Holden dealers

[kalmon]

Just a note to say how unsatisfied with Holden dealers I am. After buying a 6.0 Thunder crewman in July this year from a dealer, I had a discussion with the sales man when purchasing telling him that I both towed a heavy trailer and also a heavy boat. Both weighing up to 1800 kg. I specifically asked if this vehicle would tow both of these which he reassured me it would. After getting stuck on the boat ramp as my car could not spin wheels or move, both after dropping clutch and releasing slowly and having to be towed up the hill. Back to dealer on Monday to be told boat and trailer to heavy although tow rating 2500kg. And that these engines are not good for towing and they were not surprised. Have since had steering column replaced due to excessive movement. Spacer installed into driveshaft to relieve whine (unsuccessful). Power steering hose replaced due to shudder. Then today went in to have door handles replaced only to find when I got the car home and had a look, they were a different colour blue to the car ( yet installer didnt notice nor did the guy that drove the car out to me) untill I rushed in at 5pm and they agreed the wrong colour was installed and did not know how it happeened. Dissatisfied holden customer..

[Jac001]

Is this all from one dealer, or muliple holden dealers?

[kalmon]

The one dealer, which I bought the car from.

[planetdavo]

Here we go again.....
Dealer sounds like they have tried to fix warranty issues, re the column and P/S hose. That hose issue is well known, and has come up a thousand times on this very forum. Same with diff noise/whine. Both are an ongoing problem that Holden have been trying to permanently fix.
The panel shop that actually paint the handles obviously buggered the colour. Dealer has agreed there is an issue. That's what warranty is for.
As for the towing, you have a kit that is designed for 2500kg, but is attached to a 1900 odd kg ute on commercial spec (hard) tyres on a damp sloping ramp with an 1800kg load.....Hmmmmmm.
As for them not being surprised that these engines are "no good for towing"...WHAT THA...? I smell personal opinion. The L76 is proving reliable, and has very good low torque (good for towing), so what's the actual issue?
I'll probably get accused as usual of being pro-dealer (as I work at one) by the usual suspects, but from what you say about warranty, the dealer has been quite sincere in their efforts to cure issues to your satisfaction (barring heavy towing of course).
I hope you find your vehicle enjoyable in due course.

[exwrx]

Planet Davo, I hereby accuse you of being pro-dealer:lmao:

Does the term 'fit for purpose' mean anything?;)

As for the warranty issues, the point being made is that the dealer should have ensured the car was right before handing it back to the customer. Acknowledging guilt does not exculpate the dealer from the allegation of incompetence.

[kalmon]

I guess I should really have had specified more disapointment with holden themselves than with the dealer, but at the end of the day the dealer is the face of holden isnt it. I cannot go to holden and complain about these issues. The dealer is my holden rep and should be eagerley informing holden of these problems. The car when towing out of the water did not have enough torque down low to spin wheels, just lost power and began to stall. If it had smoked the wheels up and not moved, I would have been more impressed. When buying a car for 45000 why should we have to get ls edits or change diff ratios to get a commercial vehicle to do what its bought for..

[dracer]

Here we go again.....
Dealer sounds like they have tried to fix warranty issues, re the column and P/S hose. That hose issue is well known, and has come up a thousand times on this very forum. Same with diff noise/whine. Both are an ongoing problem that Holden have been trying to permanently fix.
The panel shop that actually paint the handles obviously buggered the colour. Dealer has agreed there is an issue. That's what warranty is for.
As for the towing, you have a kit that is designed for 2500kg, but is attached to a 1900 odd kg ute on commercial spec (hard) tyres on a damp sloping ramp with an 1800kg load.....Hmmmmmm.
As for them not being surprised that these engines are "no good for towing"...WHAT THA...? I smell personal opinion. The L76 is proving reliable, and has very good low torque (good for towing), so what's the actual issue?
I'll probably get accused as usual of being pro-dealer (as I work at one) by the usual suspects, but from what you say about warranty, the dealer has been quite sincere in their efforts to cure issues to your satisfaction (barring heavy towing of course).
I hope you find your vehicle enjoyable in due course.


as far as im concerned kalmon is correct and totally justified!!!!
deals done give a hoot anymore, you say blah blah blah the poor dealer. ok il send u some bills i have from bloody incompitant dealers and there service crews. morons totall morons!
i ask are they ALL first year apprentices, i charge in my business, i get the job fixed first time.

my crewman im driving is an absolute bucket of $HIT, my two local dealers are worse and the bloody thing wouldnt pull a candle out of a dogs ass!!!!!!!!!!!

i love holdens, but every year im becoming more and more frustrated!

our work XR8 has more grunt and far less problems! SIMPLE

[exploder]

so what's the actual issue?
I'll probably get accused as usual of being pro-dealer

Planetdavo this guy might actually have a case against the salesman, not the service department.


both after dropping clutch and releasing slowly

Kalmon this quote would indicate you bought a manual, with a tow capacity of 1600Kgs. Thats all read the specs, 2500 is only for the auto v8....

As for tow ability my wagon, auto of course, deals with those sorts of weights with a horse float quite easily.

