicle would have been ready by 10:00 on Friday morning? Garages typically open at 8:00 and a full service would have been expected to take at least 2-3 hours, assuming no work needed doing. How did he manage to: a) Ensure the garage even had availability first thing on Friday? b) Ensure the garage would have been able to complete the service in less than 2 hours? c) Ensure the car would have required no repair work? So far there are two clear red flags: Red flag 1 – Mark initially stated that the service would be carried out earlier in the week, only to remember on Thursday that it required a full service. Red flag 2 – Mark managed to book in a last-minute full-service at a local garage and fit a 3-hour full service into a 90-minute time slot between 8:30 and 10:00. This is impossible. Within 24 hours of buying the car, the engine management light (which is also the same as a service light on a Corsa) came on. We contacted Mark as this was highly suspicious given that it had apparently had a full service the day before. Mark reiterated that “a full service was done” and said that he would have to put it through a diagnostic. At this point, we asked Mark in two separate messages for proof of service as our service book wasn’t stamped. Mark ignored the requests for proof that a service was carried out but instead offered to stamp our service book if we sent it through the post. We also asked for the spare key as it was listed on the advert. Mark replied stating that there was only one key and later attributed this to a “misprint”. These are another few red flags. Red flag 3 – Engine management light illuminating within 24 hours of a full service. Red Flag 4 – Service book not being stamped by the garage that carried out the work. Mark ignored initial requests to provide proof that a service was carried out as agreed. Red Flag 5 – A misprint in the advert. We accept that mistakes are made, but if he’s making mistakes and getting confused when writing the advert, couldn’t he also be making mistakes elsewhere? At this point, Mark was still helpful and told us to speak to Roger at Tyburn Garage and get it booked in for a diagnostic. On Tuesday 25th July, we took the car to Tyburn Garage for a diagnostic. They had the car for a few hours and told me something along the lines of “The light is still on, but we have cleaned up the wires to the ECU. Drive it for a month and see if it goes off”. Mark confirmed the above advice in a message on Wednesday 26th July. Our next communication with Mark was on Tuesday 15th August and regarded the service book, as we had sent it to Mark to be stamped. Shortly after, we received it in the post. On Saturday 16th September, 2 months after buying the car, the engine management light was still on. I then decided to take my car to Kwik Fit for a diagnostic and for a change of tyres. As I was under the impression that the car required a locking wheel nut for the tyres to be changed, we contacted Mark to ask where this was as we could not locate it in the vehicle. Mark replied, “Was in the car, just checked the inventory”. It later turned out that the car doesn’t even require a locking wheel nut and I was able to have the tyres changed at a later date without one. So exactly what inventory was Mark referring to? This appears to be evidence that he simply makes stuff up when it suits him. Kwik Fit performed their diagnostic and the only issue they could find was glow plugs in cylinders 3 and 4 needed to be replaced. Note, Kwik Fit did not find an issue with the ECU. This immediately raised alarm bells as it was agreed that the glow plugs needed to be replaced prior to the purchase. It could be the case that Mark replaced the glow plugs in cylinders 1 and/or 2 and that it was a pure coincidence that the other glow plugs failed shortly after. However, due to the other inconsistencies already described in this review, we were not willing to give Mark the benefit of the doubt. These are another couple of red flags: Red flag 6 – Mark stated that the locking wheel nut was in the inventory. It later turned out to be the case that the vehicle did not even have one. This shows that Mark wasn’t referring to any inventory and was simply making things up. Red flag 7 – An issue with glow plugs showing up on a diagnostic despite glow plugs apparently being replaced prior to the purchase. We proceeded to take the car to a local Vauxhall specialist for another diagnostic and second opinion as at this point, we were quite confused. Interestingly, the diagnostic showed issues with the ECU and also a glow plug failure in cylinders 3 and 4. The garage was not certain if the problem was the ECU (and would therefore require reprogramming), glow plugs, or both, and suggested that we take it to Vauxhall. On Sunday 24th September, we contacted Mark again asking for proof of service and proof that the glow plugs were replaced as at this point, we had serious concerns that the work was not done prior to purchase. At this point, Mark denied that there was even a glow plug issue to begin with, stating, “Nobody said anything about glow plugs”. He also made rude comments towards my partner, saying, “You’ve lost the plot”, and “You wouldn’t know what a glow plug is”. Mark also stated that glow plugs would be covered under the warranty. We checked the warranty, and it turned out that glow plugs are not covered. Another example of Mark making stuff up. On the same day, we provided Mark evidence that there were issues with the glow plugs prior to the purchase in the form of a receipt for the deposit. Being shown this evidence, Mark hilariously replied, “Well, well, they would have been done then”. This is an enormous red flag for two reasons: 1. How can Mark see this as a win as he was shown evidence that he was incorrect? 