Vanwise Group
Reviews and Complaints

After buying a van from Vanwise and paying in full, within 2 weeks the van started making funny noises from engine, returned to Vanwise to complain and they done a oil and filter change and said it was all fixed. 2 weeks later the noise was back which we then checked the oil and turned out we was losing 3/4 litres of oil every 2/3 weeks. On returning again to complain they tried to pass me off to the warranty company who when I called said it was down to van wise as they sold me the van like this.

Van wise then said it was down to me to go and get a report from a garage and to see what the problem was which I done and was an issue with the turbo, I sent the report over and they said it was not good enough and wanted the garage to take the turbo apart. Which the garage refused to do as did not want to give van wise a way out saying it had been tampered with.

When returning again to van wise they said they could not look at the van until 5 weeks time, plus could not offer me a curtesy vehicle ( this was the words from the after sales manger Richard - we might have a old part ex come in but I would need to tax and insurance it) he then told me to keep driving the van and to pop in and they would top the oil up knowing full well the van was not road worthy.

This was doing more damage to the van which they new to the point the van broke down and I had to get the van recovered to a garage and pay out of my own pocket for the repairs as could not afford the van to be off the road.

I have all messages from the after sales manager to back up everything that had happened.

I purchased a Van 3 weeks ago from Van Wise Harlow sold to me by Ifan/Taj.
I was sent a video on 16th September and the van looked great was told 29, 750 miles Only 1 previous Owner all paperwork upto date no issues and its had a 128 point AA inspection a cost to me is £199.00.I paid 149 to reserve the van.
I Was sold a 3 year extended warenty which would kick in after my 3 month warrenty.
Paid 18.75 for 5 day drive away insurance and GAP insurance .
Started the engine no service lights on so all good to me.
When I Went to purchase on 17th September I noticed the front passenger side head light was raised and out of alignment front damage to the bumper had a bad repair and see the bumper and back Quarter lights were a different colour and had tried to repair resprayed poorly with runs in the paintwork. I also pointed out the front breaks and pitting to the disks.I was told this would be put right and they would give me a full tank of fuel so I accepted they would correct the paintwork and also the front breaks.so it was booked it for 22.09.21 and to collect 25.09.21.
On driving home I noticed the on off engine control button Auxillery didn't work and water was inside the van. The milage wasn't 29, 750 it was over 30K On looking the carpet was badly water damaged also which they agreed to replace.
I rang on the Saturday to collect the van was told it hadn't been done but would be ready on the Monday 24th.
When I see the van it was worse than before only the front wing side bumper was sprayed in the correct colour but they left the rest in the wrong colour over spray to the front grill with a dent to the side and damage on the Bonnet dirty grease and mud in the drivers side Vanessa said they had rushed it and apologised and was re booked in 30.09.21.
I collected my Labourer for work who attempted to put his seat belt on and discovered it wasn't even bolted to the Van !.
I drove all the way back from London to Harlow spoke to the manager who apologised and said he will rectify it also valet the inside and ensure my fuel was put in as promised by Sales .I dropped it off again for correction and had to get a uber back to London at a cost of £41.00
On collecting the Van a second time the re spraying had been done in the correct colour so now matched the car but the front bumper wing was still poor and flat.and now overspray to the windscreen.On driving it back to London it had been wiped over with a oily diesel rag what looked like dry blood on the hazzard switch ..I took photos inside and out of the entire van on the Harlow forecourt when dropping it and collecting it plus Still no fuel put in where I had to fill it up myself in the garage directly next door to get it back to London!.
Asked if the stop start function had been done and was told no just give it a good run.
I checked the video I was sent by Taj on 16.9.21 and zoomed into the dash and it clearly shows the milage at that point of 30 064 which I have a screen shot and video Showing 30 064 not 29, 750 which Ifan recorded on the finance agreement extended warrenty and Gap insurance.
Then I dug further and see after at the point of sale was told the Van was upto date with the services etc that it had missed a minor and a Major service the last time it was done was May 2020.
I also went on the .gov website to get the MOT as Harlow didn't have a copy and showed all the advisories in May 2021 including the breaks which they did change the fronts as they measured them and were below legal limit .
When I spoke to Vanessa in after sales she basically said its nothing to do with them the paperwork but Darren the manager would ring me on the Monday.no call came nor Ifan and Taj won't reply to messages to sort the paperwork out as the wrong milage on all the documents no fuel no service the warranted I was sold has been started on 17.09.21 should be 17.12.21 as I got 3 months with the Van which is included in the 128 point AA inspection I paid £199.00 for.
So now I'm left with

The engine function stop start that wasn't picked up on the 128 point AA inspection not working.

