MOTOR HALT
Popular car dealership suddenly SHUTS DOWN with ‘stock cleared out’ and customers left fuming
The business has attracted positive and negative feedback from customers
CUSTOMERS are up in arms after a popular car dealership suddenly closed its doors temporarily.
However, The Car Group in Bury, Greater Manchester has assured punters that the business is "not going anywhere".
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The popular local business closed its doors on November 5 due to an “internal operational issue”, The Oldham Times .
Raza Habib, director at The Car Group, clarified: “We are not going bust, I want to make that very clear.
"We have not gone into liquidation.
“We are working hard to get things back up and running again soon.”
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Locals began to speculate that the business was shutting up shop following claims that “stock has been cleared out”.
However, Raza assured customers that this was due to a customary stock take.
Local Paul Levin claims he had a "frustrating" experience with the dealership after buying a motor from them for his daughter-in-law in March this year.
According to Paul, the Whitefield man was then slapped with a £18,000 repair bill four months later.
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“She paid around £29,000 for a Land Rover that had 33,000 miles on the clock. I was driving it to Nottingham, where I live, and it began pouring with smoke," he alleged.
“A police officer saw it and advised me to get it looked at immediately. I took it to a nearby specialist who advised that it needed a new engine, among several other things.
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“I spoke to The Car Group who told me they could find a cheaper engine and that’s when alarm bells started ringing for me.
“I had to pay for the diagnostic checks before they [The Car Group] agreed to come and collect it and offered us another car in the meantime.”
Paul then claimed he faced months of issues to recoup his money and slammed the "slow process" to get his money back.
He continued: “After three months, seven hours of calls and three visits, I managed to unwind the finance agreement and get my daughter-in-law’s deposit paid back.
“Everything just felt odd from the start to the end. I feel sorry for people who may have the wool pulled over their eyes."
The Car Group is still listed as active on the government’s Companies House and is an appointed representative of Ingeni Services Group Limited.
Sarah Sykes and her husband Richard, from Halifax, also reportedly ran into problems with the dealership.
According to the couple, they are owed more than £4,000 after they part-exchanged their vehicle at The Car Group.
Sarah said: “The whole thing has been a shambles.
“We were told the car had been serviced but it hadn’t. There were problems with a faulty light, air filters, oil and coolant, a leaking radiator and all the tyres need replacing.
We are working hard to get things back up and running again soon
Raza Habib
“When I complained, they repaired it but we are still having issues with the car so it was booked back in for tomorrow [November 8] but they cancelled the appointment.
She added: “We were told it would take five to 10 working days for the money to go into the bank but still haven’t had it. I kept calling and couldn’t get through.
“I was eventually told that the accounts person was off sick. They have been a nightmare to get in touch.
“We have been passed from pillar to post and are being fobbed off.
“I rang again on Monday and was told it was closed temporarily. They have said that they will pay us but they don’t know when.
“I have reported it to Trading Standards but the lack of communication is worrying.”
The dealership has also attracted a number of positive reviews from punters.
"Having spent a lot of time looking for my new vehicle I was put in touch with Hamidreza at the car group," one wrote.
"From the second we spoke I was aware I had found to right car. From start to finish, a very professional gent and atmosphere.
"Huge relief to find the right car and superb customer services.
100% would recommend!"
In a statement, Raza told The Bury Times he is hoping to reopen the store as soon as possible.
“We are making it our priority to get hold of customers who have cars with us and to make things right," he said.
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“We have sorted it [IT] and have a dedicated email address for customers who are having issues to get in touch.”
The Sun Online has reached out to The Car Group for comment.
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