2. How can Mark one minute be extremely confident that glow plugs were not even mentioned, but the next minute be extremely confident that they were done? Red flag 8 – Mark stated that there was no mention of glow plugs, was then provided with proof that he was incorrect, and then confidently claimed that they were done. This is a contradiction and shows that Mark is either highly confused on the matter or a massive liar. Probably both. Red flag 9 – Mark stated that glow plugs are covered under the warranty plan we are on. This turned out to be false. More evidence that Mark is either a liar or incompetent, probably both. We proceeded to book the car in at Vauxhall for a diagnostic. Vauxhall found no issues with the ECU but confirmed that the glow plugs in cylinders 3 and 4 needed to be replaced. By this point, the car had undergone 4 separate diagnostics, summarized below: - Tyburn Garage – ECU issues - Kwik Fit – Glow plugs cylinders 3-4 - Local Vauxhall specialist – ECU issues + glow plugs cylinders 3-4 - Vauxhall – Glow plugs cylinders 3-4 Once Vauxhall replaced the glow plugs, the engine management went off and stayed off. This suggests that the problem all along may have been the glow plugs. Interestingly, the only garage that apparently did not find an issue with the glow plugs was the garage that Mark insisted we take it to. Now, it is entirely possible that glow plugs 3+4 may have failed between July 25th (when we took it to Tyburn Garage) and September 16th (When we took it to Kwik Fit). But, A) Why were ECU issues still showing up on some diagnostics? B) Why was there no period where the engine management light went off? If the ECU issue solved itself as Mark said it would in the period after it was looked at by Tyburn Garage, why didn’t the engine management light go off? The only explanation would be that the glow plugs failed before the ECU issue solved itself. But considering ECU issues were still showing up on some diagnostics, this seems somewhat unlikely. Again, the only way to put our minds at ease was to show us evidence that the glow plugs were indeed replaced prior to the purchase. In the end, it appears that some diagnostic machines were chucking out faulty ECU codes as the engine management light went off without anything being done to the ECU. This raises the following question: On the morning when Mark apparently took the car for a full service, did he simply have codes cleared and the engine management light turned off? In one message, Mark stated, “We don’t sell cars if a glow plug needs replacing, a EGM light would be on the dash at the point of sale”. This isn’t necessarily the case as the local Vauxhall specialist was able to clear codes and get the lights to turn off for an hour before it eventually came back on. If you have your own diagnostic machine, you can clear codes very quickly. Mark having the codes cleared and the light temporarily turned off certainly seems more plausible than being able to be able to book a car in for a full service at the last minute and ensuring it could be done in <2 hours. All Mark needed to do to show that this isn’t the case is: A) Show us an invoice from the garage showing that the service and glow plug change were carried out. B) If he did not receive documentation or has lost it, let us know the name of the garage so that we can investigate it ourselves. This seems quite a simple task, doesn’t it? Apparently not! To this date, Mark has provided us with neither. To anybody reading this, this should speak volumes. Now onto further red flags regarding the service. While the vehicle was at Vauxhall for a glow plugs change, they conducted a ‘vehicle health check’ and found the following issues: 1. The service/inspection light was on, suggesting a service was due. 2. Water in the brake fluid, requiring a brake fluid change. 3. An oil change. 4. An oil filter change. This raised some massive concerns. Numerous sources state that a full service should include an oil and filter change: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/how-to/what-is-a-car-service-car-service-checklist/#:~:text=What%20is%20included%20in%20a,air%20filter%20and%20other%20filters. https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/service-repair/car-servicing-complete-guide#whats-included https://www.halfords.com/car-servicing/advice/car-servicing-whats-included.html https://www.firststop.co.uk/blog/what-s-the-difference-between-an-interim-and-a-full-service In fact, numerous garages will perform an oil and filter change during an interim service. Therefore, the idea that Mark’s garage may simply not offer an oil filter and oil change during their full service seems invalid. Based on the following article, the car requiring another oil and filter change after 2-3 months and less than 4000 miles, seems highly unlikely. