The AA Cars Reviews 

I’ve never left a negative review, but my experience with AA Driving School from start to finish was genuinely appalling. The issue was how the situation was handled by AA's customer service team.

The day before my driving test, my instructor's vehicle became undrivable. Communication was extremely poor. I received vague WhatsApp messages with almost no explanation of what had happened, what the fault was, or what AA were doing to resolve it. As this happened over 24 hours before my test, on a Monday afternoon, I reasonably assumed urgent repairs or a replacement vehicle would be arranged.

Instead, I was told the vehicle couldn't be repaired because "all the garages were closed" - at around 1pm on a Monday. No explanation was ever given as to why repairs weren't possible, when the fault had been reported, or what contingency plans existed. I spent the entire evening and following morning wondering whether I'd even have a car for one of the most important tests I'd spent months preparing for.

On the day of my test, we arrived at the test centre in a vehicle that was still unroadworthy, with the clutch not operating and error messages blocking the speed of the vehicle. My instructor didn't even come into the test centre to explain the situation, but sat in the car on his phone, leaving me to deal with it alone.

Ironically, an instructor from another driving school suggested he take the vehicle into the garage directly opposite the test centre. After I'd been told for over 24 hours that it couldn't be fixed, it was repaired within minutes, less than 20 minutes before my test.

Instead of spending the time before my test practising and settling my nerves, I spent the morning sitting in a broken car and watching it be repaired. The stress this caused immediately before my driving test was completely unnecessary.

I contacted AA afterwards expecting them to investigate what had happened. Instead, I was told there was effectively no remedy and no ownership was taken despite the instructor operating under AA. I requested a manager call me back, which took over two weeks despite chasing three times through the online chat.

When I eventually spoke with Pete from customer services, the response was even more disappointing:

• I was told there had been no issue because repairs supposedly take 72 hours. This policy appears nowhere in my contract or terms and conditions. No evidence was provided that the repair had been reported correctly or that any investigation into the timeline had taken place.

• I was told I should pay for the full four-hour lesson, including the time the vehicle was being repaired, because "you would've been waiting anyway." I paid for a driving lesson, not to sit on a pavement while an unusable vehicle was fixed.

• I was initially offered just £8 for the time the vehicle was in the garage. I eventually received £34 (one hour's lesson), but this didn't reflect the disruption, didn't cover the full amount I paid that day, and didn't even include the booking fee.

• Pete repeatedly stated the instructor had gone "above and beyond" without explaining what investigation had been carried out to reach that conclusion. It felt as though the instructor's version of events had simply been accepted without question.

• Most concerningly, I was told I could make a formal complaint but that "nothing would come of it because we don't issue refunds." Hearing that before any investigation had even taken place was astonishing.

Mechanical failures happen. What customers expect is clear communication, accountability and fair customer service when things go wrong.

Instead, I was left incredibly stressed immediately before my driving test, charged for time when the service couldn't properly be delivered, spent weeks chasing a callback, and ultimately felt dismissed throughout the complaints process.

The breakdown wasn't the biggest problem.

AA's handling of it was.

Experience with the driving school.
Rude instructor (Mohemmed Akbar, Glasgow), swore at me on more than one occasion when asked to stop he cancelled all my lessons 4 weeks before test. The AA do nothing to protect customer, 2 complains logged with AA with no response. Clearly don’t give a toss as long as they’re getting money. Do yourself a favour and use your local instructor and don’t give this massive brand any more money. Happy to say I went to a different instructor and passed without having to rebook, so good riddance.

Working with you all the way and at the speed you want it to go

I was at The Adventure Bike Festival this weekend when my 750 AfricaTwin motorcycle started to fire on just one pot. I called to see the lads, who were more than helpful, I think they were happy working on an old bike, anyway they got to the bottom of it and I was able ride the 4hr journey home, well done lads

My partner bought a car from a dealer based in Waltham Abbey, Essex. The dealer Nazeing Autos LTD broke every single point of the promise. We had to go to court, and will have to go all the legal way to get a refund still. We did contact AA but it seems the process is not aime to help as it might take up to 90 days to go through the full escalation. So we just appled to the court after waiting for over a month without any results. Checked if the dealer is still listed with AA. Yes they are still listed with AA . It feels that this promise means nothing I will not trust a dealer with this AA logo more.As AA allows it's logo to be used by unscrupulous dealers aa a bait to take advantage of unsuspecting customers

Had problems with Fame cars LTD sold me a car not fit to drive. would not respond to my calls. Asked AA To look in to my problem did all the work got in touch with the dealer after 3 weeks the AA sorted the problem I would of received nothing with out them I can not thank them enough for there help

fake and liers, dont trust them what they are syaing is not true and in their system japanese import cars does not insure etc etc waste of time and money dont buy

I have had an ongoing problem with an AA approved garage CARME in Waltham Abbey since mid February, i had to involve AA in March because my car had major engine/oil issues within the first 1.5 days, the dealer has been uncontactable by phone and takes around 5 days to respond to emails, i requested a full refund which was declined even though this was my right, now 3 months on and i am no further, i have a car sitting in my drive i am paying for and can't use, AA have sent me many emails but not actually resolved anything between myself and the dealer, the dealer is clearly not following my rights and AA are allowing him to do this, they have requested confirmation of work done / service history and still have presented nothing to me 2 months on, i am now having to fight this myself due to the lack of help that AA are giving even though my rights are very clear and the dealer is clearly breaking the law, he has run circles around them and they are allowing this to happen, i would never recommend going to an AA approved dealer, i thought this was security but quite frankly i have had no help at all, i am now a lot of money down and still having to fight my own corner becuase they are allowing garages like this to use their name and treat customers this way.

