I have a split intercooler pipe on my 2011 stx 450, rang dealer last week to get them to order one under warranty and make an appointment to get it replaced. Ute was taken in today for that to happen but no pipe had been ordered. Now that really pisses me off as we live out of town and use ute for work which is also out of town. So now have to go back in on Friday to have something replaced that takes about 2 minutes to change because of their incompetent staff that cant do as they are asked and order bloody parts.
Useless Nissan Dealers
- Thread starter bjhills
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I have a split intercooler pipe on my 2011 stx 450, rang dealer last week to get them to order one under warranty and make an appointment to get it replaced. Ute was taken in today for that to happen but no pipe had been ordered. Now that really pisses me off as we live out of town and use ute for work which is also out of town. So now have to go back in on Friday to have something replaced that takes about 2 minutes to change because of their incompetent staff that cant do as they are asked and order bloody parts.
I feel your pain, but knowing a little more how it works might help.
The dealer doesn't pay for the repairs. Ultimately, Nissan pay for it. They will do that if the dealer determines that it's a fault in the vehicle or its components (and not just wear and tear or damage). That makes perfect sense. Further, below a certain $ limit, the dealer can do the work and bill Nissan, but above that limit, Nissan have to approve the work.
In order to make that decision - on whether or not the item is actually faulty, and it is actually NOT from wear and tear, Nissan require the dealer to inspect and determine the fault and how to resolve it.
It is absolutely reasonable for you to think that you can diagnose a problem and then just tell them that you need this particular part. Many of us here feel the same (and sometimes we can diagnose **** from the description offered here, when the dealers can't while they're looking at it).
But there's a process, and it must be followed. It's going to inconvenience people sometime and I'm sure the dealer is sympathetic but at the end of the day, they aren't being paid unless they follow the rules laid out for them by Nissan. Nissan aren't going to change the game because for the majority of customers, this is the way that works best.
The dealer doesn't pay for the repairs. Ultimately, Nissan pay for it. They will do that if the dealer determines that it's a fault in the vehicle or its components (and not just wear and tear or damage). That makes perfect sense. Further, below a certain $ limit, the dealer can do the work and bill Nissan, but above that limit, Nissan have to approve the work.
In order to make that decision - on whether or not the item is actually faulty, and it is actually NOT from wear and tear, Nissan require the dealer to inspect and determine the fault and how to resolve it.
It is absolutely reasonable for you to think that you can diagnose a problem and then just tell them that you need this particular part. Many of us here feel the same (and sometimes we can diagnose **** from the description offered here, when the dealers can't while they're looking at it).
But there's a process, and it must be followed. It's going to inconvenience people sometime and I'm sure the dealer is sympathetic but at the end of the day, they aren't being paid unless they follow the rules laid out for them by Nissan. Nissan aren't going to change the game because for the majority of customers, this is the way that works best.
Geoff3DMN
Member
I understand what Nissans 'process' is, my beef is that their process is broken!
I live in the country, my dealer is 120kms from me and I use my ute for work and I have to take the train 1 way when I drop it off or pick it up.
Last warranty fault (a heater fan issue for which they knew the cause when I rang up) I still had to take the vehicle in to be inspected (1 day off work).
Then they book the ute in to be repaired, I arrive only to be told that the part hadn't arrived and that Nissan Australia couldn't give an arrival time (2nd day off work).
Then a couple of weeks later I drive it down the 120kms, drop it off (3rd day off work) and ask how long (late in that day so I say I'll pick it up tommorow) off I go and I get on the train.
Then less than 1 hour later I get a phone call saying "your ute is ready" ... really? You can't do better estimates than the difference between 8 hours and less than 1?
This might be mildly annoying if one lives in a city or town where there's a dealer but it's a right pain in the neck for me. At this rate the extra $6000 a Colarado would have cost me will be chewed up before I'm out of warranty.
So yeah I'm annoyed with their broken process!
4 naving
Member
I agree the process sucks.. They know what breaks so cant they stock some parts in australia... having to wait 2 /3 weeks for a slow boat from spain or thiland is rediculous. How about some old fasiond service a little bit of factual communication and train and employ people who know what they are on about on the counter instead of some peach faced man hating woman who thinks your ute is as usless as a wheel barrow.......
