I travelled from London on the train to look at a car here (so was a fair chunk out of my day) car seemed in okay condition but absolutely covered in Polish/wax,inside and out. We then took it out for a test drive, it seemed okay at first but by the end of the trip there was smoke bellowing for the engine compartment/ warning lights flashing. Obviously this car was not in any condition to sell. I was then told that to get the car up to standard would be an extra £400 and that this was standard policy there. I have issues with this as the screen price should be for a drivable car in good condition unless stated otherwise. It seems like they are doing this just so they can undercut the competition and get customers on the forecourt. Although in reality they are no cheaper than any other dealers, in fact with the £400 add on’s they work out more expensive. This business strategy is seriously floored, the screen price should the drive away price. Wasted half of my day – avoid…..

We read the reviews here after viewing a car and then worried! We didn’t need to. All was great. Which is why we wanted to add this review. Our experience of Strood? First class. Here’s the low-down : Let’s start with the adverts. The price advertised can be bumped up (your choice) by £150 or £450 extra if you take the security check or check & warranty. Needless to say the sales pitch kicks in once you start looking. This can make you feel a bit ambushed on the forecourt. (That’s nothing new – I got the same treatment in PC World yesterday, buying a laptop). Think about it, do the maths and decide if it’s worth it. We opted to take the warranty. Partly because this meant that the vehicle would have a full, independent MOT before they gave it to us, with all the advisories being dealt with as well so that it came with an MOT clean sheet. It would also have a full service. We also did an AA inspection just to be sure. The garage was really supportive of the AA check, and waited for the AA report so that if it turned up anything they’d missed they would fix that as well. AA found nothing the garage hadn’t already highlighted.(Still, independent check gave us peace of mind). It was Easter weekend, our AA inspection delayed the fixes and MOT but still the sales guy (Ray) went out of his way to arrange for the car to be MOT’d, serviced, valetted and ready. The car we bought was in great condition, genuine low mileage. We ended up spending more than we thought we might, but the price was cheaper to begin with, so we ended up spending about the right amount anyway. Worth it for peace of mind and great service.