Pilgrims of March Reviews 251

Bought a transit custom van from them which I travelled
along way to see. Very satisfied and pleased with
both the condition of the
the van and service I received.

Date of experience: April 11, 2025

1. Initial Appointment and Miscommunication
I called to book an appointment for my car, which had previously broken down. Your staff assured me that I could drop the car off early, and that they would try to take a look at it before the scheduled appointment time if possible. This seemed like excellent customer service. However, when I arrived the following day, no one was aware of my booking. The staff claimed to have no record of our conversation the day before, and I was told that the earliest available appointment would now be in two weeks.
2. Broken Down Car at the Garage
Upon attempting to move my car into position, the vehicle failed to start again, making it clear that the problem had not been addressed. The receptionist demanded that I move the car, despite it being inoperable. I was unable to comply, which only added to my frustration.
3. Unfulfilled Promises and Lack of Communication
After two weeks, I called to follow up, only to be told that your team was on lunch and I’d have to call back. The next day, I was informed that my car still hadn't been looked at, and I was rescheduled for another two weeks. Each time I called, I received the same vague excuses, with no real action taken. After several weeks of repeated calls, I was told that the necessary equipment (referred to as "dollies") to move my car was unavailable, but again, I was told to wait another two weeks.
4. Unacceptable Excuses and Incompetence
After six weeks of delays, I was informed that the garage was unable to move my car due to the "rough" concrete surface it was parked on. This excuse, along with the complete lack of accountability, was both unreasonable and unacceptable.
5. Rude and Unhelpful Customer Service
When I tried to resolve the situation, the receptionist became dismissive and rude, failing to apologize for the inconvenience I had endured. The lack of courtesy shown only compounded my frustration.
6. Final Straw: Lack of Preparedness
On the day I arrived to recover my car, I was again met with confusion. The staff had no recollection of my scheduled pickup, and the person I spoke to could not access the keys because they were locked in a safe. After much persistence, I was told the keys were simply in a drawer. When I inspected my car, I found that parts of the engine had been removed and left on the passenger seat, which explained why the car hadn't started.
7. Resolution with Another Garage
Finally, after seven weeks of frustration, I had my car towed to TC Harrison Ford in Peterborough, where they immediately fixed the issue and reassembled the engine—all in a single day.
This entire experience has been an exercise in incompetence and poor customer service. I have been misled, ignored, and treated with a complete lack of professionalism. I expect an immediate response to this complaint, including a formal apology and an explanation of how you intend to prevent this from happening to other customers in the future.

Date of experience: April 11, 2025

I had high hopes for my purchase which all seemed to go reasonably well at first until issues become apparent. It was made on the back of truly traumatic year for us and was done to give my wife a boost.

On collection it was immediately apparent that the parcel shelf was missing from the car. I was promised a parcel shelf would be delivered to my home address forthwith. First of all they sent a totally unrelated piece of internal trim. This now sits on my garage taking up space. Finally I received a parcel shelf some weeks later, however upon receipt the locating lug was missing. I immediately contacted Gary, who since then has completely ignored my attempts to contact him other than a half hearted attempt via phone on one occasion when my wife was hospitalised. I explained this to them in a quick email whilst at the hospital.

Certainly neither he nor Cheryl (the administrator), have been courteous enough to put anything in writing about how they are going to resolve the matter, and I can only assume there is a reason for this. She should be ashamed of herself as when the payment for the car hadn’t cleared correctly I bent over backwards to ensure this was resolved for her, even though I was driving home at the time. Not great when you are also having to deal with personal issues is it, so don’t think that anyone in the company gives a flying fig about you and any interest is completely false. They only want your money and the sale so don’t be fooled by the facade of genuineness. I am now left with a largely useless parcel shelf and a piece of irrelevant trim. I will not go into full detail, but this was not a £3k runaround, but a car costing more than £18k. A new replacement parcel shelf would be £380, so this is not a trivial amount.

I would add that Gary portrays himself as simply the car salesman there. This is untrue so don’t be fooled by this as I was at the time. I say this because when we chatted initially and we discussed possible discounts for cash he told me he would have to run it past the boss first. He is the boss! A bit disingenuous don’t you think? He also gave me false information about the features of the car I bought which I do have in writing, so check everything carefully before you walk away no matter how long it takes. Additionally there was only one key and the warning triangle missing upon further inspection when home. Should you encounter issues get as much as you can in writing, get advice from Citizens Advice then seek redress in the Small Claims court under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Good luck.

Date of experience: April 14, 2025

I left a message with Pilgrims of March via auto trader, Gary phoned me and was very helpful answering all questions regarding the car. We travelled from the North-East to view the car and although the mileage was 1k higher than advertised and I would have described the condition as excellent as opposed to the immaculate description, we test drove and subsequently purchased the car. Gary was very helpful in all aspects of the purchase and informed us that he would post the spare key when it was received from the previous owner. When this didn’t happen a few weeks later he arranged a North-East company to visit our home and assign a new key fob. A good purchase experience all round

Date of experience: February 01, 2025

Purchased a car from pilgrims of March the first week of December. The next day the engine management light came on pilgrims had it in the next day .The parts were on back order from the manufacturer, so it took a fortnight to repair.
The car is now repaired and drives perfect.
Gary and his colleagues could not have been more professional they provided a courtesy car the whole time mine was off the road it took time but was no fault of pilgrims.
I would not hesitate to buy a car from them again

Thanks pilgrims of March.

