Killing Mind

I went back to pick up my car after this upsetting experience, only to have my feelings of frustration upgraded to outright insult.

You may recall the car was in to have the passenger remote door lock and the CD player eject mechanism fixed. I had been shocked to find that the door lock wasn't covered by the warranty. Sure enough, before I could pick my car up I had to fork over $275 for the fault. Not a bad piece of pie for a central locking actuator. Obviously made from the best quality plastic Holden can find. The kind that performs flawlessly for almost three years.

Unfortunately, I was also informed that they had tried their best with the CD player, but had had no luck. I'll need a new one. A tidy 850 bucks if I want the same one. Holden only use little green men from the top echelon for their CD players. Pity they hang up their mattocks after three years. And no, bung CD player replacement is not covered by the warranty.

I surmised to the service gentlemen that I thought the lock would have been covered by warranty. To my tentative delight, he concurred, and asked again about the warranty. Not put off by the fact that I had mentioned the warranty everytime I had spoken with someone at the service centre, I explained again. Scratching through some paperwork, the service man murmured a little before reaching his definitive explanation:

"Oh... the salesman didn't tell you did he?",

"Tell me what?",

"Ah, it's not really that kind of a warranty. It only covers a few machanical systems. This happens all the time - the salespeople tell whatever is necessary to make the sale and we're left here to clean up the mess. You haven't really got an extended warranty, you have a limited mechanical warranty. Sorry about that."

So there it is. I can't be certain of the phrasing the salesman did indeed use, but I know I was led to believe that being a Holden certified vehicle meant that the new car warranty was extended by another 3 years. I distinctively remember thinking that was great piece of mind, and represented significant value. It appears I was misled.

Rather irate at this point, I grudgingly parted with the $275 necessary to reclaim my vehicle and left to take it home. I consoled myself by thinking that at least the lock is fixed, and I can still play the CDs that are in the player - I just can't take any out or put any in. Time to crank some music and get home.

First however, I had to reset all the controls - the service guys must have been a bit chilly while working on the car because upon starting the car I was met with the air conditioner on full ball on the hottest setting. No worries, a few button presses sorted that out, and another one turned off the service centre's radio selections. Switching to the CD played however, resulted in a few mechanic groans, a long pause, and then a message informing me the CD player was kaput, and the radio will play instead. Odd, I thought, but a few more attempts confirmed that yep, the CD player was now completely inoperative.

Once more I reentered the service centre to make an enquiry. On asking why the CD player is now not capable of playing music, I was informed that, "oh yeah, it just stopped working.".

"But it was working when I brought it in here!", I pleaded.

"Yeah I know - it was playing a great CD when I first jumped in.",

"Well can't you put it back that way?",

"No, you need a new CD player. We could wind the CDs out for you if you want them back.",

"But it played CDs fine, what did you do?",

"You see, what we do is pull it out, unplug the fuse, and push it back in. Usually they come straight back up, but this one didn't. Sorry about that.".

At that point I was losing patience and chose not to continue the point while emotional. I left in a huff, swore at the radio as it played its mocking tunes, and drove home.

At this point I have discussed the episode with a few people, and there seems to be some consensus that it's worthwhile taking some action. I have investigated the Motors Traders Association, who require their members to have a complaints handling process, but do not handle complaints themselves. I plan to next see what the Fair Trading Association think is an appropriate course of action. I think I need to play down the fact that I had a shitty personal experience, and consider whether firstly, the apparently common process of misrepresenting the warranty terms is an unfair act (or whether in fact, caveat emptor is stronger), and secondly, whether leaving the car in a worse state then when it arrived at the service centre is worthy of rectification.