CARGEM 

I did not think a salesman like Diren would be able to sell me a car. I came with the idea of just having a look. Somehow I ended up leaving cargem with a car this man is brilliant in his job. No pressure at all he’s a honest charismatic salesman. Well done Diren I usually travel 6 dealerships before I buy a car on my first visit he made me fall in love with my X3. (Came for a5 convertible btw I don’t even know how I ended up in a x3. Either way I’m happy)

bought a car when they were at the previous premises, the sales team were soo good that they almost sold me a 2nd car. how times have changed, thought i would have another trouble free experiance but the complete opposite.. called up on a saturday morning spoke with Meezam who provided the info i required and suggested I pay the deposit as it would be "refundable" which i did, told me they would let me know when the car will be onsite as it was at the "other location" and will also get me a walk around clip of the car. After few hours of waiting with no update, i messaged asking if we could come down to view the car (how long can it take to move a car from one location to another) with the aim of purchasing (ideally we wanted the car that weekend, which Meezam knew). got a response that it was fine to come down. travelled to the Cargem premises and was left waiting for 45min, only when we decided to go around to the main office to see if we could view the car we discovered the car was not there. then had to wait for a "manager" to speak to us who told us the car wasn't going to be ready until monday... and that he will get me a walkaround clip of the car and if we were still interested he would do us a deal. Monday came and went so called up asking for a refund to which Meezam said has been processed, i even followed up by whatsapp message to confirm but no response. In the end after waiting for a week I contacted reception who told me no refund was issued but took care of straight away. Can not recommend these jokers, no communication, no idea whats going on with their own stock (if they even have the cars), just like to waste time and take deposits for no reason. Deeply disappointed. On this occasion i was actually interested in upgrading the wifes car also the following month with a toyota corolla which they had, but will be going else where...

Poor Vehicle. Poor Aftersales Service. Poor Complaint Handling.

Registration: LD22 NYR

Purchase date: 22.3.2026

Every word of this review is factual and backed up by evidence I am willing to submit to authorities. My complaints and Subject Access Requests have been sent explicitly to the three Directors of Hiltop Motors (operating name Cargem) and to Mr K (Aftersales Manager).

• Within weeks of purchasing an MG HS Plug-in Hybrid for £15,999 – paid for outright and in full, in good faith – I reported significant electrical and infotainment faults: repeated "12V battery low" warnings, infotainment failures and battery drain issues. The vehicle was booked in for repair but suffered a total breakdown requiring attendance by the AA.

• First repair attempt by Cargem (5.5.2026). Unsuccessful. I remained on site for over six hours: total shambles. As I drove away, the original fault returned and worsened. Reported immediately. The vehicle subsequently suffered a further total failure, attended by the RAC.

• I have written evidence from Cargem that they sold me the car with “the incorrect battery fitted”. Neither the RAC nor the AA, in attendance, identified this as the underlying issue. Rather, they each, separately, provided detailed reports identifying battery drain and infotainment issues, which were immediately forwarded to Cargem.

• Car remained with Cargem from 11th May until 21st May for second repair attempt: no courtesy car; refusal to provide diagnostic results; no attempt made to take the car to a specialist, including MG, despite me identifying a probable cause and making an appointment with MG; emails unanswered; fobbed off on calls. Total disrespect.

• 21st May – informed the car was ready for collection. My requests for further clarity were ignored.

• 22nd May – I attended to collect the car. The original fault remained. Worse: I was told that Mr K, Aftersales Manager, had personally driven the car for over 100 miles despite him having no knowledge of the fault, and despite mileage evidence which I believe is inconsistent with that account.

• I rejected the vehicle under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This began a deeply painful, distressing and expensive dispute. I have video evidence of me in a state of terrible upset, pleading for a refund and pleading to be treated “as you might want a beloved family member” to be treated. Mr K made various factual and legal assertions which I believe were incorrect. (Hence, Subject Access Request).

• Three legal advisors, plus Citizens Advice, all confirmed that I was entitled to a full refund of the vehicle purchase price, plus consequential losses under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I would have liked to take this to court, and believe I would have won. However, a company having possession of BOTH a newly-purchased, non-drivable vehicle AND £15,999 is a powerful motivator to settle.

• Lengthy dispute. Settlement was eventually reached only on conditions that: (1) I accepted a loss of 5% of the purchase price; (2) I received no compensation for taxis, travel, distress, vehicle tax or insurance paid; and (3) I removed factually accurate reviews from Google and Trustpilot because of concerns raised about “reputational damage”.

