The latest for those who have been following the story of the $575 service charge to run a new ground wire to fix a malfunctioning security system (NATS) in a Nissan Patrol. Whole story in a long post PostID24583. Sorry about the odd characters which invaded the original post. Also updated in postID24698.
On Monday afternoon I sent a 2 1/2 page VERY firmly worded letter by registered post to the Dealer Principal - explaining that I wanted $375 of the $575 that I paid and why and what my next steps would be if I did not get this sorted to my satisfaction.
Today (Tues) I got a call from the Branch Manager and after some conversation about my complaint he AGREED TO RETURN THE MONEY AS REQUESTED. I will do serious celebrations once the cheque is in my hand!
Branch Manager said he had not received the (more gently worded) email. If so, I expect that the tone of the letter he did receive would have been a bit of a shock. Even so, he was polite and prepared to discuss and listen to the points I made (you've heard them all here). He initially offered a $200 discount on my next service with them, but I declined (not sure that my confidence is restored to the extent that I would feel comfortable leaving my car there for service - no quote, little free communication etc). I told him that I really wanted my money back so that next time I needed a "Nissan-specific" service/product, I would consider driving to my nearest (15 minutes away) dealer rather than over an hour to the other side of town.
So, that seems to be a win for sticking to your guns and insisting that clear & timely communication is a necessary component of good customer service. Knowing my rights as a consumer and keeping my cool while taking the necessary steps to ensure that the business 'does the right thing' worked for me.
Sooo... what have I learned:
this
forum has been great for information, advice and support. Thank-you to all. Think I better join up now!
I know a lot more about my Patrol AND I know that I have a lot more to learn.
I visited the Qld Patrol Owner's Club last night and met some friendly people - likely to do a club run this weekend and join up to do some
driver training. If I had not had a NATS (security) prob, I would not have met those friendly people and the ones on line.
I'm learning that a good diesel mechanic is a must have. When you find one VALUE him!
It seems (according to the service manager I spoke to today when the dealer rang) that the diagnostic equipment (console?) is not as terrific as I thought. I gather it would have told the dealer's mechanics that my car had a NATS fault and then they would have had to figure out why. I already knew it was a NATS prob - I read that section of the handbook when the dash light started to flash! At $102/hr, I would have been better off to employ a good switched on diesel mechanic for the search and repair - surely they are available for less than $102/hr.
Nissan help line does not know it all ...several forumites did a correct distance diagnosis of the ground strap problem and Help line had no idea. I mentioned to the branch manager that I put my Patrol's symptoms on a 4WD
forum and within 1 hr 3 of you had suggested the solution (and you were right).
Thanks heaps (& I'll let you know when the cheque does arrive!)
Patrolee