FJ Chalke & Vale Motors Omdömen 

My Nissan Ariya EV had its first service in FJ Chalke Wincanton in early December 2025. All seems well until I asked for the SoH report which should be conducted as part of the service. The service guy Josh said their machine for SoH lithium battery test was not working. I was astonished that I was not informed about this before I booked the service and not even a mention when i checked in the car for the service work. He advised me to call after 2 weeks if the machine is fixed. I called today and spoke to Josh and his response was not unhelpful! The machine is still not fixed and ask me to call in the new year. Alternatively Josh suggested me to contact their Yeovil branch to see if they can do the test! I felt like I am being thrown around for their inadequate customer service and for their own problem. Why can’t Josh contact their Yeovil branch to arrange the test for me as a courtesy! The fact of the matter is that I paid for the service but did not get the crucial battery SoH test which I considered an important part of the EV service. I have used FJ Chalke services for over 20 years for my previous Seat, Kia and Nissan vehicles. They used to be very good. Now their customer service is poor. I am very disappointed with this experience in their Wincanton branch and for sure I would be hesitant to use FJ Chalke again.

I bought a pre-reg new Nissan van from them remotely, based on their description on Auto Trader as well as detailed specifications confirmed by them in writing.
Despite making every effort that it would be as they decribed, when it was delivered there was no passenger airbag - a particular requirement asked for and many claimed electronic safety options were missing.
The presence of an airbag could have easily been checked simply by looking. They blamed Nissan.
Yes, they took it back and agreed to compensate me for wasted time and stress caused when I complained, but no - they never paid up as agreed.
Not to be trusted, despite the flashy website blurb

My experience with this dealership was extremely disappointing from start to finish. The collection of my vehicle was delayed multiple times, with little to no communication unless I chased them. It wasn’t until I escalated the issue by copying the CEO into an email outlining the repeated service failures that I finally received a proper response.
The dealership initially unknowingly undercharged me for the vehicle(not charging for the deposit) despite payment in full with a receipt and they then requested the outstanding balance at the point of collection — a clear sign of poor internal processes and communication. Of course we paid but it was unexpected and embarrassing.
Despite assurances during the sale that the car would be serviced by a specialist Citroën garage, it was instead sent to an agricultural engineer — a far cry from what was promised. To make matters worse, I wasnt supplied with the vehicle's service record and I had to follow this up.
Faults with the car reported during the warranty period were never properly resolved. The vehicle was handed back to me with the same issues still present, and now that the warranty has expired, the dealership refuses to take any responsibility. This is unacceptable and speaks volumes about their after-sales service. Again no invoices or paperwork has been supplied to me about what work was done I was told they got a diagnostic machine to work and cleared the fault but did no work. I asked what if this happens again Jackie and was told we'll then it will be out of warranty. The service was rude and abrupt shouldn't be in a customer facing role like they had my money and no longer interested. I only went here on recommendation by a friend who had purchased 2 other cars from here he is soo disappointed on the recommendation and will also not return the buisness.
This is a shoddy, unprofessional company that over-promises and under-delivers. I will not return and do not recommend their service — or their cars — to anyone. I wash my hands of them.

We purchased a car 6 months ago and it has needed to go back to them 3 times since then to be repaired. The first time it didn't even leave the forecourt before it stopped working, the starter button when pushed did not start the engine. The second time there was a fault in the catalyst converter. this time it is showing a "system fault" Their customer service is non-excitant once they have sold you their car, they never return telephone calls. We will never buy a car from them again.

Always the sales staff are very helpful a go the extra mile.And prep of their cars new a second hand excellent.Also good to here their customer reviews are good.

Zach & Nathan from Nissan at FJ Chalke were just wonderful yesterday when the spanner light came onto my dashboard and I had to drive home to Warwickshire some 2-3 hours.
I drove into their garage and the help &kindness that I received was 5 star and I was so so grateful.
I wish they were nearer as I would buy my next car from them and get the servining done there too

How refreshing to be seen as a person not a just a 'Punter'.
The two sales people we dealt with Braydon and Steve were both straightforward and helplful, listened to what we wanted and gave us all the payment options available in detail.
Handover was carried out with patience by Braydon and was very thorough.
Well done to F J Chalke this is obviously a very well run happy dealership.

Staff were friendly and helpful, all very thoughtful. They were a credit to the company.

Mich was excellent at his job and could not do enough for my sister

STAY WELL CLEAR!!! this garage in YEOVIL, is run by a bunch of cowboys who love to tell lies and once they have your money in their pockets wont want to know you when you have problems with your car that they supplied. They will leave you out of pocket when you have to get the fault fixed never returning call when you ask them and staff never pass on your messages when no one want to answer the phone

In reply to your own reply attempts were made and having been told when we brought car that taking it to our dealership closer rather than travelling all the way back to is what we did and this came from your salesman. attempts made to get hold of you were done and again no calls back by your so called customer friendly staff. lied to all thoughtout with other issues including service not done correctly i.e sun roof not checked that is part of the service for a gt line s. got told you can't get gtline s badges another lie when in fact you can it turns out that badge is in two parts. tried to get your support with issues and get told no chance face it fj chalkes YEOVIL you lot suck I would have even had accepted being met half way with the cost but no. So did everything that I was on collecting the car and stiff done over by you and your staff

UPDATE 26 Aug
Delivery was achieved with courtesy of a pre advance notice of arrival time, hand over superb with polite friendliness, vehicle in pristine condition, and a box of local biscuits

My wife was a very happy lady

We could not thank the team highly enough a service above and beyond with no issues or frustrations

ORIGINAL COMMENTS:
Pre arranged viewing and test drive with Jake following responsive comms
Explained prior and on arrival that the vehicle was my wife choice and selection and Jake understood and co ordinated all discussion directly with my wife
No pressure test drive and answered all the ladies questions
Following short discussion with Jake and Chris an agreement was reached and to meet this target the car was organised to have its service carried out
Impressive service and as a result my wife walked out a happy lady with her low mileage Fiat 500 car to be available in a week and delivered
Our genuine thanks to Jake and Chris for the Professional and courteous manner in this sale
A delight for once to visit a dealer whom understood how to look after its clientele

I was shown a number of vehicles and was able to test drive several to help me decide on the best deal for me.

