stoneacre.co.uk

I bought a 2017 low mileage RAV4 from Stoneacre Wearside back in February 2022 as a Toyota Approved

I bought a 2017 low mileage RAV4 from Stoneacre Wearside back in February 2022 as a Toyota Approved used car. I trusted Toyota's reputation and the dealer's description and ordered it unseen. It was delivered to my door and I gave it a cursory check over and everything seemed fine. It was only later I noticed how dirty it was inside, especially in the back with sticky grime in the seat belt housings and down the sides and backs of the leather seats. A bodywork specialist friend noticed a slapdash repair to the offside plastic quarter panel under the front bumper. I wasn't happy about it but it wasn't the end of the world. I also noticed a vibration from the low mileage diesel engine and reported this to the salesman. He said it was probably the exhaust rattling but I wasn't convinced. I took it to my local Toyota main dealer to check it and they found fault with the crankcase pulley. I wanted a refund from Stoneacre but they assured me that the problem would be sorted. After a lot of warranty debate between them and my local dealer, the issue was eventually repaired but after test driving it the noise was still present, but not quite as rattly. The mechanic took it back into the workshop and returned it shortly afterwards, noise free. I took the car home and valeted it myself to get rid of the sticky mess on and around the rear seats and found even more encrusted grime. My previous RAV4 had been purchased from a Vauxhall dealer, Evans Halshaw and it was presented in mint condition so I was very disappointed in this Toyota Approved example. It wasn't a cheap purchase at £18500, but I no longer wanted to drive it. I decided to complain to Toyota UK about Stoneacre and they fobbed me off apologising for my experience and telling me about all the checks dealers carry out on Toyota Approved used vehicles etc. I should really have reported Stoneacre to Trading Standards, but I wasn't fully aware of my rights and in the end I just wanted the car out of my life. I sold it for a loss of around £2500 after just a few weeks. So when you see a main dealer approved used car scheme you need to take eveything they tell you with a pinch of salt, because in some cases they don't fully adhere to the process of checking and preparing a used car to meet the manufacturer's requirements. Despite Stoneacre assuring me it was "probably an exhaust rattle", had I not bothered to have the fault checked properly it could have caused catastrophic engine failure. My next used car was purchased from a small private dealer who went out of his way to inspect and prepare the car to a very high standard. So buyer beware, especially when purchasing from franchised dealerships.

Date of experience: Mar 12, 2026