" I purchased
a second hand Holden Vectra from Hunter Holden in June 2003. After
owning the car for 2 months I had the NRMA inspect it, the NRMA produced
a report saying that rack ends should be replaced. I subsequently
made a booking with Hunter Holden to have the work carried out. However
when I turned up at the Hunter Holden workshop in St Leonards was
told by Mr Peter Gibbs ‘sorry’ but such work was not to
be carried out at St Leonards but that I would have to book the car
in at their Auburn workshop so that the work could be carried out
there. When I asked why I was told it was just ‘policy’.
I then made a booking for the 7th of August at Auburn and delivered
the car to be told that the work would be done but the car would need
a wheel alignment which would need to be carried out at a later date.
However when I picked the car up I was informed that the mechanic
had found time in his busy schedule to have the wheel alignment done
after all. I then had new tires fitted to the car omitting the wheel
alignment as it has supposedly been carried out already. When it came
time to rotate the tires 12,000 Klm later I found that the tires had
been completely ruined. I then had an independent mechanic check the
wheel alignment informed me that ‘both front wheels were more
than an inch out of alignment’, something of a surprise as the
car had not been involved in any incident that might cause such a
problem!
As per the cars
warranty requirements I booked the car in again at the St Leonards
workshop for a 6 month service on the 9/6/04. After leaving the car
with Holden I was telephoned at work and told that the brakes, brake
rotors and rear window wiper needed replacing at a cost of $1150.00.
When I informed the service man that I would not require that they
carry out this work the service man became very indignant and insisted
that I have the work carried out as the brakes were unsafe. I again
informed him that I would not require the brakes replacing he said
that the brakes were so unsafe that I would be required to sign a
legal release to absolve Hunter Holden if I should have an accident.
When I told him that would be fine he promptly hung up the phone.
When I picked up my car later that day the mechanic informed me that
the brakes were about 90% worn but ‘should be right for a few
thousand’, I was not required to sign a release. Incidentally,
I had the brakes replaced four months later, although the car computer
still didn’t indicate any problem. My local mechanic said that
the discs we’re about 90% worn!
By this time
I developed the feeling that the practices at Hunter Holden were not
especially confidence building. I decided to continue with having
my car serviced there in order to keep the Holden warranty. The next
service was due in December and so I booked the car in and dropped
it off in the morning as usual. When I drove into the delivery area
an advisor named Aaron Perrin stuck his head inside the window of
the car and said that the car was due for a 60, 000 km service. Mr.
Perrin then proceeded to detail all that would be involved. Eventually
Mr. Perrin paused to take a breath and I was able to inform him that
I would not be requiring a 60,000 km service but just the usual 6
month $175.00 service that I’d had last time. Mr. Perrin again
proceeded to discuss the manual requirements of a 60,000 km service
and what would be involved, again it was some time before I had a
chance to inform Mr. Perrin that I would not be requiring this service
but just the usual 6 month service that I’d had before. Although
Mr. Perrin looked quite disappointed it seemed that he understood
and so I proceeded to work. Upon returning to Hunter Holden later
that day I was not all that surprised to find that a 60,000 km service
had indeed been carried out on my car and the bill was $550.00 instead
of $175.00. Although I spent a great deal of time arguing with Mr.
Perrin it was to no avail and I reluctantly paid the money demanded
of me for the return of my car keys. Interestingly Mr. Perrin never
denied the fact that I had repeatedly asked for the usual 6 month
$175 service.
Feeling more
that a little put out by these events I was to be even more disappointed
to find that although my car was running fine when I delivered it
to Hunter Holden driving home the car seemed to be running on five
cylinders. I then recalled how specific Mr. Perrin had been about
the need to replace the cars spark plug leads! It seemed to me that
the service personnel had probably damaged the leads when changing
the spark plugs (a job that I had not wanted in the first place) and
had known about the problem even before they returned the car. Not
wishing to avail myself of Hunter Holden’s services again I
ordered some leads from my local Repco dealer with the intention of
replacing the leads myself. On most cars this would be a straightforward
procedure but the Vectra requires some special tools that I do not
possess and so I decided against my better judgment to call Hunter
to fix the car. Of course the Holden representative was very polite
on the phone and assured me that if the problem was caused by Holden
it would be fixed completely free of charge.
As the car was running perfectly when I delivered it to Holden it
seemed a safe bet that it was them that caused the problem and so
it would be fixed for free. I was again however, not very confident.