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oil-change-truths/ This again adds to our suspicions that a service was not carried out Red flag 10 – The service/inspection light coming on less than 3 months after it supposedly had a full service. Shouldn’t have this been reset after the service? Red Flag 11 – The car required an oil and filter change approximately 10 weeks after it apparently had a full service. We confronted Mark again, texting him and asking for proof of service and the glow plug change. Mark’s nice guy mask then began to slip. I wrote out a long message for Mark to consider, only for him to reply, “You lack communication skills, either bring the car in for repair or go away”. Mark even tried ringing me before he even had the chance to read the message. This demonstrates two things: 1. Mark doesn’t take the time to understand his customer’s concerns. 2. Mark prefers voice over written communication as in written communication, there is a record and evidence of what he says. Mark already got caught out with written communication regarding the “nobody mentioned glow plugs” issue. Red flag 12 – The blatant avoidance of written communication. Possibly as it prevents him from denying that he said certain things. Around this time, Mark said things such as “I won’t accept your mechanic’s report”, “We have the right to have the car looked at correctly”, and “Bring it in for repair”. This demonstrates the following: 1. Mark likes to be in control of the situation. This makes it easier to hide things from his customers when necessary. 2. This shows a gross misunderstanding of what we were actually asking the entire time. We did not expect Mark to fix problems with the car that happened after purchase (assuming a service and glow plug change was carried out as agreed). We simply asked for evidence that the work was completed. If Mark was able to provide evidence, we would have simply accepted responsibility and got the problems fixed ourselves, no questions asked. 3. Mark feels like he has the ability to judge numerous professionals that he hasn’t even met. Mark isn’t even a competent car dealer, let alone mechanic. Red flag 13 – Mark insisting that we use his preferred garage, rather than allowing us to use garages that are much more convenient for us. Red flag 14 – Clearly misunderstanding what we were asking of him. After Mark’s last message. I again simply asked him to provide evidence that a service and glow plug change was done. As Mark clearly ignored the message, I messaged him a few days later suggesting that he changes how he speaks to people in future. I sent the following message: “Another thing. If I was you, I would be really really careful in the future how you speak to people. Not everyone will be as forgiving or as level-headed as me”. I feel like this was a fair comment to make as Mark had made several rude comments to my partner and had clearly stopped cooperating. Some people would take serious offence to this, and Mark would be in some serious trouble. Note, in my message, I made it very clear that I am not someone who is going to act in this manner. Nonetheless, Mark proceeded to send the following messages later that day: “Oh, I am so scared. Come and see me and let’s see”. “Just for that you will regret that comment you p#!ck”. “You little f#ck. Just wait. I will come over to you. Let’s see you little w*#ker. I promise you I will tear your f#cking head off” Mark likes to talk about delivering great customer service and got offended when we apparently questioned the integrity of his dealership. What sort of dealership with any integrity sends messages like this to a customer that is justifiably frustrated with his behaviour? Rather than be dragged down to Mark’s level, I de-escalated the situation and demonstrated again that Mark doesn’t make the effort to understand what his customers are saying. The police were contacted as this is a clear breach of the ‘Malicious Communications Act’. The crime was logged, and I was given a crime number. For anybody who wants to check that I am being authentic, the crime number is as follows: 20/935601/23. Mark, please note that any further communication from you that isn’t an apology or an offer of reimbursement will result in us going back to the police. Red flag 15 – Mark threatening violence against a customer who had every right to be frustrated with his behaviour. What sort of dealership behaves in this manner? The fact that Mark would rather go down this route than attempt to offer evidence to put our minds at ease speaks volumes. I also wish to point out that not only do we need evidence of the service to simply prove that it was done, but also so we know exactly what was and wasn’t done so that we can make informed decisions about our car’s servicing schedule. If I hadn’t taken the car to Vauxhall, the car wouldn’t have had an oil change for at least another 3-4 months because I would have assumed that it was done right before the purchase. This could have resulted in damage to the engine.