This was the sternly delivered line in a very memorable TV Advertisement from 2000, which has become a part of the everyday Aussie vernacular, and it’s a phrase used today when situations arise that deserve this annoyed reaction. 

We’ve had reason to use it again lately and frankly it’s a polite way of expressing what really pisses me off!  When it comes to car servicing I know I’m not alone in putting trust in the mechanics hands and I would figure that would be even more reliable when we are talking about a car dealership right? …Well apparently not!

Sadly this isn’t the first time we’ve had issues with dealers and the expectation that they would know best how to service the vehicle and notice particular issues, being as they are the manufacturers recommended repairers.

Our latest complaint happened when we put our Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series in for a major service, prior to us taking off for another long road trip with the caravan. I must admit I’m always a little bit sceptical that all the work listed on the service sheet has actually been undertaken, especially when it just reads like the page is copied out of the service book.

To me that’s easy enough to just print off to please the customer and really what else can we do but put our trust in the ‘experts’.  

With just a few days before we take off, and it being a weekend, it wasn’t a good time to find an oil leak on the garage floor, and when checked, the oil level in the car was only half of what it should be. After a MAJOR and EXPENSIVE service. NOT…HAPPY…JAN!

Calling the service centre, and yes I will name them, CMI Toyota at Christies Beach in SA, we did get excellent service from the poor receptionist who unfortunately has to take calls of complaint that are none of her fault.

Our main concern is that this happened on a Saturday, which meant there is only that day and Monday for the fault to be found and fixed before we’re leaving on a lengthy trip.

I know people can have bad days but that doesn’t help us if you think we could have been half way to the middle of nowhere (which can easily happen in Australia) with an oil gauge showing empty, and towing a caravan. (A big reason why you always carry oil, and belong to an auto association to have roadside assistance in emergencies)

Luckily for us there is another Toyota dealer even closer to where we live, Victor Harbor Toyota, who were able to look at our car on the Saturday morning and found a cracked plate where the new oil filter was fitted to. Problem found and reported back to us within half an hour of having the car.

I believe in praise where it’s due so well done and much appreciation to the service department at Victor Harbor Toyota, who even apologised for not having a loan car available, but I’m sorry to say that CMI Toyota at Christies Beach are not on my recommended list.

We are very disappointed that with no oil leaks before the service, it was returned to us this way which would suggest that the crack did occur while the car was in their hands and then given back to us, despite being road tested etc…

The good news is that we received a call from CMI Toyota to say that the part was there on Monday morning and would be hand delivered to Victor Harbor Toyota for them to fit and finish the job and at no charge to us. Damn right!

Lesson learnt though, in future we will be handing the car over for service well before a planned trip just in case other issues come up again, and, when our extended warranty is up with CMI Toyota, Christies Beach, so is our business.

Happy, and safe travels,

Glenys