I purchased a used car from Evans Halshaw Ford in Ashton Under Lyne in March 2018 after having my previous car written off. The salesman was aware of this and knew I was on a limited time frame due to having to return my courtesy car. I placed a deposit and arranged a date to collect the vehicle (it had some scratches that he said he would have removed for my by their on-site team). So before I was due to collect it, he called me to say the scratches were deeper than they thought and it had been sent to a bodyshop to be sorted out - and that he would call me to arrange another date. No response back so I chased him, and he said the body shop they had sent it to was 'moving venues' and that all cars were in their garage and unable to be collected. SO I had to wait longer. He then did not set up GAP insurance as he had stated he would after I specifically asked for it, so even after I collected the car (on the last day of my courtesy car lease in the end), I still had to wait another few days for this to be processed. Since collecting the car I have discovered the brake pads on the passenger side were put in the wrong way round, the spark plugs (still the originals on a 4 year old car which should have been serviced) needed replacing as the engine light came on, and now I have found there is damage underneath which the tracking has been altered to account for. This is a car which was MOTed by Evans Halshaw themselves, and they have since infomred me that the previous owner is one of their members of staff, who 'says there was no damage before'. Needless to say I would not recommend this branch to anyone. I travelled a fair distance to view and purchase this car due to a positive experience from a previous branch, but Ashton are far from helpful and I would not return.

Took my car to Evans Halshaw Ford in Ashton Under Lyne on Monday 26th Feb for timing belt to be replaced and water pump at cost of £568 and a service. Later that day they called me to say it needed 2 new tyres and bushes at a cost of £500 I said no. Collected the car next day and in less than 30 minutes the car stopped working. Got it towed back to Evans halshaw who said if it’s anything to do with the work they had done they would fix it free of charge (I would expect so). They phoned later to say that the diagnostics had shown an electrical fault and it would cost £306 to fix. I authorised this work. Next day I hadn’t heard anything from them to say car was ready to collect. I phoned them and asked when it would be ready? Only to be told that they were having problems with the car and someone would call me later to explain. I had to go to work by then so had to hire a car as I work in Liverpool. Next day I heard nothing. The day after I phoned to find out what was happening, only to be told the person dealing with my car was busy and they would get them to call me when free! I never heard back from them. Fast forward to know a week later and me making several trips and phone calls to Evans halshaw only to ever be told that the person wasn’t able to talk to me and they would get them to contact me. Eventually on Tuesday 6th March after me contacting them again someone finally called me back. They informed me it was in fact the fly wheel and that would cost over £1000 to fix. I said to leave it and I would collect the car on Friday when I was off work. On Friday morning I arrive at Evans halshaw to be told I had to pay £306 or I would not be able to take my car. When I asked what this was for they said “for having it on the diagnostics” I said “but you haven’t fixed anything you told me it was an electrical fault which I authorised you to fix after you saying you could fix it for £306 but it turns out it wasn’t an electrical fault” they were quite arrogant and said “well you still have to pay £306 or your not having the car back” I reluctantly paid the money and just about able to drive my car the very short distance home. On getting home I called out the RAC who put it on their diagnostics test and straight away they said the fly wheel. I hadn’t told them about Evans halshaw at all. Now why could Evans halshaw diagnose this? Surely it should have shown up straight away on their diagnostics test? Or even when they done the service or even when they drove the car into the garage they must have heard the very loud knocking noise and thought to themselves that maybe it was not the timing belt and indeed something else. Avoid at all costs. I wouldn’t give them the 1 star if I didn’t have too.

I sought advice from a retired franchise manager, about buying a car. He suggested I purchase a “nearly” new car from a franchised dealer (in this case Evans Halshaw Ford in Ashton Under Lyne). The price would be higher than elsewhere and trade-in lower but I’d be assured of a fair and honest deal. He suggested I ask two direct questions before purchasing and in front of a witness. 1. What is the ownership history? 2. Has it had any mechanical or body repairs? I purchased a 7 month old Ford Fiesta Titanium X from this Ford Dealer, having been told the car had been on six month “Private Lease” and there had been no mechanical or body repairs carried out. The documentation I later received for the car included an invoice from their workshop showing windscreen repairs and damaged side mirror/indicator replacement. Also, a front and a rear tyre had been replaced. The registration documents arrived showing the car had been previously registered by a Company called ERAC UK Ltd. A Google Search showed ERAC to be an acronym for “Enterprise Rent A Car”. I sent two emails asking for an explanation for the repairs and also previous ownership but did not receive a reply. A phone call to them was a waste of time as well. After a couple of washes that removed whatever was used to prepare the car for sale, there were so many scratches on the sides that the car looked like it had been driven though a hedge. To add insult to injury, they had replaced the manufacturer’s floor mats with poor quality mats having their trade name on. These mats do not have anchor holes to hold them in place, something the manual say they must have for safety. Evans Halshaw Ford Ashton Under Lyne supposedly serviced the car before sale but within a week or so, the “Service Overdue” status illuminated. So, while believing I was purchasing a nearly new, privately owned car that had not been repaired in any way, I finished up with a repaired ex rental car in poor condition. Not very happy, but not a lot I can do other than warn others to be less trusting than I was.