Anger as Tiger Motors car dealership in Gloucester closes suddenly
MYSTERY surrounds the sudden closure of a car dealership in Gloucester.
More than 40 cars have been removed from the forecourt of Tiger Motors, in Cole Avenue, Gloucester, and the office has closed.
Last night a chauffeur who bought a car for his private taxi firm spoke of his outrage at the closure.
Robert Sutton, who runs Brockworth Cars & Brockworth Chauffeur Services, purchased the Audi A6 on Friday.
He paid £13,000 for the second hand motor in a part exchange for his Audi TT and said he was upset to learn it had closed suddenly.
The 54-year-old, of Moorfield Road, said: “I was panicking. I thought what the hell’s going on? They were there one minute and gone the next. I think it’s shoddy the way they’ve dealt with us. If they had told me on Friday they were about to close down it would have set off alarm bells but at least it would be clear.”
Robert paid £1,000 in cash, had already paid £500 as a deposit and paid the rest on his credit card.
The deal had been completed by 4.30pm on Friday. He has since checked his bank account and the money has been paid.
But when Robert’s fiancee Diane drove past the centre the next day, the premises had shut down.
He is now worried about the 12-month warranty he paid for.
Robert claims he was also told the car had 12 months MOT and was fully serviced, but says he has just discovered the car is due to be serviced in nine days time, costing more than £400.
He said: “It doesn’t sound like much but these extra costs are all adding up.”
Robert was due to go back to the forecourt on Monday to purchase some new car mats and have the car deep cleaned.
He had complained to staff at the car firm on Friday that the car had not been cleaned to the standard he expected.
He said: “The seats were a bit of a state. The previous owner had a dog, there were hairs on the back seat and lip-stick marks on the head lining, they told me it would be cleaned properly so it was like new.”
Robert and Diane have contacted the police and trading standards for advice.
A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: “The incident was reported on Saturday at 7pm. We received reports from someone who had bought a vehicle from the company and the next day it had closed. We advised her to talk to trading standards however we have kept a record of it.”