Wippells Reviews 4

Waited several weeks to order the parts from Germany to repair a Warranty item. Finally, after parts arrived, waiting over 1 month for a service booking date which was yesterday. I travelled 1 hr 18 min to be on time for 9:30 am- 1:30pm booking. I was told the booking would take 4 hours to replace the steering wheel assembly, but they would do their best to have it ready earlier, as I lived 100 kms from the City. When I returned early by 40 minutes the service was still not done, the car did not move where I parked it. Then then lies, started, it is not 1:30. I asked to speak to the service manager and he was abusive and intimidating, he told me If did not like the way I was treated by him or the service department was treating me, I could just take the company car - an expensive VW Tiguan Diesel to some other dealer. The nearest dealer from Wippels is some 250 KMs away. When I returned to the service desk, they said the Tiguan was repaired in less than 30 minutes, looked at my watch it was 1;30pm. They asked me if I wanted a hard copy of the VW Warranty repair receipt, I said yes, The service rep told me I would have to wait, it would take 20 minutes to type one up. Reported to VW Complaint line today 24th Feb ,

Poor Warranty Support – Safety Concern Ignored
We have been loyal Wippells customers for over 20 years, regularly purchasing new vehicles and having them log booked serviced there. I currently own my 4th Mazda CX-9. So after a devastating start to our son’s life, over 35 operations and numerous more hospitalizations and then a type 1 diabetes diagnosis, we decide to spoil ourselves a little with this purchase and buy the GT-SP, I have always admired the chrome trim, 20” wheels and other extras on this model. In one of my previous CX-9s we had the seat base collapsing under warranty and as expected Wippells replaced the seat. Earlier this year we noticed a similar situation occurring to our GT-SP as it was getting close to its 2 year service interval. I took the vehicle to Wippells to have the driver’s seat assessed under warranty. The seat is clearly collapsing and becoming uncomfortable and unsafe to use and has continued to rapidly deteriorate with a hard protrusion near the seat surface. Despite being informed by the service department that this is a known issue in some models especially with leather seats, I was told the damage was normal.

The damage is not from spills, burns, abuse, aftermarket modifications, or excessive weight beyond the seat’s design rating. The real issue appears to be a sharp metal edge in the seat frame/cushion adjuster mechanism and materials that are causing premature wear to the seat padding. This looks like a manufacturing/design flaw — not something caused by misuse, or in this case - I was told that if it was Maztex or cloth, it may not be occurring as the leather is more rigid.

The seat has continued to deteriorate and after multiple attempts of contacting Wippells with no reply after indicating sections of Australian Consumer Law relating to consumer guarantees, materials and workmanship, quality (especially given that this was a high end model) I finally received a reply email stating that it has been caused by “external factors” and the warranty would not cover it. No specific “external factors” were mentioned.

An information search of new car warranties in Australia states under what is “Covered: Foam breakdown, seat base collapse, or structure issues not caused by misuse or excessive wear, especially if it’s clearly a fault in materials or design.”

I’m extremely disappointed with the lack of support and refusal to acknowledge a possible safety issue. What was meant to be our most luxurious and enjoyable Mazda to own has turned into a disappointment. We just want Wippells to meet the level of customer service that is required and as they had previously done in the past few decades. I expected more accountability and care from both Wippells and Mazda.

Disgusted. Rang to book in an Audit Q5 for service and transmission fault. Spoken to abruptly by the service receptionist to then be told they are not taking on any new jobs as they are "backed up" with warranty work. Clearly don't need my business! Have been a long time customer of Wippells and bought a number of cars from them, will not be back.

There is evidence to support the events detailed in this review.

We purchased a Skoda Yeti (7sp DSG) from Wippells in 2015. Soon after it began randomly losing drive when accelerating through a right hand turn. I told Wippells about it at its first service; nothing was found. Each time it lost drive after that it would usually end up there while they interrogated the computer for any faults; none were ever there.

After escalation to Volkswagen Group Australia the mechatronics unit was replaced. After this it still randomly lost drive in a right hand turn but also began shuddering in first gear and randomly losing drive at low speed with no warning. Back again and again to Wippells until the gearbox and ABS module were changed.

The brakes were not bled properly having to go back several times for re-bleeding. They had previously been firm but are now spongy and often “grab” at low speed. The Yeti still randomly loses drive through a right hand turn, randomly loses drive at low speed, shudders in first gear, but now has variable delayed throttle response.

I told VGA that these safety hazards were unacceptable estimating that it had spent more than 3 months off the road. They said everything that was happening is normal. These hazards are deliberately engineered into the design and that this affects all DSG vehicles. As our Yeti is apparently operating within manufacturers specifications have refused to discuss it further.

I sent Wippells Dealer Principal a letter asking for a replacement or refund (Consumer Law) citing the safety hazards. He refused stating that there was nothing wrong with our car. With Wippells refusing to comply with Consumer Law I affixed a safety label to the Yeti warning other road users to remain clear at low speed.

The Yeti went to Wippells for a service late last year and the General Manager had the rear “Wippells Autos Skoda” number plate surround removed without my knowledge or permission. I later spoke to the General Manager who refused to return it; claiming it belonged to him. During our meeting he showed no concern for the safety hazards that the Yeti presents; his only concern seemed to be for his business. Even when the Toowoomba police contacted him and told him that it belonged to me, he refused to return it.

The matter of the number plate surround has now been to court and found in favour of us. Wippells General Manager Mr Brett Buckley stated that I had failed to advise the court that I had involved the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) and that they had found that Wippells had no case to answer. He also stated that our vehicle wasn’t doing what I said it was. I then presented evidence form OFT demonstrating that Wippells were in breach of Consumer Law and evidence from Jana Hleis of VGA stating that our car was doing what we said it was and that these operations were by design. We won and eventually received a few dollars plus court costs from Wippells.

So what is the problem? The buying experience is awesome, our salesman was warm, friendly and knowledgeable about the vehicle. The issue is when something goes wrong with your new pride and joy. Each time I returned with a problem they did the same thing and got the same lack of results. When, after approximately 2 years of issues, they were approached with a request to comply with Consumer Law they refused to do so and went as far as removing our property from the vehicle to try to reduce negative impact on their business from my safety sign.

Is it an issue of systemic poor culture at Wippells Senior Management? The Dealer Principal and General Manager are aware of the hazards that the vehicle regularly presents during normal operation. They are aware that VGA has stated that this is by design and yet they still continue to sell DSG equipped vehicles with the knowledge that VW have deliberately engineered this hazardous operation into the design. Is it simply a case of valuing market domination and profit over safety and customer satisfaction?