I understand the process but to have 2 service appointments that both only take 5 mins is a major hassle for people who dont work/live in town near dealer. As a farm machinery service person(and they know this) you would think that they would take my word for what is wrong. Im sure they can send the parts back if I might get it wrong. There is such thing as being prepared to keep customers happy.
scooba_285
Member
you dont understand how shipping container boats with 8000+ containers on them work do you?
Geoff3DMN
Member
Your comment is only accurate because Nissan refuse to keep adequate spare parts actually IN Australia.
If they did then an unused part could be sent back (at a reasonable restock fee) to the Australian warehouse.
That's how car makers used to support models they sold in Australia but things have gone down hill since then!
K
KraftyPg
Guest
If it was only Nissan that did such things that would be fair enough but all manufacturers run out of stock at some point and it's not always a simple case of getting stock delivered just because 1 customer needs something.
d22dave
Member
New radiator hose for the benz truck, Yep there,s 1 in singapore we can have it here next week
K
KraftyPg
Guest
Go to Hardley Normal and try to get any part in an electrical item replaced under warranty, if you get it back in 6 weeks you should buy a lotto ticket.
Geoff3DMN
Member
Go to an Apple store and they fix lots of things as you wait, if not less than a week for major repairs (a real Apple store not a reseller).
That's how things should be done!
That's how things should be done!
joshman
Member
Geoff3DMN said:
I'm a big fan of Apples customer relations ethos. They want very one to have a working copy of their product. That's why Apple stuff is more expensive, it's designed from the ground up to be user friendly and put simply "just work"
Geoff3DMN
Member
I'm comparing a $10,000 graphical editing Mac Pro computer with a $29,999 car.
They do replace the iPhones but they repair the computers (whether it's a low end MacBook Air or a high end Mac Pro).
The thing is... when a car broke in the 60's, 70's or 80's you went to your dealer and either they had the parts or they ordered them in from the local capital city because the car manufacturer regarded it as part of their job to keep adequate local parts.
These days you're correct we do wait, but that's not a good thing, it's nothing other than cost cutting and it's not required.
A couple of thousand dollars added to the cost of each ute translated into keeping stocks locally of the most commonly used parts and the situation would be a whole lot better *and yeah I'd pay money for that*.
In fact I'd pay money for a 'gold' level standard of service (on a per year basis).
I pay extra now for a higher level of service backup on the Dell servers at work (costs extra but get faster 7 day a week service).
I realize this sort of stuff costs money but they aren't even giving us an option, instead we're getting bottom of the line service that wouldn't be acceptable in most industries.
If you really want to blame someone for a lack of stock blame the tax laws. Value of stock on-hand effects the amount of tax a business has to pay. It is a balancing act between customer service and cost. As an Apple service technician (we also do Dell by the way) I am amazed at the level of customer service they pride them selves on, they obviously have margin factored into their cost structure to cover it but it beats the other companies hands down.
K
KraftyPg
Guest
Well instead of paying for gold level service take matters in to your own hands and spend that kind of money on buying a stock of spare parts yourself, storing them and then looking at them every day wondering if you've wasted your money or if they will get used.
At the end of the day dealerships are business just like any other business and spare parts can and will run out but they also have to remain profitable and profitable may not be keeping every spare part on the shelf. Suggesting the only keep commonly used parts on the shelf to keep costs down is also not very smart given that limits in production, snags in delivery or a million other factors could easily see products commonly used run out of stock at any location.
Maybe in the 60's when cars where either made here or assembled here there was more chance of having stock but even in the olden days stock ran out. These days with each dealership making so many different models of cars and many dealerships being multi-brand dealerships keeping stock of spare parts for every make and model is already a nightmare, keeping stock because they might use one of a particular item every 12 months is not only costly but becomes a logistical nightmare as they still need to store it.
At the end of the day dealerships are business just like any other business and spare parts can and will run out but they also have to remain profitable and profitable may not be keeping every spare part on the shelf. Suggesting the only keep commonly used parts on the shelf to keep costs down is also not very smart given that limits in production, snags in delivery or a million other factors could easily see products commonly used run out of stock at any location.
Maybe in the 60's when cars where either made here or assembled here there was more chance of having stock but even in the olden days stock ran out. These days with each dealership making so many different models of cars and many dealerships being multi-brand dealerships keeping stock of spare parts for every make and model is already a nightmare, keeping stock because they might use one of a particular item every 12 months is not only costly but becomes a logistical nightmare as they still need to store it.