[Vulture]

my crewman im driving is an absolute bucket of $HIT, my two local dealers are worse and the bloody thing wouldnt pull a candle out of a dogs ass!!!!!!!!!!!

Who put the candle in the dog's arse? :eek:
And, more importantly, why?

[pemier]

as already stated the manual is only rated to 1600kgs, I have the auto and it pulls a 2100kg boat out of any boat ramp.

[kalmon]

When speaking to the salesman I asked if the manual was a different tow rating in which he told me there wasnt..

[Vulture]

When speaking to the salesman I asked if the manual was a different tow rating in which he told me there wasnt..

Sadly there are few car salespeople who actually know what they are talking about.

[OzJavelin]

If the towbar was factory fitted, it should have a placard which states the max capacity .. and as others have indicated, for a manual I'd suspect that it's only actually 1600kg. If you verbally asked the dealer and they told you there was no difference, then I don't know how you stand? Even my VY1 SV8 auto has a 2100kg hitch and the engine/trans "has the capability" to tow so much weight that it's scary .. enough to probably seriously stuff the rest of the car. I have to constantly stop my wife loading up a horsefloat full of hay and towing it with the SV8 ( I make her use the Ford ute instead :) )

I don't know what you are towing, but it must be BIG ..

[kalmon]

As I told salesman I needed to tow, I checked rating on tow bar and it says 2500kg, showing he has put heavy duty tow bar on a car that is obviously unable to pull this weight (23' Malibu wakesetter boat)

[HSVMAN]

As I told salesman I needed to tow, I checked rating on tow bar and it says 2500kg, showing he has put heavy duty tow bar on a car that is obviously unable to pull this weight (23' Malibu wakesetter boat)

Kalmon,
I work in fleet sales for a large Holden dealer. The idiot who sold you a manual for towing "heavy loads" should be shot. Your clutch is probably not too good now (wheels not moving after dropping clutch) but needless to say if you bought it for that purpose it is not suited.
If it were auto you could pull your boat plus someone elses AND a candle out of the dogs arse


N.B If I tried putting a candle in my dog's arse he would take my arm off and I dont blame him

[GEN III]

Hire a solicitor.


The reason I say hire a solicitor is after you drive that car off the lot, your there bitch. I fully sympathize with you, I have been screwed by a salesmen from when I was picking my vehicle fresh off the lot ("the oh yeah the service guys will take care of that"), to like many other ls1 forum members the dreaded holden service department.

If you can provide any evidence at all that you where mislead you have a strong case. If you want to spend the $$$ to fight it that is.



Alternatively you could always contact Today Tonight or ACA, they are allways trying to milk something for ratings, or just suck it up.

[SSBarney]

Isnt it the case that this car is totally capable of pulling the boat out of the water, just that the anti abuse is stopping him from spinning the wheels.
So the solution being an edit.

Yeh we shouldnt have to get the car tuned to use it for its bought purpose, but Holden obviously thought they get enough warranty claims as it is.

[Hados]

Did you happen to read the brochure re- towing? It clearly states- Towing capacity is 1600kg for all Ute models, as well as V6 manual and V8 manual Crewman models. 2500kg for V8 automatic Crewman models.

After all, You'd think that if you were going to spend $45000 on a ute, you wouldn't take EVERY word that the salesman has said as gospel.

[cashie]

When speaking to the salesman I asked if the manual was a different tow rating in which he told me there wasnt..

The manual has a 1600kg tow capacity as stated here: http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/techdata?modelid=23002

If the salesman made that claim he was wrong. I always research a new car myself and treat what the dealer tells me with a pinch of salt... I have generally found new car salesmen to be poorly informed and to have limited knowledge of the product they sell.

[JNP304]

I think the bottom line is that it`s a joke that too many salesman dont know the product. I test drove a VE SSV a few weeks back and asked what a button on the dash was. He didnt know. turned out it was to change the mode of the auto. Sales people should know the products inside out.
Is it lack of interest in the product they are selling? Or they just dont give a rats? In the end the consumer loses as in this case.

[HSVMAN]

I think the bottom line is that it`s a joke that too many salesman dont know the product. I test drove a VE SSV a few weeks back and asked what a button on the dash was. He didnt know. turned out it was to change the mode of the auto. Sales people should know the products inside out.
Is it lack of interest in the product they are selling? Or they just dont give a rats? In the end the consumer loses as in this case.


Sadly the apathetic attitude by Holden drifts down to some dealers who dont even send their sales staff to training. Its true :hmmm:

[loudvtss]

I think it comes down to the sales people telling you what you want to hear in order to sell you the car. Prior to purchasing my last car I took it for a test drive and noticed a problem. The salesman told me it would be fixed by doing so and so.... Funny enough it hasn't been fixed. They refuse to fix it because now they tee me it's a normal behaviour.

I have now lodged a complaint with Consumer Affairs.

[kalmon]

My previouly owned and traded for the crewman, a 2002 F250 in which auto or manual made no difference to towing. I wanted to go to a car rather than 4wd and with my towing needs, at first glance the crewman matched these needs. You shouldnt have to get a laywer to check over specs against a salemans word. Nor should a vehicle be restricted to reassure warranty worries.

