Leigh

Worst car buying experience in 20 years.

I had a poor experience with HPL Motors, Stockport, when trying to purchase a red Tesla Model Y Performance in the run up to Christmas. I had made an enquiry online about a particular vehicle, obtaining a part-exchange valuation in the process. I visited the site on Friday, 19th December to view the vehicle, which was poorly presented (multiple scrapes snd scratches, stone chips, two borderline Pirelli P Zero tyres on the rear - one at 1.5mm and therefore the legal minimum tread, and the other at a maximum of 2.0mm, and a lolly-pop stick wedged between the windscreen and rear-view mirror). Nevertheless, I test drove the vehicle, which notwithstanding the borderline rear tyres, seemed to drive as well as a Tesla Model Y does. While I was out test-driving, the manager was apparently appraising my 'part-exchange' vehicle. When we returned, the salesperson said that all the cosmetic issues would be put right and that the tyre at 1.5mm would be replaced. The manager then returned with the valuation on my part-exchange, dropping it from ~£7,300 as provided on their website to £5,000, with no explanation as to why, except that he didn’t understand why they offered valuations on their website as they're "always wrong". I had earlier been offered £6,000 at a different garage, but the vehicle at HPL was the colour combination I was looking for (red with white interior) and was reasonably well priced (provided it would be prepped as appropriate for an expensive, premium vehicle). I countered the offer by saying that I would need both rear tyres replacing like-for-like i.e with two Tesla-spec Pirelli P Zeros. I had to dash to collect children from school, so the salesperson agreed to telephone me later with confirmation. I received a text message at just after 6pm, stating "Please give me a call to finalise what we agreed earlier".From here, standards really slipped. When I responded the following day, the salesperson was off, so somebody else stepped in. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to know anything about what had been agreed, so I asked for confirmation in an email as to what exactly was being agreed. After spelling out the agreement, the new salesperson responded, confirming everything was agreed except they would only replace the worst of the two rear tyres. I confirmed that I would not take ownership of a 2-tonne, 450 horsepower vehicle with one tyre at 8.0mm and the other at 2.0mm. In any event it is best practice to replace tyres in pairs on the same axle if the difference in tread would be greater than 2.0mm. I left it at that, then the following day, the second salesperson emailed me, stating: "I have approval to replace both tyres. Please call to pay the deposit". I called, ready to pay the deposit, however the salesperson then declared that I would have to pay £360 to have Pirelli P Zeros because they would only be replacing them with budget tyres. This is not what had been agreed - the terms had been clearly set out in writing, and here I was, having spent hours on this particular vehicle, with debit card in hand and now the goalposts were being moved. I saw this as a serious red flag and confirmed I would not be contributing to the cost of appropriately preparing the vehicle. The salesperson simply did not care - no personality, nothing. As I felt I could not trust this particular salesperson, I followed up through the HPL website, stating that I was ready to purchase on the agreed terms - and this enquiry was passed to a THIRD salesperson. This salesperson tried to call me and asked me to return their call. Before I was able to do so, the original salesperson sent me a text message stating "The Red Tesla Model Y has been sold. We have a black one. Let me know if interested."I replied confirming that I would not entertain buying from HPL Motors, citing poor pre-sales service and the red flag over a car dealership putting budget tyres on an expensive, heavy, powerful EV. I just hope the person who bought the red 72-plate Tesla Model Y Performance on or around Christmas Eve ensures their rear tyres are appropriate for the vehicle they are driving.