Hammond Cars - Ipswich Anmeldelser 1.021

My student daughter viewed a car last Saturday, price was £10,900, that night she made an offer and it was stated that they do not accept offers. On Sunday the price went up to £11,000. On Bank Holiday Monday she rang to pay the deposit, the phones had not been switched over and got through to a member of staff who said he was 30 miles from the office and could not take a deposit. No where on the website could we see that they were closing early, On Tuesday the price went up to £11,100, she put down a deposit.
Today we meet Stan who was really good and tried his best. The car was good and the staff were very helpful. But the manager refused to give the £11,000 price as he stated the office was shut. My daughter is on minimum wage and was using the funds left by her grandmother.
In summary great car, great service, nice welcome but all marred by the price gauging that has taken place.

The dynamic pricing only means your margin in greater. You have purchased the car already, so this increase just means your profit is £200 greater.

Your sales manager protects his Commision over the satisfaction of your customer. He did not even speak with me.

I have to say that the guy known as 'Stan' (aka Paul Stanley) was really very good, nice, helpful and so patient. Really great service from him. Staff in general very friendly. Thank you Stan

Paul was brilliant - very helpful and accommodating. Made everything very easy and had just the right balance of interactment.

Was interested in a car they were selling.Offered them a very near offer but they refused.Over the time while still shopping for a car I again tried to call them and see if they would accept my offer.If they did then I would have made approximately 2 hours journey to possibly buy the car. I have noticed the car for at least two weeks and is still there while writing this review! Looks like they are not interested even the car has been sitting there for days! Any way after reading some negative reviews about their service here I am glad have not bought that car!I am not trying to blame any car dealers for refusing offers!It is solely upto them.Many genuine potential buyers would try for discounts even for new cars and even many dealers would give discounts!

Lovely guy, pleasant and very helpful xx

I can say with confidence my experience working at Hammond Cars will be one to remember for all the wrong reasons.
The cars have too many issues to list with some not being able to be started or moved, and the treatment by some of the individuals is atrocious.
Particularly Peter Trigg Dudley who genuinely has amazed me as to how incapable and disrespectful someone can be towards his staff. His behaviour was highly unprofessional along with all the scrutinising, belittling and making you feel worthless and you need hand-holding to do your job. I would never dream of buying a car from here.
The management is appalling.

Darnell was an all round great guy, no pressure at all from start to finish everything perfect, happy with the car👍

I had a very good experience with this dealership, especially thanks to the manager (Philp). From the start, I was treated with great attention and professionalism, and the manager made sure I felt comfortable and well informed throughout the process. Although I initially had to visit multiple times because the car was not ready for a test drive, the situation was handled politely and professionally. Once everything was arranged, the experience was very positive. The staff were extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable, answering all my questions without any pressure. Unfortunately, I could not proceed with the purchase due to the interest rate and the available color options. However, I truly appreciated the excellent customer service and would happily recommend this dealership to others.

Large selection of vehicles, helpful staff.

We reported an abnormal noise from the clutch / gearbox area of the car 4 days after purchasing it at the start of September. The car also suffered a significant number of other serious issues shortly after purchase, one of these being a complete brake failure resulting in the car overrunning a junction and only through luck nobody was seriously injured.

We took the car to our local garage (the garage Hammonds also use) and they said the issue was most likely due to a faulty clutch / DMF. This garage recently replaced the clutch / DMF on this vehicle with parts supplied by Hammonds. The garage believed the fault was due to faulty components that had been supplied and as Hammonds had provided them, then Hammonds would have to pay for the repairs.

Hammonds wanted another opinion, so we had to drive the car to a Ford garage an hour away in Norfolk because they didn't have a good relationship with the Ipswich Branch for investigative work / repairs. They changed the timing belt and tensioners, but this did not cure the abnormal noises. We paid for the aux belt to be replaced at the same time.

We sent videos of the noises to Hammonds and they agreed for further diagnosis back with Ford. I was not happy for 2 of us to do another two x 2 hour round trips and lose the car for another week. Hammonds agreed to send it back to the local garage and they used a stethoscope and again stated there was an abnormal noise from the clutch area and would require a strip down to confirm the root cause. They also supplied videos of the noises. Potentially 8 hours labour for the strip down.

The warranty team offered to send it to Ford in Ipswich but later retracted this offer, potentially once they realised the labour hours and costs involved at a main dealer.

They have also tried to suggest the noises may be a “normal vehicle characteristic”. As a time served mechanic of 35 years I can confirm they are definitely abnormal.

Other issues with the car were:

1. Failure of both wheel bearings. 1st one failed within the first week.
2. Complete brake failure.
3. Intermittent loss of all instruments and lighting while the vehicle is cruising on the motorway.
4. Failure of the cruise control - it tries to speed the car up when you press the brake.
5. Repeated faults with parking assist and collision assist.
6. Brake pedal switch failure.

We were initially advised we could drive the car with the noise while they worked on getting it sorted in the background. As the noise deteriorated we then stopped driving the car for nearly 3 months in the hope they would repair it.

Due to the significant nature of the faults, number of faults and cost to investigate / repair – we believe the car they sold is not fit for purpose and we requested either:

a. Refund minus approx £500 for the miles we put on it prior to them saying it was fine to drive.
b. Swap it for another vehicle of similar value.
c. Repair all faults with the car.