• Worst of all: Cargem relisted the same vehicle before confirming that settlement funds had cleared into my account. I was never provided with evidence that restored my confidence that the underlying issues had been fully resolved. I am so sorry if you purchased this vehicle and had the same experience as me.

Following settlement, I submitted two Subject Access Requests. Cargem have acknowledged receipt of those SARs and have acknowledged holding extensive records relating to me, my correspondence and my vehicle. Nonetheless, Cargem have not complied with the statutory deadline for response, despite formal reminders on my part.

I intend to report Cargem to the Information Commissioner's Office.

I advise potential customers to consider carefully not only the sales experience, but also the quality of aftersales support, complaint handling and data protection compliance should problems arise after purchase.

AVOID.

EDIT FOLLOWING RESPONSE FROM CARGEM: Disingenuous reply! You know how many emails I sent and calls I made to Cargem, and how few replies I received. Still awaiting substantive response to Subject Access Request.
My message to others remains: AVOID!

2Thusan was my contact, despite being very friendly he selectively answered my queries on the car I was interested in especially when it came to the lead for my plug in hybrid. Finally at point of payment it was revealed the lead that should come with the car was "damaged" and they would provide me a new lead shortly after the purchase.
I went ahead on trust, but no lead has been forthcoming and my messages are simply unanswered. I've now purchased one myself and will consider other options to recover my costs.
They've some nice cars but don't trust anything they say at face value particularly after you have parted with the money.
Thusan and his sales manager both promised me they'd honour their commitment to supply a lead, sadly no integrity.
Suggest you research extended warranty costs too as they push this very hard at point of sale.

I'd never buy from them again.

In reply to Cargem below:

Stock answer, seen numerous times on this group. I suggest you contact Thusan (he knows exactly what this is all about) and respond to me with a satisfactory conclusion.

Diren was great, excellent service and a great price

Having been told the car i was buying would be ready on a wednesday i paid £500 deposit and drove 2.5 hrs to collect it only to be told its not ready until thursday!no phone call/text to let me know!so drove up again thursday waited in reception for 50mins no one came to see me!in the meantime 2 seperate customers came in and both were attended to within 5mins!one of them was handing back keys because of faults on car!!i spoke with reception who by the way was doing her best to get someone to come out and deal with me but no joy!!!I decided then to go!emailed and whatsapp regarding this and got some BS about a family emergency!!i did receive £99 back on the friday but i am still waiting on £401 refund!!ive whatsapp and emailed but no replys as of yet!!they are very quick at taking your hard earned but slow when it comes to paying it back!!very fast at responding to reviews so i thought i would review to see if they respond!!can i get my £401 back??

Sold car to Cargem via Motorway - Sadaan was great and very easy to deal with.

Diren was very smooth answered all questions very helpful best salesman ever kp71

Diren was really good and very helpful best sales person I met I don’t usually trust sales people he was very upfront and honest

Diren was excellent amazing service very haply rv21

Diren was really good at his job helped me find the right car happy with his service hg20

I’m Happy with the Lexus I got from Cargem, with Diren helping me sort out thing swiftly, Honestly impressed with his professionalism and Also one of their managers was super helpful (James). Great Guy. I will recommend to two good guys any day any time.

Bought my 2nd car from Diren. Thank you for your service

Their team is completely uncoordinated with each of them providing different answers when you speak to them about the availability of cars. I called up every day for a week to ask when a car would be ready to view, each day a different person would give me a different day that the car would be available. When the car was finally ready and being brought to their showroom that day, i arranged to come and view the car within the hour, i was booked in and had to arrange substantial plans to ensure that i could travel a long distance to view the car with the view to purchase it on the same day. After rushing around to arrange transport and driving over an hour to get to their site, i got a call when i was 2 miles away to say they had since sold the car. Staff didnt really seem to care and had no common courtesy to their customer.

Do not use this company through Motorway!!! Sold my car and when they arrived they wanted to knock £300 off the sold price for brake discs (based off a picture). My partner is a mechanic so questioned it as there is nothing wrong with them! The man on the phone then back tracked and said well our mechanics said there might be! We could also hear the dealer on the phone to the company collecting the vehicle pushing him to say there was something wrong with the outside of the car - any excuse to be able to knock money off!! They reduced price to £150 after I said no not selling. We’ve asked for proof that they are replacing the brake discs but will never see that as they are absolute scammers!!