21/12/04 Sure
enough after the mechanic had inspected my car I was informed that
a broken solenoid in the car was causing the problem. “Unfortunately
sir the valve was damaged electrically not physically”, according
to Holden policy the fact that the component was damaged electrically
precludes the possibility that a Holden mechanic could have caused
the problem! A logic that still defeats me. “The price of the
part would be $135 and under the circumstances we will only charge
$45 labor”. I then again informed them (Peter Gibbs this time),
that since the car was running perfectly when it was delivered I should
not have to bear this cost. Peter Gibbs then told me that if I wanted
I could have them put the car back together without fixing it and
I could ‘go somewhere else’. Since the labor cost seemed
reasonable for a change I decided to ignore my better judgment again
and go ahead with the repair. Again I have returned to the Hunter
Holden workshop to find everything was not quite what I’d been
told. Although the bill did indeed come to $180, the cost of the solenoid
was in fact $82 and the labor $98, even though the replacement of
the solenoid was supposed to have been a 20 minute job. To add even
further insult, the repair sheet stated that the cause of the car
running poorly was not ‘just’ the solenoid but also “spark
plug leads shorting”. Something that Peter had not seen appropriate
to mention over the phone, perhaps forgetting that he had offered
to fix for free anything that may have been caused by his mechanics.
I still did not see any alternative other than to hand over the money
and once again take charge of my car keys.
Curiously, while
I was waiting to pick up my car I heard a service manager tell a small
very elderly lady that he had left her old brake shoes in the back
of her car. From her reaction it was clear that she had not asked
for the parts. Now I am left to wonder why none of my old parts had
ever been returned to me and what special qualifications are required
before parts are returned.
In any case,
I was at least pleased to find that my car was again running well
and was feeling slightly less furious than before. However…..
upon returning home I noticed that the Holden mechanic had neglected
to close the bonnet properly and after inspecting under the bonnet
I noticed that he had also neglected to replace 3 bolts in the inlet
manifold, as a result the inlet manifold was connected to the car
only by some small rubber hoses. I once again called Holden very determined
to get my bolts back and also very determined not to leave my car
in the possession of Holden ever again. I called Mr Peter Gibbs whose
immediate reaction was “how do you know we removed the bolts
in the first place”. Followed by, “can’t you call
the NRMA”. After Peter had recommended several times that I
return my car to St Leonards an offer which I repeatedly refused.
Peter said that I could go to the Parramatta dealership and have someone
look at the car to make sure that the bolts are indeed missing and
they could then be replaced. Although I was not happy about having
to turn up late to work again it seemed a reasonable offer.
22/12/04 Upon
turning up to Parramatta at the appointed time I found that my contact
“David” was not their and I had to wait a further 20 minutes
to have him tell me that the parts could be replaced if I would leave
the car there all day. When I explained that I would not be leaving
Holden in charge of my car he informed that I was already aware that
I would have to leave the car with them, I am still curious to know
how he came about this information as he seemed very insistent. I
once again called Mr. Gibbs at St Leonards who once again invited
me to leave my car at St Leonards, I once again refused. Mr. Gibbs
then decided that I could take my car to Muirs Holden in Ashfield
where a Mr. Farrel would inspect the car and then order the bolts,
which I could pick up in the afternoon and I would not have to leave
my car in the care of anyone from Holden. Of course it meant I had
to be late to work again however it ‘seemed a reasonable offer’.
23/12/04 After
Mr. Farrel had inspected my car and talked to his spare parts personnel
I was told that the correct bolts could not be obtained, but suitable
replacement bolts could be found if I were to leave the car with Holden…….
Once again I
called Mr Gibbs however this day my call was not returned.
24/12/04 Once
again I called Mr Gibbs who told me that he had bent over backwards
to help me and was not interested in helping me any further. When
I told Mr. Gibbs that I thought he had not helped me a great deal
as he had not even tried to look at the part on the computer so that
he could order it in and then I could pick it up. Mr. Gibbs said he
was not interested in doing anything of the kind and was about to
hang up on me. For some reason I was by now getting fed up and asked
Mr. Gibbs if it was common practice for his staff to steal parts off
peoples cars. Mr. Gibbs said that indeed it was common practice. I
was a little shocked to get this answer so I repeated the question
and was again given the same reply. Mr. Gibbs then hung up the phone.
I then placed
a call to the Holden Head office listed in the yellow pages. After
some discussion the problem was handed over to a gentleman named Leo.
Eventually Leo informed me that although it was 'none of his business',
he had come up with a solution to which there could be no negotiation.
I could get my local mechanic to order the correct part, because no
Holden representative had inspected the car to determine the correct
part. Holden could then deliver the parts to the mechanic and he could
fit the parts, “there is absolutely no other option” and
“I will not enter into any negotiation”. When I said my
local mechanic would probably not work for free, and that I shouldn’t
be out of pocket as I was not in any way responsible for the missing
bolts and besides two Holden representatives had already in fact inspected
the car. Leo insisted that the bolts could not be given to me because
any incorrect installation of the bolts could cause damage to the
car and I would be in a position to sue. Leo was not interested in
my offer to sighn a release. Leo then hung up the phone. It seemed
to me that if this was the attitude of Holden head office then it
is hardly surprising that Hunter Holden should behave in this way
and I see no reason why any other Holden dealer would need to be any
different.
I am out of pocket over $900 when all I’d wanted was a $175
service and still without any bolts in my inlet manifold. As the Holden
warranty only covers the first $1000 of any repair it seems fairly
obvious that thge Holden warranty is worth considerably less than
the paper it's written on. Safe to say there is no possibility of
my ever doing business with any Holden dealer again"
J Brown
COMPLAINTS
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