Stratstone - BMW Harrogate Reviews 

Where do I start……I’ll keep it brief but it has been a, well an ordeal!

Avoid, do not waste your time or money, (use Sytner BMW instead) If you reeeaaalllly want to buy a car from them do so with extreme caution - if you don’t heed my warning and a chap called Chris tries to sell you a car, put the phone down.

We paid £30k for a 22 plate M135i (Reg YA22 JHF, do not buy that car!), a distance purchase having bought BMW’s for 20 years and having trusted them. Dealt with a salesperson called Chris, seemed a trustworthy chap (how wrong was I) - told all it had was a few stone chips, he sent me a lovely video and assured me it would be serviced.

Well, it arrived, hours later than I was told and after the dealership had closed:

With:
An invoice for the incorrect amount:
Scratches on the inside and outside:
Not serviced or valeted:
Not fuelled as agreed:
No information on the breakdown, MOT, warranty cover etc etc
With a bumper repair in a different colour!

“No problem sir” Chris said, the delivery driver must have done the bumper (yeah, right) and it’s not “my fault”…. “But, we’ll sort it all out for you and give you a loan car”. Car gets collected and “this is good service” I thought to myself……

Well…….2 days later I get a call from Janet the “quality customer care manager”, who by the way just does what she is told by management who won’t actually speak to customers and introduces herself as “the lady that just gets shouted at by customers”. She told me “it should never had been delivered to you like this” BUT “We can’t sort it all out, Chris shouldn't have told you that” was the tone of the conversation……oh, “and you can’t speak to anyone else now only me”. But, no one answers the phone anyway, when they do it’s a salesperson and no one is ever available to actually speak to with any authority.

A week later the car comes back, with new scratches and scuffs, a damaged key, the ambient lighting no longer working on the dash and another ‘iffy’ repair on the bumper…….that Sytner BMW quoted £1000 to repair properly!

Alas, I had no choice but to reject the car after their refusals to actually bring it up to BMW approved standard and it was returned on July 22nd for a full refund. Fast forward 18 days and I FINALLY got it after constant reassurance that failed to materialise, with £210 deducted for a loan car I didn't sign for and wasn't told about when it came. Citizens advice have confirmed this is against the law!

It’s with the Police and soon to be with the courts for my civil claim - I have proof they lied to me on several occasions, held the V5C back when it should have been sent to the DVLA and the best bit, Janet told me “a used car doesn't come better than this”.....which if true means BMW have really dropped their standards. Stratstone customer service as I have found out, send complaints to the dealership to investigate - absolutely no impartiality and a process set up to fail. BMW washed their hands of it very, very quickly.

I have since bought a car from Sytner BMW, a far more pleasurable experience and I got a fantastic car, with great customer service. My advice - give this bottom of the ladder, ‘run on a shoestring’, untrustworthy BMW dealership a wide berth.

One final thing, look at the reviews - the dealership manager only acknowledges positive reviews and leaves the negative to customer services, he refused to even speak to me - make your own mind up about the type of leadership there and the ethos at the dealership if he doesn’t take the time to acknowledge the poor experiences……My opinion - they simply do not care.

What I like about BMW Pannal, is that from the moment I walk into Stratstone I am greeted with an immediate welcome smile from Reception who listens and straight away directs me to the precise person I need to see. On the Service counter, David, Mark and Martina were all so efficient, quickly got me booked in , and their service team did exactly what was required and in the timescale advised. I also welcomed the feedback that my Aircon needed regassing and they did that for me whilst in the workshop after first asking my permission.Outstanding service and totally Customer focused. Well Done all your team. Alway consistent and excellent service.Neil

David on service reception was most helpful The technical feedback and video of my vehicle is clear and impressive.

I just wanted to say thank you to Jay and David for such an excellent costumer service skills.
There was a tricky situation with my car but Jay from the service department dealt with it with a calm manner and managed to sorted out for me. He kept me up to date via emails and his communication skills were great!
Thank you Jay and David and I wish well for the future!

Mark was excellent and gave me all the help I needed a step over and beyond well
Done Mark

Excellent all round service kind staff friendly approachable

New BMW purchased.

Exceptional customer service received from start to finish, nothing was too much trouble. Very pleasant, friendly, helpful staff throughout branch.