Date of experience: December 05, 2024

Travelled 2.5hrs today to view a Peugeot Expert that was advertised on Auto trader .. when we arrived we discovered numerous issues which had conveniently been left out of description & pics in advert. Was advised they would fix the bodge job done on the sliding door BUT after reading other reviews about similar occurrences & pilgrims failing to fulfill warranty promises we decided to look elsewhere.. absolute waste of time

Date of experience: December 28, 2024

An absolutely wonderful experience with the office with Jess ! Her warmth, kindness, and genuine personality in every interaction. She carries herself with grace and a contagious positivity, in regards to the garage itself they are quick effective and efficient, making sure that the car is 100% and got the best quality parts available for my ST, they are clear and breakdown anything you need to know and give out multiple options ensuring you in every aspect

Date of experience: December 05, 2024

My son’s car was booked in for an annual service during August, whilst he was away travelling. The whole procedure from booking the car in to collecting it once the work was completed, ran very smoothly. I was kept informed of progress at all stages by Jess, the receptionist. Therefore when a problem with the rear axle bushes was discovered during the service, I had no hesitation in getting the car booked in again for that work.
Again I was given a quote in advance of the work and kept informed of progress during the day.
Jess is a real star! Very helpful and friendly. It’s such a pleasure to deal with someone like this. Thank you for your help and advice, Jess!

Date of experience: November 26, 2024

Came to Pilgrims for an MOT and service and other work on my car, everyone was fab. Especially Jess, who kept me in the loop the whole time, got me booked in the next day when I called up, and went above and beyond to help me. Thanks Jess, will deffo book in there again :)

Date of experience: November 18, 2024

Only been 24hrs since I had my fuel pump changed all good.very friendly receptionist.kept well informed.cost of work very reasonable.and I will say in advance hopefully quality work.

Date of experience: November 05, 2024

Excellent communication from the service department at Pilgrims and a good price.

Date of experience: October 25, 2024

Having had problems in arranging to get my car in for a repair nothing was too much trouble for Michelle. If I had to cancel at the last minute it was no problem she offered to have my car picked up and returned. In the end due to my needs it was booked in as first job of the day so I could wait for it. Great customer service helped me out no end I was very grateful.

Date of experience: October 09, 2024

What can I say other than outstanding service. My vehicle was booked in for MOT and it was completed within a couple of hours. Michelle you are a diamond and your customer skills are outstanding. I was offered transport due to rain and I was taken home and collected. Well done Pilgrims and reward you employee.

Date of experience: October 01, 2024

I booked my vehicle in for a service and an investigation in respect of a dashboard warning light.
I have had, primarily, dealings with with Jess Beau Briscoe. The examination of my vehicle highlighted serious issues that were the fault of the garage that I had purchased the vehicle from.
I cannot praise Jess enough for her knowledge, professionalism and customer care and assistance. She went above and beyond to assist me and give me invaluable advice. She provided me with detailed emails, outlining the issues with the vehicle and advice as to the 'next steps.'
She dealt with warranty issues with professionalism and patience.
It is not often someone goes that 'extra mile,' for you, but Jess certainly did.
I can't recommend Pilgrims enough and wouldn't take my vehicle's anywhere else.

Date of experience: August 14, 2024

Customer service appalling, no after sales care at all.no phone call or email communication just wash their hands of you as soon as you make the payment.
Purchased a car for £7180 and they can't remember me ,enough said.

Date of experience: September 05, 2024

Following a recent breakdown on my Volvo S90 and the AA totally misdiagnosing the fault leaving me with a large bill for an unneeded part at a Volvo main dealer with the fault reoccurring almost immediately. A visit to the service department at Pilgrims and the helpful and friendly team not only identified the fault straight away but ordered a new part and my car was ready to collect the same day. Unlike the AA who relied on a computer to misdiagnose the fault, the Technician (Luke) at Pilgrims took the car for a test drive and returned with the news he knew what the fault was and found the cause straight away. Genuine Volvo part ordered and car returned by close of business the same day.
Brilliant service and pricing and a Technician who outsmarted the AA’s computers. Top marks and many thanks everyone at Pilgrims Of March.

Date of experience: August 16, 2024

Jess at Pilgrims made my service go without a hitch! Great communication throughout, transparent pricing, and reassuring when I am booking a service for the first time. Thank you also to the mechanics who did a great job!

Date of experience: August 07, 2024

Fast, great quality service. I had my suspension fail on me at 2 o'clock in the morning - rang Pilgrims later that morning and Jess was able to get me booked in the same day. She was very helpful on the phone giving guidance on how to get there, where to park and showed me to my car when I arrived to collect. She explained what the engineers had done and some other things they had spotted. The engineers did a great job, not had any issues since. The were very thorough and flagged other potential issues they had spotted for my reference.

Date of experience: July 01, 2024

If you brought a car from them on finance you where conned
The sales person would have got a massive commission that you ended up paying.
Check it out with SLATER AND GORDON SOLICITORS MISS SOLD FINANCE.

Date of experience: July 14, 2023

Bought a Ford Transit Custom Reg no. YR21FVO from Pilgrims of March. Pleased with the vehicle and service.

Date of experience: July 01, 2024