Holden "Service" - what do you think?

[Cabbage]

A mate took his vs ute to Suttons Holden at Roseberry in Sydney for a service and to fix a rough running motor (5.7 I think) and dodgy blinker. The motor had been running rough for awhile and after taking it to his usual mechanic a couple of times with no luck he bit the bullet and took it to Holden hoping they could sort it out.

Took it in early yesterday and got a call a few hours later telling him that it needed a new o2 sensor, blinker relay and the radiator had a crack in it. They quoted him $800-900 to replace the radiator. Told them to fix the sensor and relay but after I told him I thought he could get a radiator cheaper than that he told Holden not to replace the radiator. (after calling Holden mate went online found a new radiator for under $400 shipped to his usual mechanic who will fit it for about $100. Not sure the brand, his mechanic said it was a good radiator.

So yesterday afternoon my mate calls Suttons and they say the ute is ready for pick up. Drive him there and after a short wait he gets the ute back. Follow him home and I notice his blinkers aren't working. Drove it to a trimmer. As he was getting the room retrimmed, he gets out of the ute and isn't happy. Blinkers aren't working and his radio no longer works. Rings Suttons and they tell him to bring it back. Drive it back and my mate talks to the service manager. Service manager says they will fix the blinker with no charge but states they are not responsible for the radio and the mechanics would have done nothing to cause this fault. Mate tells him in no uncertain words that the radio was working fine before going in for service and now it doesn't. Asks them to at least look at it to determine the problem and then sort out who is responsible. Service manager says it looks like a blown amp but they had nothing to do with it and will not look at the radio. Mate is fuming. At this point we left the ute there to get the blinker fixed but my mate had to walk away before getting too angry and try to resolve the issue the next day. My mate was partly so angry as the Service manager implied my mate was lying about the radio and that they wouldn't even look at it. I don't think the service manager spoke to he mechanic who did the repair but looked at a worksheet to determine they hadn't done anything to effect the radio.

I was surprised at the "service" my mate received. They should have checked that they had fixed the blinkers before they gave the car back. Upselling the radiator is to be expected but was very pricey, maybe they could offer a non genuine option at a lower cost. Their attitude to the radio was the most surprising and was as though they though he was trying to rip them off. He gave them no reason to think this. Maybe the particular service manager was the problem not Suttons themselves. But having watched the whole "service" firsthand, Suttons were along way short in professionalism of Sydney city Toyota where I get the wives rav 4 serviced and city ford where our work cars are serviced.

Mate rang Suttons today and they will call him back after looking into it.

Clinton.

[Cabbage]

The o2 sensor sorted the motor out and is running much better.

[Mr Hardware]

I think i'd like to hear the other side of the story before I make a judgement call.

[FG_Frodza]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I think i'd like to hear the other side of the story before I make a judgement call.

No-one hears the other side of the story before they lay the boot into Ford service..

Radiator is to be expected, as for the blinker, they definitely should have checked that before it left, not a very hard thing to check at all...

The radio issue is a funny one though, I don't know what could have gone on in the workshop for them to stuff it up, but sounds like the service manager had a very poor attitude about it regardless.

[Simple6]

Originally Posted by FG_Frodza

.

The radio issue is a funny one though, I don't know what could have gone on in the workshop for them to stuff it up, but sounds like the service manager had a very poor attitude about it regardless.

Didn't undo the neg on the battery and blew a fuse? Therefor blinker doesn't work and possibly somehow linked to radio? My only theory!

[Rodge]

Very poor service at a Holden dealer regarding 5.7 motor and Holden electrical problems, that's something new isn't it
How many pages would you like me to write about my Holden Calais VX1 problems ?
Would you like to hear about the really loud graunching diff from brand new that they refused to fix, the gross oil consumption, the piston slap, the 101 electrical problems or the threat I had from the Holden service staff ?
Makes Ford service look really good, and we all know that's really saying something !!
In my experience the "service" your mate received is quite normal from Holdung dealers, which is why I'll never buy another one.

[DJL351]

Originally Posted by Cabbage

Upselling the radiator is to be expected but was very pricey, maybe they could offer a non genuine option at a lower cost.

And maybe a 'fine dine' should offer Maccas on their menus too.

[BAXR8_Ute]

That's about what you'd expect from a dealer.

