A Rochdale used car dealership has come under fire again as a Lees mum says her son has been without his car for months.

The issues with the car have led to 18-year-old apprentice plumber Joseph Whiteley having to get lifts to jobs, which Jenna said is causing his boss to ‘go mad’ as Joseph can drive.

Joseph part exchanged his perfectly healthy’ Abarth car for a Citroen DS3 at the Trade Centre, in Rochdale, after the insurance on his car went up to £8,000 per year.

The insurance on the DS3 was much lower, at £3,000 per year.

The family decided to do a straight swap at the Trade Centre after seeing its adverts on TV, wanting to get it done quickly to avoid delays in private sales and to fit insurance timescales.

The company's signage touts that customers can 'drive away in one hour' and that they have the 'UK's cheapest cars'.

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However, just six days after receiving the car on August 25, it broke down and ‘was smoking’ – echoing problems experienced by a Royton woman when her Citroen DS3, also obtained from the Trade Centre, broke down.

Mum Jenna, 39, said: “My son took it on himself as he’s now 18, rather than me sorting it out, as I had a lot on. They looked at it and booked it in for September 14.

“Within the time of him going to the garage, it broke down twice – my husband had to rescue him.

"I phoned them up and they said ‘Can you drive it over?’. I said: ‘It’s unsafe to drive, it’s knocking and banging, I’m not putting my 18-year-old lad in a car that’s unsafe to drive’. I said I wouldn’t even put myself in it.”

After Joseph asked for his money back, he was talked out of it, instead accepting a repair – which Jenna says now means the company is refusing to give them a refund at all.

Jenna added: “I think they exploited him a little bit, because of him being young. He didn’t know, they talked him round and said they’d repair it, so he accepted them to repair it.”

Now months later, Joseph is still without his car – which is affecting his job as an apprentice plumber – with Jenna saying that customer service is ‘rude’, leaving the family feeling ‘passed from pillar to post’.

Jenna added: “It’s just been really bad. The service is so bad. I said I’d never, ever recommend them as a place. He’s had to stay out close to where he can get picked up from.

“His boss is going mad having to keep picking him up because he can drive. It’s just been horrible, quite stressful really.

“It’s been a nightmare, stress with him, stress with everything – it’s horrible, I think it’s one of the worst companies I’ve ever dealt with.”

Jenna added that she thought the car he was given was unsafe, and that the family has looked into legal action.

She said: “We’d have to start with the small claims court and we’d have to put £700-800 down first to do it, and at this moment in time we just haven’t got that.

“I think that’s the way they were wanting us to go, as they knew it’s probably a way we couldn’t do. Refusing to offer a different car after the failure.

“How I feel, they’ve put my son in a dangerous car really that wasn’t fit for purpose. The car should not have been on the road.

“What if that had blown up on his way to work?”

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Keston Griffiths, Director of Preparation and Aftersales at the Trade Centre said: “We regret that the customer faced issues with his Citroen DS3 shortly after purchase.

“Despite the challenges in providing a courtesy car due to age restrictions on the insurance, our Aftersales team has been giving this case priority attention.

“We're committed to returning his vehicle as swiftly as possible and have kept consistent communication with Mr Whiteley.

“Recognising the inconvenience caused, The Trade Centre Group plans to extend a goodwill gesture to Mr Whiteley once his vehicle is returned.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Oldham. Please email me at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.