Communication excellent throughout. Edward Hall was an absolute pleasure to deal with and is a valuable asset to Stratstone.

The service was first class- Lydia was excellent and couldn’t do enough to help.

Fantastic customer service and great process. Friendly and helpful staff to support through the whole process

What can I say these people left me out to dry…. First issue since warranty expired I was promised that I would be taken care of and as I’d had 10 years loyal service and my cars had its full service history with them and only 52k miles on my M5 I needed a replacement engine and the cost was £39k and they couldn’t and wouldn’t help!!!! They even had the audacity to offer me £3.5k for the car part exchange which was less than the lights were worth. Absolutely disgusted at this place and BMW, after a week of calling around I sold it for 22k despite needing a replacement engine on a 4 year old 100k car. Thanks for everything BMW and Stratstone!!!!

Made to feel welcome and very good quality of service from staff. The staff members were very informative and helpful.

Jeremy is a credit to BMW. Great knowledge backed by a quality product.

Fantastic service! I cannot recommend Stratstone - BMW Harrogate enough, Tristan, was brilliant and so helpful, he did everything to make it easy and the best experience, even down to coffee, gift charger cable going that extra mile is when you know someone cares about what they do.I was so excited to drive my car away knowing that it we will be looked after.
Thank you for a very special day.

Usually I don't have a problem with this dealer's service department, but this time, they charged me twice! Told me that my payment didn't go through, so I re-entered my PIN, only to get home and find two transactions for £405. They did not cancel it and it's been a nightmare to try and get it back. You call them and they just put you on hold forever. Zero courtesy and professionalism. How hard can it be to take payment?! And of course they're dragging their feet refunding me for money that they STOLE. So unprofessional, will not be doing business with them again!

After recently booking my 2.5 year old X5 in for a Brake fluid service I asked if they would look at my front windscreen washers, I know BMW have issues with this and I always use fluid bought from this dealer, this was noted on my service sheet, when I came to collect the car I was told it was environmental! and not under Warranty, I have bout my last three cars from Stratstone all BMWs, GT5, X6, and my current X5, my son has bout 2 cars from the dealer as well, I always change my car after 3 years so close to my next purchase short sightedness of the dealer…

Although I have used this dealership before over the last 20 years, their customer service level has plummeted from excellent to poor.
After a breakdown on 22nd of December and being towed in, I had to keep contacting them for information as to the cause of the breakdown and ready for collection date. My calls were never returned. The repair was finally completed on 3rd January when finally it was confirmed what the fault was and the car would be ready the next day, it took another three days due to senior technician being on leave. I asked the service advisor if my clogged up windscreen washers could be cleaned at the same time. I was assured this would be done and the repair bill was all inclusive. When I collected my car, immediately realising they were still clogged up upon reporting the issue I was told I was not charged for it the first time and it would cost me £144.00 to redo the clean even though the clean obviously was not done.
Although this is the nearest dealership to me, in the future I will use Leeds or York options.
A stressful and unsatisfactory period with no thought for the customer.

Bought car remotely and had it delivered, arrived with damage not disclosed, chip in the windscreen that the dealership told me to get my insurance company to repair, fraud, rear door painted not disclosed, knocking from front windscreen wipers smearing even tho they had just moted it,02 sensor fault,i rejected the car, they collected the car over a week ago, they said refund was processed promised my money would be in my bank by Monday 18/12/23, no money has been refunded,no calls returned, formal complaint lodged with BMW uk, no car, no money in the bank and its 1 week to Christmas
20/12/23 update, they have refunded most of the money but have withheld £250, i was told this would be paid today, it has not, i am issuing court action against this dealership on 21/12/23, ive tried to sort this out with them but they think they can do what they want.

Three times in the last week i have rang bmw to book a service and each time im told there busy and will call me back but im still waiting. Shocking customer service!

Under new Head of Business, Paul DiClemente, this dealership is second to none. My recent new car was my sixth purchase through different Stratstone dealerships, and I can honestly say that Paul and Retail Sales Specialist, Matthew Mason, made this an outstanding and special experience. The atmosphere in the dealership is much improved and it’s a pleasure to be there. The handover day was made really special by Matthew and I was delighted! Plus the dealership is in a great location and the journey there is pleasant. Can’t recommend this dealership enough!