Devon Classic Cars

Purchased a Classic Vehicle on an auction site. Vehicle had extensive damage to the interior and not described fairly and has cost hundreds of pounds to put right. Poor workmanship on vehicle and this has been reported by a reputable garage and the AA. Would avoid dealing with this firm! Huge disappointment and dishonest business owner.

Peter and the guys have been servicing and maintaining my Bedford for the last 5 years and have done an excellent job. Dealing with any issues they find for the MOT and going the extra mile, such as replacing a split gearknob just because it was split, as not extra charge of course. Very happy to recommend them to you.

I brought my 1948 Riley 1500 DH to DCC and Peter identified a number of improvements that should be made. Peter sourced the parts and made the improvements totally to my satisfaction. I drove the car home to Torquay today and everything worked perfectly. Patrick G.

I am the owner of the Mk1 Triumph GT6 which Peter features on his website. It came to Devon Classic Cars for a body off restoration, the vehicle being of considerable sentimental value and previously having a restoration completed by a family member 30 years ago.

The car was generally in good mechanical condition, but the bodywork was beginning to look tired with rust taking hold in a few places. We agreed on a course of action, and costed the expected work to which I added a 20% contingency. I absolutely understand that additional requirements may be uncovered during the course of a restoration, but I felt towards the end that items such as the engine rebuild (had always started flawlessly, performed well and used little oil) were added as a way to increase the billable hours.

At completion, the final bill (£38k) was nearly twice what was originally estimated - which I could happily have lived with had I received a vehicle in a condition ready to be enjoyed for another 30 years. However since collecting the vehicle I have had a myriad of mechanical problems (which didn’t exist prior to restoration - it was a very drivable car), and continue to uncover issues which demonstrate a lack of attention to detail. The car returned on several occasions but after the 3rd occasion I was told by Peter that the business had folded and they wouldn’t be able to do any more work on the vehicle.

Some aspects of the vehicle are very good - the trimming has been completed to a high standard, the paintwork is good (although there is corrosion coming through on the sill seams and the drivers door is rusting out - this is 6 years since completion and stored in a dry garage with fair weather use only).

The panel gaps on these cars have never been amazing - but the spacing of the front end of the vehicle looks completely wrong with a big gap between the drivers doors and the bonnet. There is damage to the paintwork where the doors, windows and bonnet interfere with other panels.

Mechanically I’m very disappointed - I no longer have a car that is enjoyable to drive and I’m still chasing drivetrain issues (it feels like it is going to shake itself apart at 65mph) 6 years down the line having had the car laid up for a considerable part of that. I spent a massive amount of money, and just beginning to come to terms with the fact that I’ll need to spend a fair amount more to get things remedied and be able to enjoy the vehicle again.

I struggle to verbalise my total disappointment and embarrassment at being taken for a ride. I absolutely could not recommend Devon Classic Cars for restoration work, and was galled when I found they were still trading after I had been abandoned with my large list of issues.