My New R36 - a disappointing start

[theplanner]

I had a similar experience with another car I bought from one of their dealerships.

I did the following:

1) Refused to accept the vehicle therefore did not pay, and contractually this is fine because it was not the vehicle I ordered

2) Wrote a letter to the dealership to complain about the cxxk up, stress & inconvenience

3) Wrote a letter to the manufacturer to complain about the dealership and bad experience

4) At this point I had to forced the dealership to loan me a car until such time the car I ordered is available otherwise I will terminate the contract.

It was not till point 4, that they delivered the loan car to my work place otherwise they kept repeating that they are unable to assist with loan car blab blab.....

You should not have accepted the vehicle, why should you put up with their incompetence. They should be out of pocket for it....

Also, don;t take your car for servicing with them. Not only are they dearer than everyone else, service technicians are clueless, & staff is unfriendly.

Then again, I can say VW highway's service technicians are any better, but at least they charge reasonably.

[ENERG1]

Thats not the best start to a new car experience for you mate but things will

work themselves out for you.Don't get to STRESSED take each day as it

comes and they will look after you.

I have bought 2 brand new cars from there in 3 years and always have had a

great experience and will be updating next year.I have had nothing but

fantastic car service from Austral.

Just my experience!

Luke

[NeRoTiGeR]

We have our R36 on order from them as well. We have placed a Feb request on the car as that is when our current car comes out of lease. Lets see what happens.

Another Dealer, nothing to do with VW - the current car we have was filled with Petrol instead of Diesel when we went to pick it up. Lucky it wasn't driven more than 50m.

[Big Yellow]

if it were me, I wouldn't even have signed/taken delivery of the car.

your order should have everything you requested.

i hope you havent finalised the sale and made payment!!

[Swallowtail]

Thanks everyone for comments and input. After 4 months wait not taking the car because of the Dynaudio wasn't an option... and I love the car, it is a brilliant piece of machinery. The sound it makes will never get old...

I am now in discussions with them on how they are going to resolve the concerns that I have. As to not accepting it - I have a contract that states the car has Dynaudio, and the car I am driving does not have it, so whether or not I drove off in it is irrelevant - the car does not meet the current contract.

I will post up here when we resolve the issues...

BTW, after 3 hours driving, the sat nav system worked out where it was. I've had them take 15 - 30 minutes before, but 3 hours!!!

[vwevo]

Geez I feel for you on this one!!! I can't imagine what my response would have been after waiting 5mths for my car!!
Out of interest, did you sign the vehicle release form (think that is what it's called) after you had inspected at delivery to confirm all was OK??

[Swallowtail]

Geez I feel for you on this one!!! I can't imagine what my response would have been after waiting 5mths for my car!!
Out of interest, did you sign the vehicle release form (think that is what it's called) after you had inspected at delivery to confirm all was OK??

Yes, but with a note to say that it was not as ordered, with details.

[vwevo]

Yes, but with a note to say that it was not as ordered, with details.

Mate good luck with this. I would be digging my heals in and requesting a new car with the specs you had ordered. In the mean time, they should be giving you a loan car (I wouldn't think they would let you drive the R36 around for 5mths as a loan car). If you choose not to wait and are happy to go without Dynaudio, perhaps suggest financial compensation of double the price of the unit ($4k). Would think this is reasonable compensation given your frustrations.

If it where me (and I'm glad it is not - sorry I mean not to offend), I would not be wanting them to install the Dynaudio at the dealership for reasons that others have mentioned before me.

Cheers.

[vdeknock]

After reading up on the Dynaudio I thought (could be wrong) that it was more than just speakers and amp. ie sound proofing the way the speakers are fixed and I would think wiring.

I am with the rest - time to work out an agreement that does not mean getting the audio in your car as a dealer addition. If they do go down this path can you make sure you find the donor car so we all know not to get that one as well.

Enjoy, I am still trying to convince the wife that the R36 is the new car for us. She can't see why I need another quick car.......

I have spoken with a dealer but waiting (he said 3months) which appears to be almost an average 5 months is too much for me so I continue to plan what next.

[Swallowtail]

OK, still working out the details, but making a lot of noise in the right (level) ears is having some brilliant results. I want an R36 now, I am not prepared to wait four months for it having already waited. I also want good sound, as the stock system is far from the quality I want.

So I am keeping this car, which apart from the missing Dynaudio is fine (they are going to look at the rough 1st gear / clutch at 1000km). They are going to pay for an equivalent quality sound system (leaving the RNS510 head unit alone) to be installed by professional installers, not by their service department.

They are also working very hard to address my other concerns. So at this stage - I am happy, subject obviously to it all panning out like it's being planned! I'll see what the next couple of days brings.

[maca]

Another Dealer, nothing to do with VW - the current car we have was filled with Petrol instead of Diesel when we went to pick it up. Lucky it wasn't driven more than 50m.

You've gotta be kidding right? That's just fooked up mate..

BTW, after 3 hours driving, the sat nav system worked out where it was. I've had them take 15 - 30 minutes before, but 3 hours!!!

Jeez I thought my 6110 Navigator took a long time.. I guess not..
Good luck!

[NeRoTiGeR]

Hi maca,

We were standing there checking the car out almost ready to drive away when the manager realises that maybe Petrol was used to fill the tank. I was not happy.

Keep us updated Swallowtail!!!

[Luminary]

To be honest I probably would have pushed them for a refund of the money + 10% ie. $2200 or so.

Money in the pocket would be worth more than all the hassles of getting an alternate system.

You could always get an alternate system later. Cash is king.

[apom]

Not a bad option Swallowtail... I would be shopping now for the system upgrade you want to ensure you dont get shafted again with what they offer. You can also ensure then that you are getting best bang for buck. Also make sure YOU choose the installer yourself to ensure the outcome

Keep us posted, I would be interested to see what you come up with and what sort of improvement it is compared to the standard System

[Swallowtail]

Option chosen... and I have picked the installer (with advice given and gratefully received). The end result will be good. Apom, happy to discuss details with you offline, but in terms of my agreement with Austral and how it's worked out I think it best to keep it offline, in the interests of fairness to Austral and the supplier / fitter between whom we have all worked out an excellent deal. Suffice to say that I am happy (or will be when it is all sorted out) and getting the cash would have been a distinctly worse option...

Also I do need to say that today Austral have been excellent in their attitude and willingness to do what it took to make me happy. As someone else said earlier - kudos to them for wanting to sort it out.