I had a very disappointing experience with CSS Motors and would not use them again.
My car is less than 9 months old to me, has around 54,000 miles on it, and had recently been serviced only a couple of months before the clutch failed while driving. My car was taken to this garage through my RAC warranty claim.
From the beginning, I felt pressured to pay upfront before the RAC warranty process had even been completed. I was repeatedly told that the warranty “wasn’t worth the paper it’s written on” and was encouraged several times to just pay for the repair myself so the work could be done quicker.
RAC Warranty requested additional information and evidence from the garage, but instead of properly cooperating, the garage apparently informed RAC that the issue was simply “wear and tear.” I have since spoken directly with RAC, who confirmed this information came from the garage — not from an RAC engineer decision as I was originally led to believe.
The garage also reported to RAC that my clutch pedal was stuck to the floor, which is completely inaccurate. The clutch failed and the car would not go into gear, but the pedal itself was never stuck to the floor.
I was also told there “might” be a gearbox issue, despite the vehicle already being stripped down during the clutch repair process.
Since getting the car back, I’ve noticed several issues that were not present beforehand:
- My handbrake now feels loose/wobbly.
- The driver’s door panel trim is no longer aligned properly.
- The driver’s window one-touch function no longer works correctly.
- There is now a burning smell coming from the car after the clutch repair.
When I raised these concerns, I was repeatedly told that the mechanic who worked on the car “wasn’t there,” and my concerns were largely dismissed.
RAC Warranty have now advised me to take the vehicle to another garage to inspect both the repair and the additional issues.
Overall, I found the communication poor, the handling of the warranty process questionable, and the aftercare dismissive. I would strongly recommend that anyone using a warranty company gets everything confirmed directly with the warranty provider themselves.
Edit UPDATED - reply the response is absolutely lies. This garage also told my warranty that my clutch was on the floor but it was not and the RAC recovery report can also prove that. RAC warranty are looking into this garage and I’ve been strongly advised to go another garage who will write a correct report. The place is diabolical. You can deny what you like RAC have what you said on record and have emailed me a copy of the garage saying my clutch was stuck to the floor (they also have RAC recovery report that my clutch was not stuck to the floor, your garage also said this is wear and tear) meanwhile telling me your waiting on RAC platinum to decide via the photos you send. RAC platinum have also noted this and also noted you didn’t send no picture of the clutch on the floor either. horrendous. In regards to where I bought my car this is in the process of court and is irrelevant to the experience of your service ? Running off track with his one I think, grasping on. The screen shots of you also pressuring me to pay before RAC warranty even looked at the claim was also sent over to RAC. Nice try guys. As you keep denying you asked me to pay upfront, I have now uploaded the screen shots of you do exactly that