Buying a New Defender - Sydney

[DukeR]

Hey all,

I know that you can't post overly negative comments about stealers here - to protect the boards... but:

Are there dealers in Sydney I should just avoid alltogether? Are there any who have been excellent to deal with?

Would you mind sharing your experiences with me?

Maybe PM me with the negative stuff and ONLY post the positive here :angel:

Would be appreciated.

Duke



Edit: Just clarifying - I plan to buy a brand new defender

[KarlB]

I can’t really comment on Sydney dealers other than to say the quotes I got from them were significantly more than I was quoted in Canberra. You may like to consider getting quotes from dealers outside of Sydney (eg Dubbo, Wollongong, Canberra) as well (do it by telephone and/or email). The warranty is not tied to the purchase dealer. More important is what dealer (in Sydney) will give you the best warranty servicing.

Another consideration may be that Purnell Motors bought out Garthons who for many years were the best and most knowledgeable Land Rover dealers in Sydney. Not sure if Arthur’s son (can’t remember his name) is still involved in the business.

[flagg]

When my Father was looking for a new defender in 2002 the only dealer in sydney that was interested was Purnell. They were in Hurstville then, and are in Sylvania now.

I spoke to them recently about buying a Puma and found them to be helpful. They used to have a demonstrator.. but it hasn't been there the last few times I have driven by.

Many dealers only seem to want to sell Rangies and Discos, and not really know much (or care much) about the Defender.

Dec

[DukeR]

Thanks Karl,

Yup am more than willing to travel country NSW for my Landy - can't say I was expecting Sydney to be more expensive. I have family in Tassie and SA and cars usually more expensive there...

I'll extend my research.

Cheers,

Dule

[slt]

Are there dealers in Sydney I should just avoid alltogether?

Yes, all of them, as far as I'm concerned!

Useless sales people ... couldn't get any info out of them regarding acceptable tray dimensions for a 130 for example. But worse than that is they don't want to know you anymore once you parted with your hard-earned cash. I've had other models of cars besides LR, but I had absolutely the worst experiences in after-sales (read warranty) support from LR, both back in the mid 90s with a TDi and then again 2009 and ongoing. I heard better stories from some regional dealers (but no direct experience). So I'd stay away from Sydney dealers if you can.

[DukeR]

Yeah is what i feared. Or they think that the only people who would buy Defenders are the sort that will buy them no matter what so service, courtesy and basic customer care are unnecessary...

Thanks for the comment.

Duke

[DukeR]

Ouch.

There seems to be a theme happening here...

Appreciate the feedback slt.

Cheers

[Beast]

We bought our 110 wagon from Purnells at Blakehurst last year. After some initial disagreements with one salesman, the sale was taken over by the sales manager after a call to the dealer principal and went smoothly from there on in.

Have had the thing back several times for minor warranty issues (ABS sensors x2, window regulator - power windows are tools of the devil) and these were handled promptly. Have also had one repair for a brake hose I managed to destroy - ditto the above and surprisingly, a second mortgage wasn't required to pay for same.

Tried the other dealers in Sydney when looking around - would tend to agree that they are mostly interested in selling Discos or Range Rovers. As most people wanting Defenders know what they want and probably know more about the vehicle than the LR salesmen, moving the things off the lot ain't that much of a stretch for them.

We were able to get a pretty good deal on the thing (2001 TD5 Disco as trade-in) - got metallic paint, tow-bar, cargo barrier, mats, and window tinting thrown in on the deal, although I think some of that was due to the initial problems with salesman #1. None of the other Sydney dealers were able to match, let alone beat the price.

One of the salesmen we had a bit to do with when we were at the initial tyre-kicking stages was Mark. Unfortunately he was with another customer when we walked in ready to part with the hard-earned (probably would have had fewer problems initially had we waited to see him) - he would be a good man to talk to if he is still there.

Good luck with the purchase - hope all goes well wherever you end up purchasing.

[seano87]

My parents have a new 110 on order, they called or emailed every dealer in nsw and victoria. Sydney dealers were found to be quite uninterested selling a defender, except one.

As they knew exactly what they wanted, it came down to who could give the best price, everywhere managed within $750 of each other, except Blacklocks in albury/wodonga, who undercut the 2nd cheapest by $1750. They also seem quite interested in selling defenders being more rural and on a whole, great to deal with, so might be worth a call if you're prepared to go that far!

Seano

[Grumbles]

Blacklocks are in both Albury and Wodonga and are also a Ford dealeship and I have been dealing with the Wodonga dealership for well over ten years - car purchase, servicing, warranty and non warranty repairs. I highly recommend them and then some.

[DukeR]

Thanks Grumbles,

Yeah I fired off an email to Blacklocks last night - thanks for the confirmation.

Duke

[DukeR]

Hey Beast,

Thanks very much for the detailed and informative report. I'll drop them a line.

Appreciated.

Duke

[DukeR]

Thanks Seano,

Blacklocks seem to be shaping up nicely...

Duke

[austastar]

Hi DukeR,
I would be interested in how you go with Blacklocks.

cheers

[DukeR]

austastar,

No problems, I'll keep you posted.

Duke

[SVX37]

I bought my Defender SVX through Blacklocks around 12 months ago.