Poor repair to the front side wing bumper.
Over spray to windscreen

No fuel as promised by Sales on the day of Purchase.
Now my log book has come back I'm not the 2nd owner I'm the 3rd when I questioned aftershaves Vanessa she said oh it was leased after the 1st owner had it !

The Passenger side headlight not sitting flush still out of alignment but better than it was.

The extended Warrenty start date is wrong.

The GAP Millage on purchase is wrong.

The Finance Milage on purchase is wrong .

The Servicing light has been knocked out and as told they were upto date hasn't been done since May 2020.

I'm still within my 30 days plus the 9 days added due to it being back at Harlow and have had an inspection done where the mechanical fault has been confirmed at faulty I now have to decide to return the van and accept repair or my full refund.

I just wanted to warn everyone this company is not that professional how they look like.. The day we made enquiries about van they promise us that we will get the van in 48 hours time then we went to their office we paid deposit and everything else and we was promised that we will collect the van Monday.. We went to the place monday and they turn around and said that we still cannot collect the van but we've been promised again we will have the van ready for Tuesday which did not happen either... Now we are hoping we can collect our purchase as soon as possible and nobody knows exactly when this is going to be.. We had to waste hundreds on rental van and we paid driver who wait all day for them and they didn't get the van ready.. We lose a lot of money doing business with this people and we would recommend you not to deal with them because you will be the next victim of their scams.. All what they care about is to take your money and that's all what is important to them and nothing else.. If you want to hear thousands excuses and lies then van wise group is the right place for you to buy your next vehicle..bad bad and bad

Bought a 1 year old van With 20k on the clock. I found overspray on the fuel cap when filling diesel on route home. Turned out the van was previously damaged, fixed up and resprayed.
To say I was fuming is an understatement. It was the principle. They never made that information available.
I called and brought it back only to be met with an unsympathetic, dismissive, arrogant, condescending tone when put through to Darren.

Never again.

"All our vans are hand picked" yeah - from the salvage yard I think. You should be embarrassed.

Didn't offer as little as a complimentary service or valet

I bought a Renault Trafic van from Vanwisegroup Harlow in march 2018. Cost £14, 400. The van was displayed prominently in the show room as one of only a handful of vehicles, the rest of the large fleet of vans on sale were outside on the lot.
I bought this 2015 van as I wanted something clean, reliable with low mileage and apparently problem free.
Vanwisegroup in their blurb on the website state that their vans are "thoroughly inspected" to give the customer "piece of mind". I believed this and this was why I bought from them rather than buying privately or from a small unknown company.

In may 2019 the van broke down as the coolant dropped out of the van while I was driving across the Orwell bridge in Suffolk, 50 miles from my home and I needed to get the van recovered on the back of a recovery truck

It was found that the rad hose had worn away where it had been rubbing against bent metal. The bent metal was the front bumper iron of the van which had obviously been in a front impact. All the plastics at the front of the van were held together by cable ties like a jigsaw.

I contacted vanwisegroup in Harlow and from the outset they didn't want to know and despite sending images stated that they disputed the leak was caused by the damaged metal and that they didn't see any damage when they inspected the van and therefore were not prepared to assist me. They also stated as I had the van for 15 months before the damage was detected there is nothing they would do. At one point during a telephone contact the Sales manager Mr Daft suggested that the damage could have been sustained after it left their premises.

This van was defective at the time I bought it. It wasn't inspected thoroughly by vanwisegroup and it was then sold on to me. I am now having to fork out hundreds of pounds to have it fixed as I cannot afford to be without the van for my business.

