Toyota RAV4 2014 (63) - 2.2 D-CAT Icon 5dr Auto

Amazing car and service. I purchased this car online, due to the distance of over 3 hours away I had to totally trust the vehicles description and photos but I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I was told the car would be delivered between 8-9am the following day and it arrived in pristine condition at 8am. The driver Mick was very friendly and professional, he showed me the vehicle inside and out. He helped with the paperwork. The whole experience was just perfect, especially as I was kept informed throughout the whole process by Jamie. Now, my car who I have named Phoenix 😍 is totally amazing and exceeded my expectations in every way. Phoenix was MOT'd with no advisories and valeted perfectly. I have 12 months breakdown cover and Phoenix is warranteed for 6 months. That first drive in the sunshine this morning with the roof down was exilerating. Thank you so much Jamie and Mick.(My heros)

I didn’t want to leave this review, but Wearside Autoparc left me no choice. I have given them nearly a month to reply to my email and they have ignored me. After threatening me with legal action and accusing me of ‘blackmail’ simply for requesting goodwill compensation, I feel it’s important to warn others. I bought a car just over a month ago. Five days after purchase, it broke down. The AA confirmed the clutch pipe had failed. I then took it straight to a garage, where the mechanic told me the entire clutch pipe had burst, and he was shocked it had passed an MOT just one week earlier. He couldn’t understand how something that severe was missed. I raised this with the aftersales team and was met with no apology, no empathy — just a cold “well at least the warranty is covering it.” That’s not good enough and completely beside the point. I was sold a faulty vehicle that left me without transport as I had obviously got rid of my previous car. When I asked for reasonable compensation for the inconvenience, they refused, then accused me of blackmail (complete normal thing to accuse a paying customer of for asking a simple and reasonable request after being sold a faulty vehicle) it was literally wearsides fault I was without transport and was in this position in the first place? As the MOT clearly had not been done properly. I was actually asked to leave a positive review when I picked up the vehicle, but something was telling me not to and now I’m glad I waited. It was only after this happened that I went through their low-rated reviews, and it turns out this is a recurring theme. I regret not checking sooner. Here are just a few examples from other customers: “Sold me a car that went into limp mode within two days. Had nothing left on the brake pads, also electrical issues.” “They wanted my car to be taken to some garage next to their yard, which has little online presence and looks like a shed in someone’s back yard.” “They are fantastic, until you get the car. Then they change completely.” “Turns out I was sold a dud.” “If you’re looking for a used car dealer you can rely on when something goes wrong… keep looking.” “I reached out to Autoparc, who initially argued with the diagnostics of my garage, then requested ‘independent’ diagnostics — funnily enough, the ‘independent garage’ is just a stone’s throw from the dealer.” - (dodge!!) “Potential buyers — if something goes wrong, they’ll find a way not to help you.” The behaviour described in those reviews is exactly what I experienced, defensive, dismissive, manipulative, and unwilling to take responsibility. Their customer service is appalling, and clearly, I’m not the only one who has been treated this way. They are not a member of the Motor Ombudsman (of course) so I am going to raise a formal complaint to Trading Standards and supply full evidence of the breakdown, the repair diagnosis, and their communication with me and also evidence of previous reviews, to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else! If you’re thinking of buying from Wearside Autoparc — don’t. Check the reviews, especially if you filter them by “lowest first.” The pattern is obvious, I regret not checking before I purchased the vehicle.