John Clark Motor Group - Clark Commericals Aberdeen Anmeldelser 

We spoke with various dealers before choosing our new VW California but, as soon as we spoke with Marianna at Hawco in Inverness, we knew we'd be buying from her.

Too many car salespeople come across as pushy - always angling for a sale in a naive, transparent way. The impression is that you are just a number in their pipeline.

Marianna was very different. Highly professional and extremely well informed, she 'sold' the vehicle to us with her willingness to help, her patience with us as we asked so many questions and her capacity to make you feel genuinely important to the business.

Of course, this is also 'selling' but in a polished, professional manner that puts the customer - not the sales target - at the centre of the process.

Marianna was equally generous with her time on handover, offering great advice and clearly knowing her product inside out. We were made to feel very welcome and the handover was the relaxed, fun experience we'd hoped for.

If you're looking for a VW California, I cannot recommend Marianna of Hawco in Inverness more highly!

I ended up having to take Clark Commercials Aberdeen to court following poor workmanship which led to a mechanical failure.
At this point it is my opinion that Clark Commercials Aberdeen are either entirely incompetent from mechanics through to management or that there is a serious disregard for proper repair standards which risks creating additional cost to customers and potentially premature wear and failure of vehicles.
In February 2023 I used them for:
• Auxiliary belt replacement
• First scheduled timing belt replacement
• MOT
Around 2,000 miles later the newly fitted auxiliary belt failed. From the day the vehicle was collected the belt could be heard jumping/squeaking. I queried this immediately and was told it was “nothing”.
Following the breakdown, liability was denied before the vehicle had even been inspected. Once recovered to them, they refused to return the vehicle in a fully repaired condition unless additional payment was made, while denying warranty responsibility.
I then arranged an Independent Mechanics Report and third-party inspection. The findings were extremely concerning:
• Timing belt incorrectly installed
• Tensioner incorrectly set
• Cam pulley bolts out of position
• Valve timing not correctly aligned
• Components associated with the timing belt work appearing not to have been replaced
• Auxiliary belt tensioner sheared
• Auxiliary belt shredded
• Alternator clutch damaged
The independent mechanics considered these issues preventable and consistent with the repairs not having been carried out correctly.
The MOT review also raised serious concerns. My mechanics identified that the vehicle had, in their opinion, initially been failed for an item which did not meet DVSA MOT failure criteria.
During the court process, Clark Commercials Aberdeen then lodged DVSA guidance documents which differed from the original versions available on DVSA.gov, including omitted sections relevant to my claim. They later also submitted what was presented as printed email correspondence evidence, however the version lodged had an entire paragraph removed which supported my position. I retain copies of the original versions.
Additional issues included:
• Dangerous rear brake imbalance not properly addressed
• Unnecessary handbrake replacement charges
• Double charging for coolant
• Repairs carried out without authorisation
• Charges for work I dispute was completed
• Excessive labour charges
• A sheared brake carrier bolt missed more than once
The total bill exceeded £2,700 for the cam belt, auxiliary belt and MOT related work.
The statements made in this review are supported by invoices, photographs, video evidence, independent inspection findings and court documents. Where opinions are expressed, they are clearly stated as opinion based on the evidence available to me. This review is shared in good faith to allow others to make informed decisions when choosing repairers in the area.

Gerry Macguire the salesman was excellent, never pushy, always friendly and able to help.

I bought a VW Campervan. Gary Donaldson was the sales person who dealt with my purchase. I part exchanged another camper van for the VW. The whole transaction was dealt with remotely and without sight of each vehicle.

I received first class service from Gary and the team at Clark's Commercials (Aberdeen) Ltd. From the outset I was kept informed and all information concerning the VW proved to be accurate. I am very pleased with the vehicle and the stirling work done by Gary who was an absolute star throughout. His description of the VW was honest and accurate. When it was delivered I was not disappointed, it is a lovely vehicle and everything works as it should. Gary was professional, well informed and helpful in answering my (many) questions throughout the transaction. There are a couple of things missing (spare remote key, jack etc) that Gary is already on the case to get them delivered to me (I live 500 miles away).

Thank you Gary, and thank you to the team at Clarks Commercials in Aberdeen. Great service and a great vehicle.