I had a Toyota Avalon which broke down in narromine nsw. I rang nrma to come and have a look. Now, the nrma office in this town is inside the ford dealership, so the roadside assist mechanic was a ford apprentice in ford uniform. He turned up and found the alternator had died. Since I was about 50km fom home, I got him to tow it to ford. I received a quote to fix the alternator of around $800 which I thought was high but the service manager told me that there were 2 models of alternator and mine needed the expensive one. I got the car back and the radio didn't work because obviously they disconnected the battery and it needed the security code. I bought the car second hand and didn't know the code. They wanted another $100 to get the code from Toyota as they needed to pull the radio out to get the number off it. I understood this but it still ****ed me off. I rang Toyota to check the price of the alternator and they said $200 and they have a few in stock. Needless to say I was ****ed off and rang to complain. Got me no where they couldn't care less. So what can you do now? Hold a grudge, never go there again and bad mouth them to anyone who will listen.

[LTDHO]

Are Holdens fitted with blinkers the same has horses?

If the indicator failed due to a faulty relay, that is incredibly easy to fix and takes all of 5 mins.
What was wrong with the radiator that Holden can see a fault but you mate could prior to taking it in?
Seems unlikely that the service dept has ruined the amp. Pretty hard to cross the wires on the battery, that is assuming it was disconnected. Have you simply looked at the fuse for the unit? Is it aftermarket?

[Sorted]

Originally Posted by FG_Frodza

No-one hears the other side of the story before they lay the boot into Ford service...

My thoughts EXACTLY......

[OzJavelin]

Opposite of what happens in this town. I take wifes FG in for a service at Ford dealer and cross my fingers that any warranty issues have been fixed, or not made worse .. that they haven't overfilled the oil, left something off, broken something, etc, etc ..

My Holden has been out of warranty for six years but I continue to get it serviced by the local Holden dealer because I'm confident any work will be done as requested, nothing forgotten, broken, etc. Might be more expensive, but a few extra $$$ are worth it to know it's done right.

Just the luck of the draw unfortunately ..

[Dave R]

I haven't had the greatest Holden service experience either. I recently took our Holden in to be serviced. First they tried telling me the warranty had run out (still has 12 months left), then they tried convincing me that the car needs new rotors and pads for $1200. The condescending tone of the service manager was also a great touch. It felt like I was dealing with a sleazy second hand car yard, not a factory Holden dealership. Although as with Ford dealerships, I'm sure I just copped an average dealership on an average day.

[Angeldust]

I only have good things to say about the Holden dealership i get mine seviced at.

[Cabbage]

Not for a second suggesting there isn't another side to the story. I can only tell you what they said and my take on it. I don't have any interest in unnecessarily bashing Holden, I've owned both but love fords. I think I was reasonably objective as it wasn't my ute and not my money, hard to see what the other side of the story was as they didn't really offer any explanations.
The blinker/indicator was disappointing, they just should have checked that it was right to go. My mate and I both had to get off work early to pick the ute up, no problem, but if we turn up and it's not fixed when they said it was good to go it starts to get inconvenient. Just check it thoroughly before returning the vehicle, end of story.

As for the radio, it was working immediately before the service but not after. Radio was aftermarket. Mate was not asking them to pay for the fix straight up but since in all likelihood something happened during the service to stop it working, they would agree to at least look at it or arrange for it to be looked at to see if it was something the mechanics might have done or not.

If I owned the business and a customers car came in something stopped working while in our possession I would want to know what happened.

From the outside Suttons Roseberry seem to be a well run dealership but dealing with the service staff they left a lot to be desired. Although this experience doest really affect me as I'm not in the market for a new Holden but my mate was looking at a new ute, probably an ss. He won't go back to Suttons for a new ute or any servicing which is disappointing as an Australian looking at an Australian car company doing its best to survive.

As I mentioned before sydney city Toyota and city ford were more about the customer in my experience.

[blk6t]

Holden service, Ford service, Toyota service.....there are good ones and bad ones with every dealership and most brands.

I wouldn't be summarising "Holden" service quality by one bad experience at one particular dealership.

I have heard fantastic reviews about Heartland Holden at Penrith for example....

[mrghia]

I know how bad Holdens service is I worked in a dealer and they were shonky as anything I couldn't be leave some of the stuff the did event to the cars they were about to sell on the yard. Those 100 point inspections they do on there certified cars don't mean **** there. They would do the inspection on the car and note the problem most of the time not fixing it. If you didn't spot the problem with the car when you bought it nothing would be done. Dodgiest dealership ever..