They offered a refund minus £2,300 for the miles (£0.45 per mile) we put on it which we found unacceptable and declined. They insisted it was fine to drive, not us. I drive approx. 500 miles per week and I didn’t request compensation for the 12 weeks I couldn’t drive it at their £0.45 per mile rate.

We also tried to resolve this matter via their complaints department but have not had a response, just relayed messages from the warranty person via his area manager. Sometimes up to 3 weeks between responses.

We raised a complaint with the Motor Ombudsman but they were unable assist because Hammonds are not members with them. We suggested they become members so we could resolve this or direct us to their suggested Alternative Dispute Resolution process - no response to this either.

We have been advised that our only option is to pursue this legally via the small claims process.

My advice is to avoid this company as they are not to be trusted.

An excellent experience from start to finish! The sales guys couldn't have been more friendly or helpful and there was absolutely no pressure into buying a car. Will definitely use again in the future. 5 stars 🙂

Exelant polite and efficient.car top notch.

Hammond Cars has a very large stock of used vehicles. I am sure that most car seekers will find a model to suit them. The staff are very friendly and willing to discuss customer needs. Cars are AA tested and given a full assessment of condition. Prices are reasonable and warranties are available. I was happy with my car buying experience. Just one complaint: the ceiling in the customer area is very reflective and the noise level gets very high - sometimes I could not make out what the salesman was saying to me. I think some sound deadening panels would be a good idea.

Waited just over two weeks for a car to appear that they were advertising at their Ipswich branch.
Thoroughly disappointed with its condition, poor paintwork and filthy front seats.
Originally advertised at £5900 the price now is £6500 seems like it’s risen by £100 every two days.
Apparently exploiting the Middle East conflict for economical vehicles.
I think it’s ethically wrong of this company, if it was good value at the original price why add to peoples money miseries with what’s going on in the world.

I purchased a car from Hammond Cars Ipswich and had excellent service Darnell was helpful went through all the details and there was no pressure selling when trying to purchase the car
Stuart W

I recently purchased a car from Hammond Cars Ipswich and had an excellent experience throughout. Mr Darnell provided a high level of service—professional, attentive, and genuinely focused on my requirements. He took the time to present suitable options and ensured I was comfortable with my choice.

The test drive was well organised, and the entire process was handled efficiently and without pressure. I was particularly impressed that everything was completed on the same day, making the experience seamless and convenient.

Overall, a very professional and pleasant service. I would highly recommend Hammond Cars Ipswich, especially Mr Darnell, to anyone looking for a reliable and customer-focused car buying experience.

Oscar was really pleasant and friendly guy who gave us all the information than we needed, also helped massively with the process of buying a car on my own. So I would thoroughly recommend Oscar.

Recently brought my new car and part exchanged my old car. The whole time we were there, everyone was friendly and professional. Thankyou to Stan for accompanying me on my test drive & completing all the paperwork! Thanks to the other lad who done a great job on cleaning it up before we went home :)

I made enquiries for a car was given the keys to have a look round the vechile. I liked what I saw then went back to the sales rep suggested to rake it out for test drive which I duly did. I then arranged to go to my bank to do a bank transfer which was done very quickly went back to the salesman who then assisted me in new ownership and taxing the car arranged insurance so that I could drive it away. There was no pressure
To buy and everything went smoothly the sales representative was a gentleman very considerate and very helpful.

If you decide to risk buying from Hammond Cars, PLEASE pay extra for the 12month warranty they offer - you will likely need it if your purchase is in as bad a state as the one I bought. The only reason this review is 2 stars and not 1 is because the warranty claims staff are EXCELLENT - particularly Lloyd who was fast to reply, helpful and reassuring throughout my many issues.

I bought a 2019 Corsa from Hammond Cars Ipswich in June 2025. Thankfully I also paid for the 12month/12,000 mile warranty on top of the price of the car.

Only 3 weeks later, the Master Cylinder failed to the point of needing a rescue by the RAC. I had only driven 474 miles since purchase. This issue took almost 3 weeks to resolve.

Early December, I had only driven a further 438 miles and the engine started to overheat repeatedly, only minutes into suburban drives. The indicator cancellation was also no longer working. The car was taken into a garage on the 18th Dec and was there until mid-January.

Upon investigation, the following issues were found to be needing repair/replacement:

- Investigate vehicle overheating, fault confirmed. Found low coolant level, tested for hydrocarbons in coolant and found to be present.
- When stripping engine found timing chain guide to be broken closest to exhaust manifold.
- Replacement head gasket and timing chain kit required.
- Pressure tested system and found outlet housing and water pump to be leaking, requiring replacement.
- On removal of cylinder head cover found coil-pack on cylinder 1 to be leaking oil into combustion chamber (coil pack rubber seal failed – new pack required)
- Indicator cancellation not working

All of these issues were resolved thanks to the 12month warranty I purchased with the car, but I am incredibly disappointed and unhappy that I lost a total of about 6wks usage due to the poor condition the vehicle was sold to me in. I was paying insurance and tax on a car I was not able to drive and had I NOT bought the warranty, I would be thousands of pounds out of pocket.

I emailed Hammond Ipswich customer service on the 12th January to ask someone to explain how this happened and offer some kind of compensation for the constant issues. I heard nothing in reply.

Beware and if you can go elsewhere, I would strongly recommend it.