I travel a bit for my job so I visited the following dealers. At every dealer I told them I did not require a test drive as I has already test driven them and I told them the words they want to hear "I was ready to buy now"

1. Southern Cross in Toowoomba QLD (1 in stock) - saw the vehicle but unable to agree on purchase price when I was there. They rang me an hour later, dropped their price further, but not where I wanted it to be.

2. Austral Fortitude Valley QLD - Salesman told me he could get one. 12 months later, and I am still waiting on the saleman to ring me!!!! Pathetic!

3. MLR Melbourne - some quallity issues with the model I was looking at like bonnet wouldnt close properley, rubbers hanging off, tailgate needed adjusting and had 5500kms as it was a Demo - unable to agree on a price. The final coversation I had on the telephone with the saleman told me "Let me talk again with my boss and I will ring you back" (Still waiting)

4. Trivett Parramatta (2 in stock) - saw the vehicle, agreed on the base price of the vehicle, but I wanted the pricing of changing the tyres and a few extras. This was on a Friday and they did not ask for a deposit, if they asked, I would have obliged pending the tyres and extras additional cost. I was waiting on a call from them on the Monday. I received an email the next day on Saturday afternoon telling me they were sorry but they had sold both in stock and couldn't get anymore. Not even a follow up call from the Salesman. The customer service team rang me to find out why I didn't purchase. I gave then some constructive feedback! The girl agreed it wasn't good enough and said she would pass on my comments and get the Sales Manager to ring me. Still waiting!

5. Blacklocks Albury/Wodonga - It was a very simple sale in that I never met the salesman nor saw the Defender I purchased...until I took delivery.:o
I negotiated over the phone, agreed on a price that was lower than any of the other dealers mentioned above, paid a $1,000 deposit over the phone, and picked it up 3 weeks later. This was all on the premise that I was happy with the car when I saw it. I was except for bubbles in the window tint in every window. They said because it was only done a few days ago that they would disappear so give it a few weeks. I did, and not one bubble disappeared. To their credit, after a phone call, they arranged an approved tinting company in Melbourne close to where I live to inspect as I wasn't driving that far to show them. It was approved and all re-done free of charge as expected.

My only gripe is quite trivial really and it concerns the SVX key ring. You get a special key ring with it that the salesman didn't know much about. Now wait for this. It took a few phone calls and numerous emails over 8 months before I received a reply to say they would mail it out to me! I was constantly on their back. I was doing this based on principle that I should have received it rather then truly wanting the big heavy thing!:p

It is the tiny simple things that can leave a poor impression and I felt the after sales part was poor.

Would I buy from then again? Yes, but I would buy from who ever has the car you want with the best price. I would definately get a firm price from Blacklocks before purchasing elsewhere.

[DukeR]

SVX37

Thank you so much for such a detailed and comprehensive reply!

I have to say - even though I've only been here for a few days, I am already very impressed with the helpfulness of folks here on these forums.

I tip my beer in your general direction! /salute

Duke

[austastar]

My only gripe is quite trivial really and it concerns the SVX key ring. You get a special key ring with it that the salesman didn't know much about.

Thanks for the detailed posting.

I must ask though, (yes I did Google it but only got a list of landrovers for sale), what on Earth is an SVX key ring?

[alittlebitconcerned]

I only have had experience with one dealership in Sydney. It has turned out to be the most surprising, frustrating and disappointing experience I have ever had with a service department of any kind. This dealership really is quite a weird and dysfunctional place, I don't know how they survive.

[scott oz]

When I was looking I found Purnells the best. Unfortunatly (not) a mate got a posting for 2 years and had to well his TD5. So it's now mine.

I found Purnells the best and willing to deal.

[Snapper.VTR]

A couple of years ago I was looking for a new Toyota and used privatefleet.com.au. They get quotes from all over and arrange free delivery. I saved over $4,000 and the service from them and the winning dealer was excellent.

Not sure how they would perform with Landrovers but worth a shot and no upfront cost so no risk.

Hope this might help someone.

Snapper
130 TD5

[DukeR]

Yeah I have an inquiry in with a broker as well,

Rang me this morning with some questions, actually knows less about Landys than I do...

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Cheers,

Duke

[chumpion]

4. Trivett Parramatta (2 in stock) - saw the vehicle, agreed on the base price of the vehicle, but I wanted the pricing of changing the tyres and a few extras. This was on a Friday and they did not ask for a deposit, if they asked, I would have obliged pending the tyres and extras additional cost. I was waiting on a call from them on the Monday. I received an email the next day on Saturday afternoon telling me they were sorry but they had sold both in stock and couldn't get anymore. Not even a follow up call from the Salesman. The customer service team rang me to find out why I didn't purchase. I gave then some constructive feedback! The girl agreed it wasn't good enough and said she would pass on my comments and get the Sales Manager to ring me. Still waiting!


I bought mine from Parramatta about 10 months ago. The price was fair, and the salesman knew a little bit about the Defender (more than a couple of other salesmen from other dealers).

I'll, ummmm, PM you with what has transpired since....

Cheers..

[DukeR]

chumpion,

Thanks very much for the detailed PM.

I appreciate you taking time out from your blues to advise others here.

/salute

Duke