[AU Mont]

where i am Ford is is very unfriendly, and everyone has a look on there face "please dont ask me to do anything" even though its dead quiet

then i take our subaru into the local Holden dealership for a wheel alignment, and there is a much happier vibe, the salesman made sure i was looked after (i looked a bit lost lol) even though i wasnt there to buy a car. There was just a huge difference in everyone's attitude compared to Ford.

[nuthin' fancy]

I can't understand the attitude of dealers, don't they make their money on the servicing? Yet the offer substandard service at all times in my experience (Holden and Ford). And expensive too.
I'm now using a local mobile mechanic who can't do enough for me. Lovely old bloke who refers me through to specialists for work he can't do and they don't charge too much either.

[Nikked]

If the battery was dissconected, there is a chance the Amp fuse could have blowen if the neg zapped on something....

[Fiesta_Man69]

Still better than the service I received at Dale Ford - now gone, and no surprise.

This dealership tried to convince me that $10K worth of rust in a 3 month old Fiesta was a "characteristic" of modern cars. After the NSW Fair Trading Dept got involved they "changed" their mind. Still took them months to fix though. No wonder they went bankrupt.

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

Are Holdens fitted with blinkers the same has horses?

If the indicator failed due to a faulty relay, that is incredibly easy to fix and takes all of 5 mins.
What was wrong with the radiator that Holden can see a fault but you mate could prior to taking it in?
Seems unlikely that the service dept has ruined the amp. Pretty hard to cross the wires on the battery, that is assuming it was disconnected. Have you simply looked at the fuse for the unit? Is it aftermarket?

They said the radiator had a crack in it but my mate hadn't noticed it losing water. I told him to put some bars leaks in it but he drives it around the city so the last thing he needs is it overheating. It is aftermarket, mate hasnt looked at the ute as it's still with Suttons.

[burnz]

so he has a (modded motor) stroker in it but doesen't maintain it..

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by blk6t

Holden service, Ford service, Toyota service.....there are good ones and bad ones with every dealership and most brands.

I wouldn't be summarising "Holden" service quality by one bad experience at one particular dealership.

I have heard fantastic reviews about Heartland Holden at Penrith for example....

Yeah there are good and bad no doubt. I'm not trying to say Holden are bad at servicing vehicles across the board but this particular dealership left a bit to be desired. Everyone can make their own minds up, I was interested what people thought. As I said I have experienced services at Toyota, Ford and come to think of it Mitsubishi, was probably the worst actually, and not having been to Holden (Suttons) I wasn't impressed.

I would think the owner would want better just from the attitude f his employees. Maybe I/we expect to much.

[SSVPom]

On the flip side, I had only positive experiences with Ferntree Gully Holden during my 18 months of Sportwagon ownership. I received a Commodore courtesy car FOC with every service and warranty repair, and to be honest could not have asked for anything more... Well, maybe for less things to go wrong with the car, but that wasn't FTG's fault !

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by nuthin' fancy

I can't understand the attitude of dealers, don't they make their money on the servicing? Yet the offer substandard service at all times in my experience (Holden and Ford). And expensive too.
I'm now using a local mobile mechanic who can't do enough for me. Lovely old bloke who refers me through to specialists for work he can't do and they don't charge too much either.

yep! soon as my warranty is out it's back to private mechanic's.....Ford's have been good, but I paid out of my pocket for that even though it was a warranty issue, couldnt be buggered mucking about with the holden dealership they were that bad

however I was told the holden dealerships head mechanic is a dick and used to work for ford.....he was sacked from ford

but good service is where you find it nowadays!....not easy!

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by SSVPom

On the flip side, I had only positive experiences with Ferntree Gully Holden during my 18 months of Sportwagon ownership. I received a Commodore courtesy car FOC with every service and warranty repair, and to be honest could not have asked for anything more... Well, maybe for less things to go wrong with the car, but that wasn't FTG's fault !

It is a Holden mate

[poppa smurf]

just thinking out loud but is a "mobile mechanic" technically private!.....or are they part of a franchise like "lube mobile"

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

Are Holdens fitted with blinkers the same has horses?

no, just some of the owners...

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

yep! soon as my warranty is out it's back to private mechanic's.....

Use of a private mechanic doesn't affect warranty provided they are operating as a business and provide a warranty for their work. I checked this when I has an SS Commodore under warranty (and it needed it).

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

just thinking out loud but is a "mobile mechanic" technically private!.....or are they part of a franchise like "lube mobile"

Mine is a sole trader in a Mitsubishi L300, nearly as old as he is!