Easy transition of vehicle swap, straightforward and friendly advice

Bought a campervan conversion elsewhere. Shortly after driving home an engineer management light came on. This was still covered under VW warranty. A fairly seamless process of booking it in for an examination which was carried out the next day. I then had communication with the service / repair team. Apologies for forgetting names but I think I spoke to Steve. He explained 2 sensors would need replaced which they did that same day. But special mention to him identifying an alloy wheel issue which was nothing to do with VW but it did allow me to address the issue with the company I bought the van from. I really appreciated the information and I think this was very pro active and welcome information that may not have been given elsewhere. Thanks for a professional service. I will use you again

I bought a ex Demo camper van back in April and decided to delay writing a review due to missing parts having to be ordered. It is now August and I am still waiting for the parts to arrive.

When I bought the vehicle it had only one gas pipe and one key for the water tank. Being a new vehicle as advised, these were missing and I was originally told by the sales rep the vehicle only came with one of each, which he eventually agreed was incorrect.

On getting the vehicle home I found the toilet had been used, still with toilet paper and urine in the waste tank. I contacted the sales rep with these niggles and although I received an apology I felt it was another brush off, having to insist the missing gas connector hose and spare key were replaced. The other item I found to be missing was a seat belt connector, which again i reported and sent images through to the sales rep as requested and received no response.

The van was already beginning to feel like a used vehicle which was denied on asking.

As I used the vehicle, the more I found evidence of having usage, scratched plastic around the key barrel, sticking cupboards. I did not report these as the service and knowledge on camper vans from the sales rep was disappointing to say the least.

Having VW vehicles for the last 30 years this is the worst service I have encountered and I would not recommend or return to this company for any sales.

It was a pleasure dealing with Gary Donaldson.

Great experience

The sales advisor Gary Donaldson was really helpful and responded to all my email queries quickly. The vehicle is good and I am happy with the service I received and the vehicle itself.

Thank you for your incredibly fast and helpful responses to our queries. We were given great advice and what could have been a stressful decision was made easy and relaxed. Thank you for having such a wonderful team.

Great communication with salesman.
Always got back to any questions quickly with answers.

All staff were helpful
And continue to support the many questions that arise from buying a California Ocean. A check list of items/accesories and what they do would have been very helpful - this is complimentary to the handbook and only a suggestion .

Very easy to deal with, straight forward transaction. Vehicle ready and clean when collecting at the agreed handover time. Thank you.

I had my Caddy Maxi van 21 plate in for a the oil management light on the dash board
i dealt with Steve over the phone
i dropped the van off at 8am and met Steve at the front desk ,we sat down and we talked over the issue
he called later to say it was ready to be picked up
on collection we had a chat , going over the issues and also pointers for future good running of the vehicle . A first class service from a professional
Thanks Steve

Gary was very helpful and was great to deal with

First class all aspects handled very professionally well impressed would definitely recommend to all my friends and family

Gary was very helpful and knowledgeable about the vans and made purchasing very easy (to easy)😄

Great service from start to finish. Ben was so helpful.

I had my van recovered to clarks commercials as a none runner. I would turn ignition key and nothing would happen vehicle would not start or turn over. clarks are quick to tell me that plugging it into the diagnosis computer is going to cost £240. this is just to look for codes nothing else.

van is already at there garage so I agree for them to carry out diagnosis and repair. A few days later I get a call van is fixed there was no parts needing replaced and my bill is purely cost of labour with the computer diagnosis included at a total cost of £1050. The problem was apparently some corroded earth's that needed cleaned up.

I pick van up and yes you guessed it within a week same problem as before van not starting or cranking over. so I am reluctant to return to clarks just to fork out another £240 for them to go looking for codes so I arrange recovery to another garage for another opinion.

Recovery driver turns up i explain the problem to him and within 5 mins he has me up and runing again. Recovery driver tried a booster pack to battery vehicle still not starting then he simply crawled under vehicle gave the starter motor a few taps and she fired straight up again. Thanks to some GOOD OLD FASHIONED BASIC MECHANICAL CHECKS DONE this part was missed by clarks in my opinion the problem was diagnosed without just jumping into error codes and that nice little money erner of £240.

As my van was now running I drove it to this second garage where they replaced the starter motor and van is now working as it should...

it scares me to think how much money I could of continued to throw down the drain at clarks until they would of diagnosed the correct problem..