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View Full Version : Credit where credits due!



apom
13th June 2016, 08:44 AM
So, about a month back I posted on a rattle in my B-Pillar from a new Disco 4 delivery. Turns out there was a batch of cars ex factory with this issue. After a tardy start from the dealer the car was taken to the Bump shop in Brisbane to complete the required work... no problems so far.

On returning to pick the car up (by now the Service Manager was involved due to communications issues) he asked me when the car had been repaired before. To my shock, given the car was new, I said never and then they pointed out an area near the front guard and front door, near the vent that had been resprayed. As the car was only several weeks old and could only be seen in very certain light the bump shop had asked the question of the dealer. It was hard to pick unless in standing in one spot on the silver car, but once noticed stood out like a sore thumb.

At this point I was ready to not take the vehicle back given it was through investigation determined to be a pre-delivery issue (long story). So, the dealer manager at this point was brilliant. They kept the vehicle pending investigation and left me with the loan vehicle)

Basically, their standing was that if it was a minor scratch then the repair would be made as good as new (more common than you think with new cars prior to sale) or if it had been in an accident they would simply replace the car with a new one.

To be honest I thought it would be a struggle but the dealer manager in Brisbane was faultless and I didn't even have to make the case for this. This dealer does get some flack from time to time but I was impressed with the way they handled this. No pressure, they wanted to make it right, even to the point of making sure I still wanted the vehicle.

At this same time the initial investigation was going on I decided to also get Land Rover Australia, as a backup, involved with the Queensland customer representative. What a waste of time that was. After the initial call and the promise to call me back and to find out the exact happenings with 48 hours, it was a farce. It never happened, the guy was useless, found out nothing, took more than 6 attempts to get hold of him again. What a waste of time. After the dealer sorted all the issues, and supported me during the time, the guy had the nerve to call me back and make sure everything was ok. For all the great service the dealer provided, the QLD rep at Land Rover Australia was an utter waste of time, offered nothing other than frustration.

So, in the end, it was a small scratch that had been fixed poorly. There is more detail to the story, one I will share with people over a beer sometime.

The car is now back and as new. The dealer was, (after the initial comms failure, something they admitted to making better) brilliant during the process, and I congratulated Gavin, Paul, Jarrod, Robert and the team at Austral for the professional service in getting this right. Its nice to know that when things do go wrong people can make the difference. I would definitely use them again.

Homestar
13th June 2016, 09:57 AM
Always good to hear stories like this. :)

rangieman
13th June 2016, 10:18 AM
Yep even tho it was not right to do such a dodgy repair by who ever and the dealer took up the fight and got it rectified is fantastic off them :thumbsup:
A well worth good new`s story that really needs to be shared:D

rocmic
13th June 2016, 04:47 PM
Yes it is good to see a good news story about a dealer on here. I think it very likely that there are more good news stories out there. But unfortunately they don't get told, while the bad stories do.
There is nothing wrong with bad stories by the way, they probably help to keep the dealers on their toes so that, maybe, there are some more untold good News stories. :D :wasntme:
Cheers
Mike

LandyAndy
13th June 2016, 05:55 PM
Thats great to here.
I get alot of confidence when I visit or call my dealer(Southern Land Rover).They are always helpfull and return calls very quickly.
Andrew

Bytemrk
13th June 2016, 06:10 PM
Great to hear apom, I have always found the dealer I use 1st class.... yet we all hear bad stories about them all.

I think in many cases,like so many things in customer service, it starts with the buyers initial attitude. A good relationship with your dealer goes a long long way.

Nomad9
14th June 2016, 07:46 PM
Hi Andrew,
X 2 on that one, Southerns have never let me down, always friendly and helpful, new spare parts guy is a breath of fresh air, the other guy looked to have had issues, however still managed to give me the right parts and good service.
Cheers Marty

laughto
15th June 2016, 06:32 AM
I too have had some experience of good service from a local dealer. We purchased our vehicle from a dealer in Regional NSW. For servicing we take the car to Trivett @ Paramatta in Sydney.