I wanted vanwisegroup to fix my van but they have absolved themselves of any responsibility.

Hello there, I brought a van from vanwise in maidstone nearly a year ago and just started experiencing some faults with my van. I took out a 1 year warranty with the van when I brought it which cost me £700. I rang vanwise and told them the symptons of my problems dpf light on and said my van also needed a m.O. T. The van was booked in very quickly which I was happy about. I took the van to vanwise and they said they would ring when it was completed. I heard from then at 3pm and they said the van was ready to pick up, I live in herne bay so it took an hour in which to get back to the van. I payed for a new clutch new gear linkage and had a new dual mass flywheel fitted on the warranty, total I payed was £330. After I had payed and got the keys I went out to my van opened the door and couldn't believe the state of the inside, they had made no effort to clean off the grease and mess they had made on my floor door cards and glove box. I left after that and put it down to experience hoping the work they had done would make up for it. I drove to 2 miles done the road to find the light had come back on, they had changed my fuel filter which I supplied them with as they said this was why the light was on only to find it wasn't that. I also noticed my van was showing me when to change gear like it was before, also the gear knob gaiuter wasn't fitted correctly and was just floating about. I gave it a week to calm down and thought I would give them 1 more chance to put the fault on my van correct. I rang them and booked it in for a friday. I took the van to vanwise for 8am and got a lift home to where I live. Vanwise told me they would ring me which they didn't. I rang them saturday morning to ask how the van was getting on, they said they have diagnosied the problem but were unable to put the van right till tues as therewas only a apprentice there and it was bank holiday monday, I wasn't happy as I would be missing 3 days off work unpayed due to them not contacting me and explaining the situation which I could of earnt £600. Vanwise said they would ring me between 10 and 11am on tuesday once they had driven the van for 1hr and a half on the motorway to clear the fault. I rang vanwise at 11 and they turned round and said they hadn't had time to drive the van even tho I had the van booked in on the friday hoping to get it back the same day. I told them I had to have the van back as I would lose my job if I had to many days off. I went back on tuesday without vanwise contacting me at 430 pm, they took ages in which to see me and then handed back the keys and said were not sure what the fault is and if I go sumwhere else to diagnoise it they would then fix the problem. I told them no that's not right... To sum up the story I would say it was a very bad experience, im out of pocket by £600 and my van is still not fixed but I have to drive it regardless to keep my job

To whom it may concern:

I write in relation to a Ford Transit Van that I purchased form your company on 12th Nov 2016.
I purchased the van from your Dunstable showroom for a total cost of £11, 400.00 inclusive of VAT.
On Sunday 5th March 2017 the van broke down and I had to call AA for road side assistance – they indicated the issue was with the Dual Mass Flywheel.
I contacted your company and had the van towed to Dunstable on 7th March 2017 and dealt with Keith who I believe is head of your service department for Dunstable garage. He agreed that the issue was with the DMF but as the van was just outside of the 3 month warranty I would have to cover some of the cost of repairs – this totalled £680.71.
Following this work being completed during w/c 24th April 2017 I began to experience issues with grinding noises when attempting to change gear and being completely unable to change into 2nd. I rang Vanwise and again dealt with Keith who arranged for me to drop the vehicle to your Dunstable garage on 3rd May.
Unfortunately, on 2nd May the van totally broke down and I had to have it towed to a garage local to my home address. The mechanic at this garage stated that 2nd gear had totally failed and he suggested the van could need the whole gear box replacing or renewed.
I tried to contact Keith to advise him of this but was unable to get through to him via phone. I did email Keith as well but to date I have had no response from him.
Due to my livelihood depending on my being able to travel to jobs and the non-response from your service dept I instructed my local garage to carry out the necessary works to the vehicle so I could get it back on the road. The total costs of this work came to £1409.00.
In addition to these costs I had already invested a total of £760.00 for sign writing, deadlocks and parking sensors prior to encountering all the mechanical issue with the vehicle.
It is my belief that Vanwise was liable for the cost of these repairs as I believe the van you have sold me is not fit for purpose.
The local garage who have carried out the repair work on the gearbox have advised that as the van is less than 3 years old and with relatively low mileage the gearbox should not be failing. Upon carrying out the work the mechanic noticed evidence that the gearbox had previously been accessed and that some of the components had already been replaced with what they suspect to be second hand parts.
On your website you clearly state:
‘We take care to thoroughly inspect each and every used van that arrives at our dealerships, so you can drive away with peace of mind and the knowledge that you van is in the very best condition.’
I would request that you now provide specific details of when the vehicle I purchased was inspected, what was tested/inspected and any resulting reports from this as I do not believe that these issues only developed after I purchased the vehicle. Given the consistent failures on this vehicle and the findings of the local garage in relation to the gearbox I believe any rational person would be of the opinion that the vehicle was most definitely not sold to me ‘in the very best condition’.
In relation to the excess costs I have undertaken I believe the initial refusal to repair my van is in direct contravention of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – set out under this legislation is my responsibility to allow you one opportunity to repair or replace goods that are found to be of ‘unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described’ and that have been brought to your attention within 6 months of the initial purchase. This is regardless of any warranty time limit you have placed on the product.
The only time you have right of refusal to this would be if Vanwise could evidence that the cost of what I have requested would be disproportionate to any other solution you could offer. As I had not requested a full refund, but a repair, I do not believe that you were legally within your rights to refuse to cover the whole cost for this work.
Also covered under this legislation is the right to request a full refund or price reduction for any goods on which a repair is unsuccessful and is still within 6 months of the initial purchase.
As the vehicle once again broke down after the repairs carried out by your garage and the van was found to still have issues around the gearbox, of which you were notified in May, I would suggest I am now within my rights to apply for a full refund. In addition to the costs of repairs I would also look to recoup the costs I have incurred from missed work and having to pay for use of a replacement van for a week. The breakdown of costs I would be looking to claim for a refund in full would be:

Cost of repairs: £2089.71
Loss of earnings (approx 5 and a half days): £1100.00
Cost of replacement van (approx 5 and a half days): £330.00
Cost of alterations made: £760.00
Total: £4279.71

As I am still awaiting a response from my email to Keith (sent in May) I would ask that you respond to this complaint within 7 working days to avoid any further delay.
Should a response to this not be forthcoming within this time frame I will be referring this matter to my solicitors.
Regards

D. Stockman

I bought a SWB Ford Transit (2013) from this dealership in May 2016. The vehicle developed a fault after few months due to a failure of the part that was incorrectly fitted prior to the sale. Although Vanwise weren’t responsible for the fitting, they failed to notice the incorrect fitting and an oil leak. My vehicle wasn’t therefore ‘as described’ and ‘of a satisfactory quality’ but Vanwise don’t want to hear anything about it. They are extremely unhelpful and dismissive of all my attempts to solve this problem and their service department is trying to imply that the fault is somewhere else.
They also failed to send a reminder of an expired MOT for my vehicle and left me to drive, without an MOT, for over a month. I haven’t been given any MOT paperwork at the time of the sale and as the MOT was meant to be done by Vanwise and ‘free for life’, I didn’t worry about this. When I eventually started to worry and contacted them, the reaction wasn’t apologetic but dismissive and condescending. I haven’t received an apology or any form of compensation for this to date either.
According to their own website and LinkedIn profile they want to retain clients’ business and keep us on the road; they are supposedly ‘the better way to buy’ and commited to deliver low prices. I wouldn’t agree with any of these statements and I wouldn’t recommend this dealership to anybody.

I paid a deposit for a van with vanwise Harlow which needed some work to get it road worthy for a test drive! Sale agreed subject to the road test. However the next day I was offered a job with a company van so no longer needed the Vanwise one.
Vanwise refuse to refund my deposit even though they didn't incur any costs!
No service or road tax valet or web site removal.
They have offered to keep my £250 deposit on any future van I may require!
My experience of Vanwise Harlow has been disgusting and would advise anyone seeking a van to go some where else!