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Automotive Consulting Engineers Ltd

ace-uk.org
3.6

40 reviews

57%
5-star
65%
Positive
30%
1-star
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ReviewTerminal Summary

ACE delivers consistently excellent service and thorough reporting for successful legal disputes, but faces serious criticism from customers who feel inspections were superficial, conclusions unsupported by evidence, and complaints were mishandled.

What customers love

  • Professional, detailed reports that successfully support legal claims and disputes with finance companies
  • Responsive, friendly staff and engineers who explain findings clearly and provide good customer service
  • Quick turnaround times and efficient scheduling, even during peak periods

Common concerns

  • Multiple customers report inspections lasting 20-30 minutes with only diagnostic tools used, lacking physical dismantling or road tests, yet reaching firm conclusions unsupported by deeper investigation
  • Customers claim reports reached conclusions contradicted by subsequent specialist assessments and ignored customer-provided evidence (service records, mechanic reports, video evidence)
  • Poor complaint handling with lack of meaningful engagement, slow responses, or refusal to review findings when challenged with additional evidence

Customers mention

inspection depth and methodologyreport conclusions vs. evidencecomplaint handling and responsivenessdispute resolution and legal proceedingsinspection duration and thoroughness
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Showing 40 reviews
D
Verified
Del
31 January 2026

Would give 0 stars if I could

Would give 0 stars if I could. Absolute fraud of a company. Purchased a car on finance and after 9 months had an EML on the dash. Car was coked in carbon and needed a new camshaft, vac pump, injector seals and a host of other underlying engine repairs, I wanted to return the car but was told by the finance company I needed an independent engineer's report to prove the fault/faults were present before purchase so went with these guys. Just shy of £300 for an 'inspection' which involved an 'engineer' coming out to literally just take pictures of the oil condition, start and rev the engine and plug in a diagnostics reader for faults. Waited 14 days for a basic repetitive 'report' stating that the deteriorated oil has caused catastrophic damage to the turbo and the fault was not present at the time of purchase?! (Can oil deteriate that bad in 9 months?!) They also concluded that as they had no service history the car was not properly maintained leading to these issues. So I queried the report and sent them proof I had the car fully serviced on time to which I had no reply. I've had to pay out thousands of pounds on engine repairs and funnily enough the only component that hasn't needed repairing is the turbo which has "catastrophically failed"?! Two different QUALIFIED mechanics who have worked on/inspected the car and cleaned out the engine have both agreed the previous owner knew it was knackered, cleared the faults and part exchanged it. I wrote to ACE with an official complaint a month after sending proof I had the car serviced and guess what....no reply! I'm taking my complaint to the ombudsman and will be also looking to claim back my money on this FALSE report!

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Martin Saberton
27 January 2026

Unfortunately, the inspections aren't fit for purpose

I wish I had read the reviews on here before booking the service, as it isn't fit for purpose. Everyone I worked with was polite and cordial, it's just that the service didn't prevent me from experiencing high repair bills shortly after purchase. When I raised a complaint it took a very long time for ACE and the AA (who I purchased the service through) to engage in the complaints process and provide relevant responses.

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Michael Lawrence
25 January 2026

Generally very helpful but missed one crucial point

Good as they were able to look at my Lexmoto bike and give detailed information where as even the dealerships would not about the safe and correct operation of the bikes. The assessment failed to answer some of the questions though such as the fault being the same fault at purchase which they must have known about so they lost a star for that.

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Angela Clark
23 January 2026

they where prompt and efficient from…

they where prompt and efficient from the beginning and kept me informed all along the way. their report was very thorough and helpful in my purchasing of a motorhome.

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Natasha Sande
15 January 2026

Not partial at all biased company - STAY AWAY!!!!

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the recent inspection report concerning my vehicle. The engineer noted that the cause of cabin fumes is failed fuel injectors and concluded that this was not a fault at the point of purchase. I find this conclusion difficult to accept based on the following facts: Fumes were detected and recorded 23 days after purchase at 99,000 miles, and we have video evidence from that time showing fumes coming from the bonnet. The inspecting engineer also took video evidence of the same issue at the current mileage of 119,417 miles. It is hard to understand how a fault of this nature could suddenly arise 23 days after purchase without having existed at the point of sale. Additionally, during the inspection, the engineer acknowledged that: -Fumes were present immediately upon arrival. -The vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the fumes. -Multiple pre-existing faults were identified. Despite these observations, the report concludes that the vehicle has been “durable” and that the issue was not present upon purchase. This conclusion does not appear to be supported by the timeline, the physical evidence, or the engineer’s own statement As a consumer, I rely on your organisation to provide impartial and fact-based assessments. At present, the report appears partial and biased and does not objectively reflect the evidence. The question of the matter is the cabin fumes being reported at present at mileage 119 417miles that where reported at 99000 after 23 days of purchase does this reflect to be a problem that existed at point of sale yes or no? If it's failed fuel injectors causing the cabin fumes at present mileage of 119417 it means it was fuel injectors causing the problem when dealership was notified 23 days after purchase when mileage was at 99000 is it not?