9 months later wife suffered a puncture and called NRMA. When the spare was lowered the NRMA guy found the brand new spare had what looked like a knife gash in the sidewall. Tyre had not been used.

Rang selling dealer and they advised us to ring LR. Rang LR and were advised that it was a dealer problem, probably fair enough. Rang selling dealer again, and they suggested taking to a local (Sydney) dealer to have damage inspected and action determined.

Took car to Trivett - long story short but they arranged everything from initial inspection, liasing with selling dealer and replacement of tyre. Made what I thought may be a difficult issue to have satisfactorily resolved given the elapsed time, a relatively painless process.

Service Manager @ Trivett is fairly young, but certainly understands what Customer Service means 👍

As a side note, while the gash in the sidewall is a mystery, a theory proffered by the guy replacing the tyre was that it probably occurred at pre-delivery. Suggested that possibly an apprentice somehow caused the problem on one of the 4 tyres on the vehicle. To cover their tracks, replaced the damaged tyre with the spare. Plausible I guess.

Sent from my SM-G920I using AULRO mobile app

Grentarc
15th June 2016, 10:25 AM
Suggested that possibly an apprentice somehow caused the problem on one of the 4 tyres on the vehicle. To cover their tracks, replaced the damaged tyre with the spare.

Don't worry, I have worked with qualified tradies that have done the equivalent to that, and then people wonder where apprentices get their bad habits from...

scarry
15th June 2016, 10:35 AM
Back to the OP.

I have had work done at the Bump shop as well,they are fantastic,as was Austral in this instance.

But if the car had not gone to the panel shop,the shoddy repair may have not been noticed by the owner of the vehicle.

The repair should have been done properly the first time before delivery.I wonder how many other vehicles this has happened to.

apom
16th June 2016, 11:22 AM
Back to the OP.

I have had work done at the Bump shop as well,they are fantastic,as was Austral in this instance.

But if the car had not gone to the panel shop,the shoddy repair may have not been noticed by the owner of the vehicle.

The repair should have been done properly the first time before delivery.I wonder how many other vehicles this has happened to.

Yep, so true. Bump shop had several other pre-delivery vehicles in getting fixed (not Land Rovers). Said its not an uncommon occurance. I suppose if i new I was paying for a new vehicle and I knew it had been repaired already, would I be happy to accept it? Probably not, however if it was discounted and still covered as part of the new car warranty, then i would think about it.

I should declare that after it was done Austral also gave me, without my asking, the option of a form of compensation as part of the inconvenience. It was a nice touch and one that certainly made me feel as if they were trying to preserve the buying experience.

sheerluck
16th June 2016, 11:31 AM
.....Bump shop had several other pre-delivery vehicles in getting fixed (not Land Rovers).......

It's a very common occurrence. My daughter's other half works for a glass refinishing company, and they had a job a couple of months ago where a shipment of vehicles (of one brand) arriving at the port had almost identical scratches and blemishes on the glass.

They had their entire crew up at the port for a week, getting rid of the defects.

LandyAndy
16th June 2016, 08:02 PM
My Bro's best mate is a panelbeater by trade,a bloody good tradesman too.
I remember back when he was doing his appreticeship with one of the Ford dealers.A common job was repairing bullet holes in brand new fords.Apparentley it was common for people to shoot them whilst on the train across the Nullabore.Mitsubishi,holden and toyota also had the same problem.
Andrew

Meken
16th June 2016, 08:33 PM
Back to the OP.



I have had work done at the Bump shop as well,they are fantastic,as was Austral in this instance.



But if the car had not gone to the panel shop,the shoddy repair may have not been noticed by the owner of the vehicle.



The repair should have been done properly the first time before delivery.I wonder how many other vehicles this has happened to.


My ex father in law paid an insane amount of $$ for an xjr jag. Discovered about 6mths into ownership that the entire rear driver side of car had been resprayed (quite well but just not quite). It got down to having paint samples analysed to confirm it as dealer kept denying it. Ended up with dealer paying to refinish entire car to factory standard so it was as new standard. Can't recall how he came across it - I think it was when he got a very small scratch to bumper fixed and the repairer raised it.