So very annoyed.. I hate you Holden

[HarmlessMuffinMan]

So I took my car to Holden to get a squeek checked out... And to repair my cigarete lighter which wasn't getting power. Not only did I give them $64, but they DIDN'T find out where the squeek was coming from and said there was no squeek, but when they put the bottom bessel back where the lighter was, they broke the ####ing clips and it wont sit back in properly! WHAT THE ####...

Are these parts replaceable? VXII...
What can I do? Can't ring em and go off, they will say it was already like that, or its a common problem.. And they are the only dealer in Armidale and if I piss them off I can't get parts from them...

How much for a new lower bessel? (The one around the gear box)

[someguy360]

I would replace the broken parts from a commodore wrecker, will be much cheaper than trying to find a new one.

Dealerships are rubbish IMO, better off finding a mechanic you trust to do it than give it to holden thats just about getting your $$ or trying to sell you a new car.

[IBLOWN]

Why oh why do people go to dealerships....

[undersuspicion]

+1 for try a wrecker mate, probably 10 times cheaper than holden just for the bottom bessel.

[Crisis63]

Why oh why do people go to dealerships....

+100000000000

[PRAVX II S]

Thats what happens when you go to the lions den.
There so called technician are hopeless.
I would make a complaint and get it fixed by holden theres no need spending more money out of your pocket if they did broke it.

[HarmlessMuffinMan]

I went there because there prices were decent... Wreckers in Armidale wanted to charge me $180 for a second hand Clock Spring. Picked up one new from Holden for $175... Wrecker was a real smart ass about it too :P "You ring em up and find out how epensive they are and then ring me back, Ill have the part waiting for you". Then they charged $55 to remove the Error code from my computer instead of the $80 the other mechanic was going to charge. Bottom line is I just don't trust mechanics... Its ####ing annoying though.. All this. An expense I didn't need. Will have to source one from outside of armidale. Pretty sure there is a holden specialist in Newcastle, so next trip there I will pick one up. Thanks for the advice guys, really appreciate it

[Crisis63]

Dealerships are not a good place to go to for diagnosis of squeaks etc. Simply because of the hourly rates they charge. They would have had a service manager test drive it and if he couldn’t locate it quickly they would give up. My bro used to run a service centre and had both Ford and Holden dealerships send him cars for complicated diagnosis (i.e. not able to be read from the scanner) because he was cheaper and good.

As far as replacing parts I would buy them and where you can do the work yourself. That said to drive away form a dealership only $64 lighter in the pocket is a win. Pity they broke it though.

[HarmlessMuffinMan]

Well I just spent $200 on parts they quoted me $395 fitted. so pretty pleased about saving $195 :P Just annoyed about the besel, the whole thing has come off, so I'm going to try and fix it

[jamesmp]

I swear by Village Holden, they do a great job at the price I demand. You have the right to demand a good price from a dealer and squeeze every last dollar out of the bastards. I've been doing it for years.

If Holden broke the parts carrying out a repair, then they shall replace them. There's no two ways about it. I'm all for confrontation in the reception lobby!

I will never forget the time Toyota stuffed up my mother's Tarago. She said, "I've already had to bring this car back once more than I should have (the second time), so you'd better get it right. I want such a great job done that your staff will beam with pride as I leave." Needless to say, the job was done perfectly because my mother and I have the same temperament and this uncanny ability to get our way.

[bladerunner]

I swear by Village Holden,

which one? petrie or redcliffe?, one i wouldn't take my lawnmower to, the other I had to show THEM how to adjust my bloody door. there was a good tech,mech or whatever holden calls them these days at one of them who was brilliant as he would go against the boss and spend all day on your car if he had to but got fed up with them and left,this guy i know personally. they do go out of their way compared to other dealerships i'll grant you that but if you've had good service with them then you are one of the very few trust me. oh and ive been going there for years as well but only because of my mate that was there.warranty issues etc.. have gone down hill ever since.

[HarmlessMuffinMan]

Being the Keyboard warrior I am, I have decided to leave it... I had a look at the damage and decided that I could probably fix it.. and would have broken it anyway getting it out when I am going to spray paint it (Plastic is VERY brittal from the QLD heat)... But when they call me for a follow up on the service and tell me my Towball needs to be checked (Which they were supposed to do but didn't), I will be giving them a peice of my mind. Words I intend to use are: Worthless, Ripp Off, Pissed, Annoyed, Angry, Repuation, Small Dicked Mother####er that worked on my car didn't do his job properly and ####ed up my shit, Your mother, Your Wife, Your Husband, Your Daughter, and of course, Ford.

And #### carrots!

[jamesmp]

Village Holden Petrie. Zupps Aspley aren't bad either, they just won't adhere to my pricing.

[tHe_sTiG]

Same problem here mate, very annoyed with them... while the VZ was in for service, they broke the frame that holds the driver's seat controls, wouldn't fix them...

[ojame]

which one? petrie or redcliffe?, one i wouldn't take my lawnmower to, the other I had to show THEM how to adjust my bloody door. there was a good tech,mech or whatever holden calls them these days at one of them who was brilliant as he would go against the boss and spend all day on your car if he had to but got fed up with them and left,this guy i know personally. they do go out of their way compared to other dealerships i'll grant you that but if you've had good service with them then you are one of the very few trust me. oh and ive been going there for years as well but only because of my mate that was there.warranty issues etc.. have gone down hill ever since.

The few times I've dealt with Petrie have been great. Granted it's just around the corner; parts for my VZ have arrived quickly and they always seem to give me a pretty decent price. I've taken the missus' Cruze there a few times under new car warranty and I'm yet to fault them.

Before their expansion etc. a while back they were terrible, though.

[CMH62]

Why oh why do people go to dealerships....

Wow, I am new to all this and only just joined the web site yesterday to improve my knowledge .. anyway I simply had no idea that dealerships were so bad.

I would greatly appreciate it if someone who knows the southside of Brisbane, (Springwood or Loganholme would be perfect but anywhwre southside is OK) could let me know the best place for servicing my 2010 Falcon XR Turbo, my daughter's 2011 Mazda 3, and my friend's Toyota Hybrid Prius.

Thank you for your help!

CMH

EDIT: Anyone?

[TMM]

Same problem here mate, very annoyed with them... while the VZ was in for service, they broke the frame that holds the driver's seat controls, wouldn't fix them...

That piece of trim breaks if you even look at it the wrong way. Huge design fail with very flimsy plastic tabs. No point spending $50 or whatever on a new one because it will just break again.

I 're-engineered' mine with aluminium mounts:

Hasn't broken yet.

[LowerSpasm]

I work in retail (shitkicker) and pretty much how it works is the manager denys some kind of service (customer caused the fault, not us) so the customer storms off, calls head office, comes back with a smile and we do the replacement or whatever. Its a scam i know, but iv done it myself, when jb wouldnt repair a set of speakers under warrenty.

Bottom line, if you dont get what you want, whinge to someone higher up and it will get done