Been dealing with AA Cars on a professional basis for several years now and find them an excellent company to work with supporting my business.
On a personal note, I find my account manager Louis Yau a very approachable, attentive and helpful member of their team who goes the extra mile to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Excellent communication and service great company

Karen is my rep and she is a credit to the AA used car site ....I have been in the motor trade for over 30 years and had many dealings with advertising reps and I can say that Karen is a cut above most I have spoke with over the years very helpful and professional but funny and easy to deal with very good customer skills top marks from me !
Jason W
Berkshire Jeeps and Jags

Well what a journey…
Craig was absolutely amazing with helping me find a car quickly and getting one two days later! It’s safe to say it’s been a journey but Craig has been amazing every step of the way the level and communication and care he provided was amazing even with the issue with since taking it’s time it got sorted very quickly thanks to Craig persistent. What a wonderful bloke. A very big credit to the team.
Thank you once again Craig

I had to use the AA Cars mediation service following a dispute with a dealer, and I was really impressed with how the situation was handled.

Lauren Mack, who dealt with my case, was excellent throughout. She was always clear, calm and professional, and took the time to understand the details properly. She kept things moving, followed up when needed, and helped keep the process focused on reaching a fair outcome.

It wasn’t a straightforward situation and at times it felt like it might drag on, but having Lauren involved made a real difference. Her communication was consistent and she struck the right balance between being neutral and ensuring things progressed.

In the end, the matter was resolved and I don’t think that would have happened without the AA’s involvement.

Really positive experience overall and I’d definitely recommend the service.

Ellie has been brilliant, guided us through the process and made sure we took the right steps! Thank you Ellie

I purchased a Nissan Qashqai (MT72 RZO) from a AA Cars Dealer, House of Motors Ltd on 31.03.2026. Within hours of collection, the vehicle suffered a total electrical failure (no dashboard response/non-functional).

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I exercised my short-term right to reject the vehicle the following day as it was not of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose. Despite this, the dealer (Imran) has been dismissive and refused to collect the vehicle. They even attempted to blame me for the failure without conducting a professional inspection.

I have now issued a formal complaint to the Finance Lender, the Broker, and Trading Standards.

Buyers beware: This dealer has failed to fulfill their statutory obligations. I will provide further updates as the case progresses. I strongly advise reading all negative reviews before approaching this dealer.

I bought a car in good faith from a Trader who had signed up to the code of practice with AA cars. The car turned out to have a ghost MOT along with multiple issues including carbon monoxide leaks. The trader failed to engage with me so I tried mediation, after 5 months and multiple emails, the trader did not engage with mediation. All AA cars were prepared to do was to review their membership. The trader was obviously not bothered about their membership, hence the lack of engagement. So I have wasted 5 months of my life for nothing as I am now in limbo with a car that's going to cost over £2000 to repair and with costs for reports that I have had to pay for. All I can say is that AA cars have been totally useless and their affiliation is not worth the paper it's written on.

Our ordered premium car wasn't available so they offered us a downgrade for no extra refund or an upgrade for extra charge.
People working there were nice but couldn't help us.

Had a problem with a recommended AA car retailer not sending the car warranty certificate through...Sophie from AA Cars solved the problem inside 48 hours. Job well done.

Having paid a deposit for a car that was expected to be ready to collect in 2 days to one week we decided to cancel as we felt that the dealer was just coming up with very unconvincing excuses.He refused to refund our deposit as he said it was non refundable. There was nothing on the receipt stating that fact.
Having sent him various emails and texts pointing out that we had trusted in the dealership as he was affiliated to AA Cars and should comply with their terms and conditions he still refused to refund our deposit.
It was at this point that we decided to involve AA Cars free mediation service. Grace listened to our concerns and contacted the dealer on our behalf who still refused to refund the deposit. She was very patient with us and always kept us informed by either email or phone. We were so frustrated with his refusal so we asked Grace to go back to the dealer to point out to him that at no point were we given a written contract which was against AA Cars terms and conditions.She did so and then the dealer agreed to pay us 50% of our deposit within 14 days. As this was not forthcoming we went back to Grace. She spoke to the dealer again and eventually we were paid the money.
Grace was very understanding and eventually succeeded in getting some of our money back.
We do feel that this particular dealer does not adhere to AA Cars terms and conditions. Grace advised us that our complaints are taken seriously and reviews of dealerships do take place.

From my initial meeting with Lynne the New Business Manager to my welcome phone call from head office its has been a pleasure to deal with the AA.