Staff were so helpful and nothing was too much trouble.All questions answered and as handbook was missing I was sent one through the post a couple of weeks later.

Having had to travel 50miles to visit this dealer i found the staff , site and surrounding all very professional and a pleasure to deal with. The car i purchased i have now had for 2 weeks and very pleased with. My thanks go to Mr. Ian James for a very excellent experience.

Thank you to Derek at Kia Yeovil for guiding me through the car buying process, even had a test drive. Looking forward to going back for my service and MOT. Loving my Sportage. I was even given a nice box of shortbread as a gift. Thanks again Derek for all your help.

Recently took delivery from FJC Wincanton,having seen vehicle on line decided to travel the 30 miles to view it.
After a static viewing decided upon a road test,the sales consultant Johnathan Hardie was able to answer any questions we had of the vehicle( especially as it was not of a franchise currently held by FJC).At no time did we feel under any pressure
to buy,in fact it was all very relaxed.
We were quite happy with the p/x agreed for my existing vehicle. A delivery date was agreed and Johnathan also arranged for my cherished No. to be
transferred to the new vehicle.
Vehicle was ready at agreed day & time.
After paperwork completed upon collection we were
also given a box of locally produced shortbread which was a nice gesture.(now all sadly eaten-yum)
Would be happy to deal with FJC again .

MG we test drove initially, didn't drive like ours, if it did, we wouldn't have brought it. We also wouldn't have parted money if the marketing brochure or salesman said,
' Your car can drive seamlessly and effortlessly on the flat but on small inclines or hills expect it not to change gear or know which gear to select as it's a design characteristic. Be assured it will rev and scream or remain stuck but it's all part of the design. Just drive where there are no hills or inclines. If you can't, your car will lose power and acceleration to slow the vehicle down on a hill/incline by at least 10mph to get the car to right itself force the car to change. It may cause you anxiety and stress in doing so and cause a collision but it's all part of the design characteristics.

Not too sure many people would part with their cash if they were given this realistic account?

Terrible company, sales advisors in Yeovil are lazy and poorly trained on their products. Service tech are incompetent and/or just lazy. Their second hand cars are poorly patched up and sold at over inflated prices. Sales and service at Mere are better but service techs are just as ignorant as Yeovil. I really would not recommend either dealership. I have bought three cars from FJ Chalke since 2007 and put 200000 miles on them. I will never use them again. Poor show.

Totally mislead from the off by Scott, Fiat 600. ToldI would get £750 back, from Mobility, if I order by the 31st December 2024. He chose to deal with another Salesman,called Jake. I had told Scott the spec I require, said again to Jake, was assured the £299 advance payment, would be the spec, with what I asked for. Had to wait until the 30th April 20025, before I could collect the car, it had arrived about a week or so beforehand, but they hadn't sorted my private plate, like all dealerships, have always done, for the many years and cars I have had. Having paid my advance payment, I loaded.y items from the previous car, the Salesman, Jake, went to get his gym kit on, off to the local gym after work. I was left there, only when I went to start the car for the car for the first time, noticed, that there were no electric mirrors and no sat nav, part of my spec requirements, also middle front pocket area, didn't have the plastic cover on it. Rang up next day, spoke to Peter, he tells me that I have to pay for the piece of plastic, he wasn't sure if the price, £80-£140, I rang Fiat head office, to complain about this, I wanted to talk about the spec, but this ridiculous extra cost to my concern, because it meant more cost to me. I rang back the dealership, Scott answered, he told me the piece of plastic was free, totally ridiculous that it doesn't come with the car and Sales staff are telling me it cost extra, then it is free. The car is dangerous to drive, I reported this to the dealership, spoke to the Salesman Manager, with my various concerns, he is not interested. Won't speak to me, says any communication, has to be done through email. So though I have concerns for my safety, when I have to drive this car, which isn't often, due to the awful fuel consumption, this I tried to book in with their service department, they said their equipment isn't working. So not interested in my safety. I have reported this to Mobility, who are investigating and also the Financial Ombudsman. The garage have failed to respond to the Financial Ombudsman, when they wrote to them. They really like Del Boy, take the money and run. DON'T GO NEAR F J CHALK AT WINCANTON, Fiat or otherwise, my experience is, they are not to be trusted.

Reserved and put a deposit down on a car then told the day before pick up “IT issues” so can’t collect it. This continued for a week, daily being told “hopefully tomorrow”, “can’t give you any more information”, “out of our hands”, but no real solution offered. Then when I go to pull out of the deal, “oh, it’s being fixed imminently”, to which I replied, “fab, so I can definitely pick it up tomorrow?!”, “oh no, we can’t promise that”. I appreciate IT issues may be out of their hands, but no real solution offered. Seemed dodgy and no clarity really on the proper situation. All the while, posting pictures on Facebook of customers collecting and picking up their new cars! Daily updates were appreciated, but was just boring in the end with the same call “still not fixed” etc etc.