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Verified
Claire
14 January 2026

Disappointed and misled

When I called to make the appt to report on my vehicle, I made it clear that there were no current issues and that the issue we'd had was in the past. The finance company wanted to know if the car could have had a fault at the point of sale, the current condition of the car is irrelevant. I paid £360 for a report that was 99% the current condition (no surprises nothing wrong) and 1 paragraph outlining that it was impossible to know if the previous issue was there at the point of sale. Why come out and charge me £360 for that? I am so disappointed as all of this was known when I asked someone to come out and the fairest thing would have been to say that the report wouldn't have been able to help me, not take my money knowing you wouldn't be able to comment on what I actually needed.

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Verified
Brent Casey
13 January 2026

I used a.c.e for a inspection on my car…

I used a.c.e for a inspection on my car the company was very helpful and managed to get the inspection done on my car very quickly even though it was over the Christmas period very .uch appreciated

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Verified
Daniela Udriste
13 January 2026

Great

I had issues with a car purchased, and ACE was recommended for an inspection. I had few issues because the first report was wrong, because the garage provided the engineer with wrong mileage, however this has been revised after I sent the documents to prove the mileage on the car. ACE has done a great job which I am very thankful for. I was impatient, which I apologise for, but I strongly recommend ACE and for sure in future I will always contact them for any issues. Thank you very much!

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Verified
Ali
13 January 2026

5 STARS ALL THE WAY

Ace was extremely helpful from the very beginning and always polite when speaking on the phone. Bobbi was highly professional and respectful in the way she handled everything, and she truly went out of her way to address my concerns. Mr Bird, the engineer, was also very professional and helpful. He guided me through the process clearly and provided excellent support throughout. I would highly recommend Ace to anyone who needs assistance with valuations. I would 100% use their services again if ever required. Mr Ali

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TERRY SHANNON
11 January 2026

ACE COME UP TRUMPS

After more than a 2 year gap between their first inspecting the vehicle and my calling on them to clarify some of their comments in their original report (when the Ombudsman seemed to have misunderstood them) ACE were BRILLIANT. The Senior Engineer involved responded with an excellent further letter respectfully asking the Ombudsman to reconsider it's earlier decision as we went to the final phase of their process.

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Verified
Lindsey Smith
8 January 2026

Extremely professional and polite…

Extremely professional and polite engineers, straightforward service, reasonable price.

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Verified
Popo Mavhs
7 January 2026

I owned the car for 163 days and ACE…

I owned the car for 163 days and ACE engineer was asked to assess the car had issues at the point of sale, suprisingngly he ruled NO, for those who understand timing chain life span help me understand if this engineer is correct. 2 months in ownership of the car , i even gave him evidence of me texting my mechanic about the car coming up with "perfomance restricted", In his final ruling he did not even consider the texts msg sent after 2 months of purchasing a £15 000 car, he just ruled,no, timing chain was perfect at the point of sale, he didnt dismantle the car or take it away to open it no. He just based his final decision on diagnostic codes and assumptions and the 20 000miles i drove! But the whole report he wrote it is hard to rule the cause without dismantling the car?There you go people, be careful who does your work and how they do it! The admin girls were very good though but the so called experienced engineers, Im shocked!!

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Verified
Raja Kami
6 January 2026

The engineer has lied on the…

The engineer has lied on the report,,the things that were absolutely not working has been shown as working.

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Collette Boardman
6 January 2026

Very quick checked car and drove it…

Very quick checked car and drove it gave feed back to me before leaving listened to my complaint

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Verified
Emmanuel Afolabi
29 December 2025

ACE were very professional and they did…

ACE were very professional and they did a great job for my vehicle inspection and assessment.

Page 2 of 3 · 40 reviews

Automotive Consulting Engineers Ltd — Review Summary

Based on 40 verified customer reviews, Automotive Consulting Engineers Ltd holds an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 — rated Good on ReviewTerminal. 65% of customers gave 4 or 5 stars.

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