If your thinking is that you’d rather buy from a dealer and have the peace of mind that comes with a warranty, even though you know you’re paying more than you would for a private sale, then think again. You might not want to buy from Specialistcars.net. Don’t get me wrong, I got a decent car, but it did have things wrong which needed attention. Kristian certainly knows his cars, though of course, his advice and expertise is put to the greatest use in securing a sale. My issue was that making a claim against the warranty or the ‘2-year service plan’ was incredibly difficult. It required enormous tenacity on my part, email after email and numerous difficult phone calls. I paid more for the car than I would have been likely to pay in a private sale but in the end this did not prove to be a worthwhile additional expense. The website says, “We source, acquire, stock, and supply quality Classic, Prestige & Specialist Vehicles from most manufacturers, to and from most places around the world.” However, if you need to call on the warranty, you have to return the car or post the faulty part to Kristian while he gets his guys to repair it and return it. All the while, your car is laid up at the mechanics in bits awaiting his verdict. And he doesn’t rush into doing anything once he has your money! (After paying for the car in full, it took almost 2 weeks for the car to be delivered, for example.) Living over 100 miles away and working full time, returning the car for his guys to do the work on it simply wasn’t practical. After some difficult negotiation, I got him to agree to let me get the work done by a local garage. Being a reasonable man, I even agreed that he did not have to cover the full cost – “a reasonable contribution” was my requirement. After sending the invoices to him, all I got in response was criticism of the person I’d had to do the work, accusations that work didn’t need doing at all and that he’d charged too much, assurances that he’d known this car for years and knew there was nothing wrong with it... etc. It was all very wearing and stressful. He may have known the person who previously owned the car for years, but that doesn’t mean he knew the exact state of every part on the car and the list of issues which I’ve needed to sort out confirms this. I believe this was just a tactic to get me off his back. Once I’d had the work done and sent the invoices as requested (9 Oct by email), promise after promise was made that ‘the admin girl’ would deal with it that week and send me a cheque. As each promised deadline slipped past, I chased it up and received another promise in a increasingly curt email. I was not going to let it go. I felt like there was a strategy to grind me down until I gave up. On 5 Nov, I was told it would be with me “mid-week”. Still nothing. I chased it on 13 Nov and on 14 Nov received this reply from Kristian; “A cheque and detailed breakdown went out last week, I posted it myself so defo gone. Should be with you anytime.” It arrived on 16 Nov, the envelope post marked 14 Nov giving the lie to “went out last week, I posted it myself.” It confirmed my suspicion that Kristian might not always have the greatest regard for the truth. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the warranty is not worth the paper it’s written on, but I would say it is only worth anything if you’re prepared to stand your ground and keep chipping away. Kristian has an answer for everything; he’s clearly well practised in rebuffing any request which might reduce his profits, even if that approach also means reducing the potential for repeat business. I certainly wouldn’t do business with him again. I would, at the very least, urge caution.

I have just collected an immaculate, classic 1980's Mercedes-Benz from Kristian. A not unreasonable amount was offered for my high mileage Mercedes in part exchange. I found Kristian to be very knowledgeable, helpful and went 'the extra mile' in preparing the vehicle-he even arranged, foc, to have fitted some structural accessories that were mailed to his workshops. It is fair to say I would buy from him again and would not hesitate to recommend his services to friends and family.

The salesman I dealt with at Specialist Cars York is a pathological liar. He makes false promises which he fails to meet. He talks about his imported cars being "factory fresh", which is complete nonsense. Do NOT buy from this man.

Went to go look at a car. Damage which wasn't shown in the photos provided on the internet. Very misleading, staff (no names) even said he was a liar which says it all in my eyes. Wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. A

Specialist Cars & Kristian in particular get a BIG thumbs up from me.The cars are exactly as advertised in as much as ALL cars are spotless ( inside & out ), mechanically spot~on & then given a WARRANTY. I haven't hesitated to give them a good review at club level. STEVE~YORKSHIRE REP for the RANGE ROVER REGISTER

This is a review for a car dealer in York, Specialist Cars York.