[C4B]

My previouly owned and traded for the crewman, a 2002 F250 in which auto or manual made no difference to towing. I wanted to go to a car rather than 4wd and with my towing needs, at first glance the crewman matched these needs. You shouldnt have to get a laywer to check over specs against a salemans word. Nor should a vehicle be restricted to reassure warranty worries.

It doesn't take a lawyer to read the specs on a brochure.....

Cmon people, if you're buying a car with a very specific requirement (the ability to tow "X"), surely you'd do a bit of research into whether the vehicle could do it.

Don't give me this "I asked the salesman" spiel, because everybody knows that 50% of salesmen don't know their product (and the other 50% just speak shit).

[Ako]

It doesn't take a lawyer to read the specs on a brochure.....

Cmon people, if you're buying a car with a very specific requirement (the ability to tow "X"), surely you'd do a bit of research into whether the vehicle could do it.

Don't give me this "I asked the salesman" spiel, because everybody knows that 50% of salesmen don't know their product (and the other 50% just speak shit).

Totally agree. When buying a car I spent weeks reading up reviews on the net, requesting brochures will full specifications on them, and talking to people who have one. To simply walk into the dealer and buy one based on what the salesman say is asking for trouble.


bloody thing wouldnt pull a candle out of a dogs ass!!!!!!!!!!!


:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: *Laughing sooo hard*

[Frenchy VX SS]

In all due respect tho, why should this guy have to do weeks of research on the net to find out info that should be provided by a dealership or salesperson.
The problem is that because salespeople are known to be " dumb and full of shit" no body does anything to fix or train these people accordingly.
If 'jim' goes into a dealership with specific requirements as to a vehicle he wants, then he/she should be given the CORRECT information as to what the vehicle is capable of. Not what he/she thinks it does and then finds out later he /she was way off.

It ****s me off that salespeople arent held responsible for making stuff ups and providing false information. Most other places would get stuffed over for doing such things or you could get a refund/return... but for some reason its known to be "normal" for car dealerships to do it.

I feel for ya mate, and hope all gets sorted out.

[kalmon]

We all know that in the end no matter who is right or wrong, I am the one who is going to have to fork out another 3 - 4 grand to give this vehicle ( which I like the look of and enjoy driving when moving) the ability to take off like a 6L should, not be taken off the line by magna's and be able to perform like a commercial vehicle not a sedan which I didnt buy... Thanks for support

[ssgirl2]

In all due respect tho, why should this guy have to do weeks of research on the net to find out info that should be provided by a dealership or salesperson.
The problem is that because salespeople are known to be " dumb and full of shit" no body does anything to fix or train these people accordingly.
If 'jim' goes into a dealership with specific requirements as to a vehicle he wants, then he/she should be given the CORRECT information as to what the vehicle is capable of. Not what he/she thinks it does and then finds out later he /she was way off.

It ****s me off that salespeople arent held responsible for making stuff ups and providing false information. Most other places would get stuffed over for doing such things or you could get a refund/return... but for some reason its known to be "normal" for car dealerships to do it.

I feel for ya mate, and hope all gets sorted out.


x 2 :werd:

[SSBarney]

In all due respect tho, why should this guy have to do weeks of research on the net to find out info that should be provided by a dealership or salesperson.
The problem is that because salespeople are known to be " dumb and full of shit" no body does anything to fix or train these people accordingly.
If 'jim' goes into a dealership with specific requirements as to a vehicle he wants, then he/she should be given the CORRECT information as to what the vehicle is capable of. Not what he/she thinks it does and then finds out later he /she was way off.

It ****s me off that salespeople arent held responsible for making stuff ups and providing false information. Most other places would get stuffed over for doing such things or you could get a refund/return... but for some reason its known to be "normal" for car dealerships to do it.

I feel for ya mate, and hope all gets sorted out.

Sales people every where BS you. Do u beleive the phone salesman that comes to ur door??
Salespeople that have commission motivation will do what ever and say what ever to get the sale, past that they dont care. It doesnt matter if its cars or hot dogs.
If you ask a specific question of a sales person that is a deciding factor in your purchase, write it down next to your signature when your purchase it, then you might have some full back (thats with cars, too bad with the hot dog)

[Frenchy VX SS]

Sales people every where BS you. Do u beleive the phone salesman that comes to ur door??
Salespeople that have commission motivation will do what ever and say what ever to get the sale, past that they dont care. It doesnt matter if its cars or hot dogs.
If you ask a specific question of a sales person that is a deciding factor in your purchase, write it down next to your signature when your purchase it, then you might have some full back (thats with cars, too bad with the hot dog)

Yeah thats definately correct. But at the end of the day, there should be something that can keep the honest purchasers free from being 'mislead' into buying a certain product. Its just too common now-a-days for people to be misinformed and when they return to the salesperson be told " oh, sorry mate, didnt quite know that. My bad. Oh well, good luck! "

[GEN III]

remove please......