I bought a new D40 Nissan Navara from Werribee Nissan and had some issues with it. Werribee Nissan have been really disappointing to deal with. They wont be getting any more business from me and if I have my way, anybody I know.
After receiving no word from Werribee Nissan, I wrote to Nissan Australia Customer Care. I didn't hear from them for a few days so I rang them and was asked to re-fax the letter I worte to a different number. A week after doing that and still no word I rang customer care again. They acknowledged that they had received the complaint but hadn't got around to replying to it. They told me to sort it with the dealer.
Here are some extracts from the Werribee Nissan website.
"We never forget that commitment to customer services is the foundation of our business. We are totally focused and committed to outstanding customers service and providing quality service second to none."
SERVICE
Free Loan Cars, Free Pick Up & Delivery, Free Wash & Vac, Free Safety Check (within the western suburbs)
We would like to make sure that the servicing of your vehicle is a pleasure, not a chore and will make every effort to ensure this. All service customers now have the option of a free courtesy car or free pick up and delivery of their vehicle from their home or office. All services include a complimentary wash and vacuum and most importantly a free safety check.
Customer Guarantee
As a Nissan Dealer we are very proud of the quality of work carried out in our workshops. Our highly trained technicians pride themselves on their skills and do the best to ensure that your vehicle has been serviced, to the highest possible standard. Because of this we can give you a guarantee on all parts and labour.
5 Star Dealer Award
Werribee Nissan is 1 of 8 dealers to win the prestigious and coveted 5 Star Dealer Award. This is the highest accolade Nissan dealers can receive.This award is in recognition of:
- Fixing it right the first time
- Service Satisfaction
- Customer Care
- Performance
- Operations
What a joke. They fail on all 5 points of the 5 star rating. They can't even get one of them right. I can't even get them to come look at my new car supplied with 2nd hand parts. Thomas had no problems coming out to value my old D40 Navara and give me a changeover quote. He had no problems coming out with the contracts to sign when I said they had won the sale, he couldn't get here quick enough, but to get them to come out and inspect the second hand parts they fitted? What a battle, no after sales service at all. Their highly trained technicians have no problems fitting second hand parts to new vehicles? What sort of guarantee do 2nd hand parts have?
I picked the car up at approximately 5:30pm Friday 13th February. I traded my old '06 D40 ST-X in on this one.
Over the weekend I went over the vehicle and noticed several faults / issues with it. I rang the dealership on Saturday to talk about them, but I was too late as they were closed. I rang on Sunday morning and asked if Thomas Marlewski who sold me the vehicle was working and if I could speak to him. I was informed he was on a test drive and my contact details were taken so he could call me back when he was available. I didn't get a return call, first attempt at contact, first sign that their after sales service sucks.
Monday morning I rang for Thomas again, he was busy but returned my call shortly afterwards. I told him that the car had a damaged sports bar that was scratched and that both the left and right hand side steps were very 2nd hand. He told me it was impossible for this to happen. But, it did happen. I asked him if he'd drive over and take a look for himself; he wasn't willing to do that. He drove over immediately to give me a valuation on my trade in, he drove back again with the documents as soon as I had informed him that they'd won the sale, yet after sales service was non existent. His attitude got my back up so I mentioned all the other things I'd found. His comment to me was "Didn't you inspect the vehicle before taking delivery of it?" I'd just bought a new vehicle and didn't even think I'd have to go over it looking for 2nd hand parts. I'm still amazed he even suggested it. So I asked him to put me through to the sales manager.
Shane Alwis was busy, but rang me back shortly afterwards. I explained all of the issues with the vehicle and went over my conversation I'd had with Thomas. He wanted me to bring the vehicle in so they could have a look at it. I didn't want to do this as I'd have to take it in for inspection, they'd see it had 2nd hand parts on it, order new ones and then I'd have to take it back again to have them fitted. I'm an electrician and my labour hire is my productivity. My charge out rate is $75 / hour and I'd lose a minimum of 2 hours in travel alone to fix what never should have happened in the 1st place. I wanted to compromise, they (Werribee Nissan) come to me to inspect it, see it has what I say is wrong with it, and then I'd take it in for repairs. The 1st service was mentioned by both Thomas Marlewski and Shane Alwis as being a good time for the inspection, but I explained to them that I wont be taking it back there for its 1st service. I do not trust them. (It will be going to Alan Mance in Melton, the place I bought my 1st one from and got excellent service. They did all the regular maintenance and the four recalls on it for me and were a pleasure to deal with.)
