What Car? guide to car supermarkets - Wilsons, Epsom

CHOICE
MPVs, family cars, estates and a few executive cars can be found at one of the three sites. Most are less than four years old, and there are some pre-reg cars.

PRICES
Prices looked quite high – around 3% up on those in the trade guides.

DID IT HAVE THE CARS WE SAW ONLINE?
We found only about half of the cars we'd seen on the website, and some prices differed from those advertised online – it seemed the website had not been updated.

HIDDEN CHARGES
There's a £50 admin charge, but with a little haggling they were prepared to waive this.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THINGS GO WRONG?
All cars come with a three-month, 3000-mile warranty. A pre-sales inspection is included.

FINANCE
We didn't get a finance quote on the day, because the business manager was not free for another two hours, and didn't fancy waiting that long.

PART-EXCHANGE
Our Mondeo trade-in received a great offer of £6000, against a couple of one-year-old cars. This figure wasn't guaranteed against all cars in the shop, and the offer was only valid for one week.

TEST DRIVE
The test route covered A-roads and twisty, bumpy back roads, giving us a good idea of how the car performed.

CONDITION
All of the cars on the forecourt looked clean, inside and out. The salesman told us that all cars are serviced and fully valeted.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
The first thing we noticed upon arrival was a forecourt packed with cars and lots of staff waiting around. However, we had to wait nearly an hour before anyone offered to help us.

We were dealt with by assistant manager Phil, who didn't seem very enthusiastic to start with but soon warmed up, listening to our requirements and showing us around a few cars.

We asked for test drive and were sent off with a trainee salesman for a 10-minute spin. When we returned to the site, we were greeted with apathy. The business manager was busy for the next two hours, and we got the feeling the sales staff didn't really want us there. We left feeling disappointed that a well stocked site had been let down by poor customer service.

VERDICT
A good selection of cars, but some prices looked a little steep and the sales staff didn't seem very customer- focused.

WILSONS
Nonsuch Business Park, Kiln Lane, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1DH
Web: www.wilsons.co.uk
Phone: 01372 736000