Smartfish Motor Company

I'm not even sure where to start. But here goes.I bought a BMW 3 series M Sport from SJM back in July. I explained that I had already made two wasted trips around the country looking at 'perfect' models that were anything but, upon inspection, so would appreciate a straight appraisal of the condition of the car. Being over 250 miles away I was looking to buy on spec, having seen videos of the car inside and out, videos of the service history book etc. and with the trust that if there was anything 'not obvious' they would alert me to it. On that good faith, I bought the car, and it was delivered to me the following week. This experience was the first frustration. Having bought the car on the Friday, I was told delivery would be Tuesday or Wednesday. On Wednesday this became Thursday, and on Thursday this then became Friday. Friday by 11am.. Friday by 2pm,. it eventually arrived at my work at 4.45pm. (I had specifically said that Friday afternoon would be a very difficult time to receive the car as I would be at work and not able to leave my post). As such, I had to call my husband away from work so he could at least take it for a test drive. It was pouring with rain and we were in the centre of town with a 5pm deadline so the whole procedure was rushed and not ideal. Added to this, the drop-off driver asked to be taken to the local station to catch a train within 20 minutes. However, as everything seemed 'as described' I happily accepted the car.On my first proper drive in it the next day I realised several things. Once dry, many small stone chips became on the front of the car that the videos had conveniently panned out from. I wasn't particularly troubled, being not that 'vain' about cars, but it felt underhand. More importantly, the air con was not working, despite having been told the car had just been serviced, air con re-gassed etc. In addition, the boot did not open, unless using the button on the key fob (my husband later recalled that the delivery driver had asked him to 'pop the boot' at one point. He didn't register the peculiarity at the time, but it was clearly known that this was an existing problem.)I reported both of these problems to SJM, as the car came with a 3 month warranty. Long and short of it, they did agree for the mechanical works to be done by my local garage, but it took many, many, texts afterwards to finally be reimbursed, (claiming payment had been made when it hadn’t, etc.).However, these were not the only problems with the car. When I first drove at speed with the windows open, I noticed a flapping and rattling sound coming from both front sides. I asked my garage to take a look and they reported that both of the backing plates on the front brakes were heavily corroded and needed replacing. They also found that the front strut mounts were worn, and the tracking was wildly off. I sent this report to SJM asking what they could do about it. Having only had the car 2 weeks I was not expecting to pay £1000 in repairs. The response was 'we can't do anything about that'. Sold as seen, etc. Given that my 'as seen' was reliant on their honesty, I find this disgraceful. I pushed my case, and in a bizarre twist, they then said they would send a backing plate. I thought this a good gesture. Two weeks later I received a new back number plate...???It felt like a practical joke. When I contacted the SJM again they claimed that this was what I'd asked for. Um. Nope. Never. I can’t even blame crossed wires between staff as I have dealt entirely with one guy, Sam, throughout this whole process. I have not heard from Sam or SJM for over a month now, and don't expect to, so felt it was time to sum up my experience. I have never had so much agro buying a car. Strongly suggest that you proceed with caution if you are considering buying a car here. Good luck!

Customer service is the worst. Only reason I was dealing with them was because I loved that specific car. They promise you 3 months warranty, after multiple messages and calls 6months later still haven’t received any documents of warranty!! You need to run after them & they are fly in hiding the problems of the car. Being on the other side of UK I wasn’t able to go down and see it in person but they give you a car with worn out tyres, chips all over the car, broken wipers and half the things inside not working. Then say sorry this isn’t part of warranty basically deal with it your own god damn self, we have our money now you can get lost.

I'd been really disappointed trying to lease a brand new car and the dealer letting me down. A friend recommended Sam. Sam was really honest about my options and actually advised me that the cars I was looking at weren't good value and he couldn't recommend the deal. Instead we agreed I should look at a compromise for 18 months while the market got back to normal. Sam delivered a pristine X1 to me within days. I will definitely use him again.

I bought a car from SJM Prestige a couple of weeks ago and i cannot fault the service. Sam was polite and friendly and made the process so simple. There was no pressure to buy the car and the atmosphere was relaxed when we took my car out for a test drive. On the day of collection, Sam made the process of transferring over vehicles nice and easy and i was in and out in no time at all. Throughout out the process Sam was on hand to answer any questions, even over a busy bank holiday weekend. I would highly recommend and hope to deal with SJM in the future!

Where to begin?You want , great customer service , put together with no Nonsense sales tactics ? This is the place to come!Just a genuine and lovely business, had the pleasure of dealing with Sam. Made the whole process of purchasing our new SVR as easy as can be, agreed the sale, just before Christmas , promised a date and most certainly delivered.Lovely to see someone in the motor trade who really cares about their business and isn’t just after your money.Real honest, professional and courteous.Will be back again! 100%

I made a deposit on a vehicle, initially they asked for £500 and i talked them down to £200. Thankfully as they never gave me the money back despite the sale falling through. About a week after giving them the deposit i asked for it back and they never did it. I then reluctantly decided to travel over 6 hours round trip to see the vehicle which i found to have a major issue (requires a new fly wheel) and asked for additional information on the vehicle. Which they never fully provided. They opted to withhold my deposit and i guess this is lesson learned! DO NOT TRUST THEM! They will take your money and no car in sight.

Excellent service from James and the team. Got the car ready to go in good time. Very efficient and kept me in the loop all the way. Would not hesitate to buy from SJM again. Highly recommended.

From start to finishing James made my experience enjoyable and hassle free! Not pushy, and let the vehicles do the talking. Some great cars at Smartfish it’s a shame I could only afford 1! Would highly recommend to anyone who has been done wrong by the motor trade in the past.