So Shane agreed he would send someone out to look at it. I said if they called before they left, it would give me 30 minutes notice and I would be at the office for them. So far I've had no call (2 weeks at this stage). I really don't feel like ringing them again. I live and work I Bacchus Marsh, my office is in Bacchus Marsh, and I don't think I should have to take over an hour for travel alone out of my working day more than once to fix something that is their fault. (Their website mentions free courtesy cars and free pick up and delivery of vehicles for servicing, yet I can't get someone to inspect my new vehicle that was supplied with 2nd hand parts).
If the hierarchy at the dealership knew that this was done to my vehicle, I don't want anything to do with them. It's dishonest and illegal. If they didn't know the parts were swapped, then they have a rouge employee working for them and I don't want to take the vehicle back in case that person works on it. Regardless, someone at Werribee Nissan knows my 'new' vehicle went out with 2nd hand parts on it.
Just as bad as handing over a new vehicle with 2nd hand parts, I took delivery of an un-roadworthy one. Thomas wasn't working the Friday I picked it up. Shane Alabacos (sp?) handed the vehicle over. When I went to leave I couldn't see a registration label, so I went back in to inform him. We had a look and the label was attached to the top left hand side of the screen. Besides having to be 6' 3" to see it, it doesn't matter because behind the tint, it is impossible to read even in bright sunlight. I mentioned this to Shane Alwis who at 1st suggested I try peeling it off and putting it in the correct place (my responsibility to fix it and make my new vehicle roadworthy), but mentioned he could get a duplicate done for me. Hopefully this is in progress and I get it before driving through a random breath testing station where they do a license and registration check. (2 weeks later, no duplicate label).
I knew I was buying old stock, but a new vehicle, so ignored the grease stains on the carpet in the drivers side foot well, the scratch in the rear quarter panel, the small dent in the driver's side door, and only wondered about the 80km on the ODO and 42km on both trip meters. Now I can't help wonder what sort of abuse it was subjected to for those 80km considering the plates were only fitted the day before I picked it up. That's a lot of laps of the yard.
The following is a list of things I noticed wrong with my new Navara. I was not going to worry about them or the sports bar until I saw the side steps. I thought 'stuff happens' I'm buying old stock that has been in the yard for a while, but the 2nd hand side steps was over the the top. All I wanted was a new bar and new steps for my new vehicle to replace the damaged and 2nd hand ones.
List of obvious faults: (Click on any of the images for a larger view)
1) The side steps are clearly second hand. Almost all of the paint on the leading edge of the rear bracket has been chipped off, some on the middle one, and a few on the front bracket. There is still dirt, mud, road grime and gravel stuck to the underside where they weren't cleaned properly. (My old Navara had 45,000km on it and my steps were in better condition).
2) Scratches on the top of the sport bar and on the inside of the right hand side. Some are quite deep and none of them will buff out.
3) Rego label top left corner of the windscreen. You'd have to be at least 6' 3" to read it but it doesn't matter it's behind the tint up there and physically impossible to read at all. A replacement one is needed to be fixed on the lower left of the windscreen where it can be read. My new vehicle is un-roadworthy.
4) Filler neck not bolted to the tub. The filler tube was flopping around behind the quarter panel. I got a bit of a surprise when I went ot fill it up for the 1st time. (I've fixed this one myself, who knows how long Werribee Nissan will take to address the issue and I didn't want it flopping around until then.)
5) Grease stains / spots on the floor carpet on the driver's side.
6) Rear number plate on crooked. Who ever mounted it shouldn't be allowed to touch customer cars. There are 5 holes in the plastic trim above the chromed area, the person that mounted it had several attempts at it and still managed to get it wrong. (Fixed: It took me 3 minutes to mark and drill the plate to use the original Nissan supplied plastic lugs in the centre of the mounting location).
7) 80km on the ODO, 42km on the trip meters. That's a lot of laps of the yard and I thought I was picking up a new vehicle. A few more km and I'd be calling it an ex demo.
