I contacted Saxtons in Chelmsford on a Friday evening about a car and was assured it would be fully prepped and ready for viewing at 3pm the next day. I travelled 1.5 hours from Peterborough, only to arrive on-time and be told the car wasn’t prepared and wasn't even onsite!I waited around 30 minutes for the car to arrive. When it finally did, it was in a very poor state: dirty, unprepared, and even had an old, used sock left in the boot. Despite this, I asked to test‑drive it, but was told it needed a safety inspection first. That added another hour of waiting around in the showroom.After the test drive, I requested a part‑exchange valuation, which took another 30 minutes and came back far below other offers I had received elsewhere. Only after more than two hours onsite did the salesperson finally mention that the car had just one key — something not stated in the advert or during my prior phone conversation. At this point, mentally drained, I reluctantly paid a £500 deposit.On the drive home, I reconsidered the implications of buying a car with just one key, especially with children at home, and after sleeping on it I decided I didn’t feel safe going ahead. I called Saxtons first thing the next morning to cancel, but the response I received was unhelpful, aggressive, and dismissive. Despite cancelling less than 18 hours after viewing — and long before they could have “lost any other sale” — I was told only a partial refund could be given.After escalating it to the sales director and 45mins of heated conversation, I was eventually told I would only receive £201 back. Even then, my partial refund that should have taken 7–10 days to appear actually took 16 days to arrive.Overall, the experience felt the opposite of customer‑focused. Every step of the process left me feeling like the priority was securing my money rather than supporting me as a customer. Had things been handled differently, I might have considered buying from them in future — but this experience has completely changed that.Based on my experience, I can’t recommend Saxtons. What looks like a premium showroom felt more like a car flipping operation with zero customer care once you scratch beneath the surface, I'm just glad I got out when I did based on the other 1* reviews..!
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