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We purchased a car from Westco Cairns Pty Ltd in July this year. While we love our new car we have been thoroughly disgusted with the ongoing service that we have received from both the sales and service departments.
We take this opportunity to warn all future customers to find another dealer. If this is unavoidable, be exceedingly cautious in your dealing with Westco, whether with sales or service. We have found both departments to be uninterested in anything resembling customer service, and certainly not worried about their reputation or that of Nissan’s.
Unfortunately we found that Nissan Customer Service was as unhelpful as Westco themselves. I can only guess that they have had prior complaints regarding the dealership, as the first response when we contacted them was that a new Manager had just been appointed and it would take time for things to happen. This response was just not good enough. For a company to accept of this level of performance by a representative of their brand is unthinkable. We have owned two Nissans prior to this and really liked both. Now I find myself very hesitant to consider purchasing another ever again.
The problem arose when we booked our new car for its first service to comply with the used car warranty. Expecting a basic service to be carried out (we had only driven about 5000kms) we were very surprised to be told that we needed new brakes, and they needed to be replaced there and then. Having only driven from Cairns across to Darwin, which is all open road driving we knew there was no way we had worn the brakes away that much in the time we owned the car. We were also informed that we had two outstanding recalls on our car, which was the first we knew about it.
We contacted Westco and expressed our amazement and disappointment that we were never told about the condition of the brakes, or the need to have the two outstanding recalls attended to. The sales department said it was not their problem and referred us to the service department. The service department said the car had passed the rego check they had conducted and it was not their problem.
Unfortunately the Servicing Mechanic was unable to give a straight answer on whether the brakes would have been legal when the car was serviced, given the fact that he knew we had purchased the car from a Nissan Dealer, However they did agree that it was unlikely we could have gone through the brakes to that extent given the driving we had done. Following more phone calls Westco agreed to cover the expense of the brakes, however two months on we have yet to receive payment.
As neither of us are mechanical people, and reply on trained professionals to advise us on the condition of our vehicle, we can only wonder if the initial Registration Check was legal. It also makes us wonder if we had owned the car and had Westco perform the mechanical check would they have put the new brake pads on when they stood to make money off it, rather than costing them?
According to the latest phone call the cheque is to be mailed today. We can only wait with bated breath to see if it ever arrives.
David & Erain
Darwin
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I also have had so many problems with Westco - stay away from them PLEASE save yourself the pain
You people must be as arrogant as you are stupid. The brakes would have been within the legal requirments when presented for its rego inspection as there is a minimum requirement for them to pass. Yes, your car has driven 5000km since purchase and who is to say what kind of driving you as the new owners of the vehicle have put the poor thing through. Given that Cairns is in an area with greatly changing terrain and topography it may be no wonder you may have required a brake replacement. Beside that, the vehicle would have then been outside of the statutory warranty period and would have been the sole responsibility of the owners, "you"... If you had such high expectations of the condition of the vehicle, perhaps an independant assessment of the vehicle prior to purchase could have allayed any future disappointments. The other thing you don't mention is how many k's the vehicle had clocked at the time of your purchase, whether you were towing a big [censor] van along the way or any of the other driving conditions you have been through. Brakes are a wear and tear item and guess what, need replacing periodically dependant on any number of combined factors. I suppose you did say that you were not mechanically minded and that may have been your downfall for not seeking another opinion before the purchase of the vehicle. As far as the recalls are concerned, just feel lucky that they were picked up on and done, and not even at your expense, as most other dealers probably would not have even looked twice for them.
This is a disgusting response from a representing person from the company. Seems the standard as I have experienced. I will be sure to add my complaint in a seperate complaint. But it appears the do as little as possible approach is the norm. Such a shame, people in the future should just go straight to the ombudsman. I know I will be.
Westco Motors are a disgrace. I attended 8 July 2010 for a 80000 km service on my 2006 Mazda Bravo. A hodgepodge of errors ensued. Detectable suspension damage was overlooked despite requests for careful checking. This resulted in my vehicle breaking down in an isolated area. Tappet and valve clearances were incorrectly adjusted resulting in later rectification expenses. Over adjustment of the handbrake caused excessive fuel use and also required subsequent repair. At one point I was left seated at a desk while the Westco staff member opposite sat mutely looking at a computer screen for 21 minutes. Yes, no greeting, advice, or explanation for 21 minutes. Requests for an additional filter change, radiator rodding, and replacement of screws securing a water tank (notwithstanding the fact I was willing to pay) were declined as they evidently did not accord with Westco service criteria. Errors by Westco have cost me $630 in rectification. To add insult to injury, I was also incorrectly charged for an additional hour of labour.
On October 21, following a complaint to Mazda, I received a call from a Westco staff member - someone called “Rob”. The call was so brief I cannot recall the full name of this party. Other than a brief introduction and something along the lines of goodbye, the sum total of the conversation was, as I recall:
Rob:
“ … I’ve been told my Mazda that I have to contact you. I don’t know what can be done, but there’s nothing I can do. Mazda told me to phone, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Me:
“So, is that it?”
Rob:
“Yeah, pretty well - Mazda asked me to phone, and I don’t really know what you want me to do.”
This sort of response and indeed my whole scenario would surely make a useful staff training guide on what not to do in assisting and communicating with Mazda customers.
I had hoped the lack of courtesy and stuff-ups I experienced on July 8 were a one-off; however the terse, disinterested, and thoroughly churlish response I received from Westco management (?) on October 21 suggests a rather more endemic situation.
although i have had problems with buying a brand new mazda 2 and only doing 1, 500ks in it, to end up having problems with it to the exstent that i had to have the whole trasmission replaced, yes, a brand new car needing a brand new tranny after only 1, 500ks. i do have to say westco did take good care of me, with a loan car till it was fixed and they even droped off the loan car at my home. the tranny was of course under warrenty and cost me nothing. i found westco o.k to deal with in cairns. they were busy at times and i did have to wait for customer service, but hey where i work is busy too and i know sometimes you just have have patience as a virtue.
I purchased a new Nissan from Westco in 2010. I have been back for the 6 services since new.
they are so slow with their services, taking the car for 6 hours to do a 1 hour service.
The last service 9Jan 2013) was $282 and I paid for things that were not done. parts of the vehicle were left hanging down nearly touching the road.
I rang and supplied photos by email, but after 1 week still had no reply or offer to rectify the problems.
STAY AWAY FROM WESTCO.
Do not go there !
We have payed 130 dollars to let them see what was wrong with our van. Then they orderd parts witch would be there in two days. After one week we called them and they couldnt tell when the parts would arrive. Next call: parts should come from Japan? We are three weeks further and they havent give us a call! We have been to another mechanic and he said that the parts that they have ordered are not even for or problem at all! Well thanks for nothing west ###!
I am a Female, I bought a brand new VW Golf Comfortline in June 2015 at Wesco Cairns. I took it for it's first service. Wesco swapped my car for a earlier model golf.
And it wasn't even two years old. I now have a basic car. I even had to pay for a service I never got.