Our heart went out to a reader called Luke who brought his overheating Opel Astra into the main dealership in Silver Springs in Cork.
By the time he wrote to us last week he had been five full months without his wheels.
His saga started in late August when he noticed his car was too hot and the good news was the problem was “quickly identified, and a replacement part was ordered”.
That, sadly, is where the good news ends.
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“I understand that logistical delays can occur [but] this time frame seems extraordinarily long for a main dealer,” Luke writes. “My attempts to receive updates or resolution have been extremely frustrating and disappointing.”
He says that, on multiple occasions, “both in writing and over the phone, I requested updates on the part’s arrival but received only one callback in all this time”.
When he asked for additional contact information for someone who could provide clarity or make decisions, his request was, he says, ignored.
He “also formally requested Opel’s complaints procedure and contact details for Opel’s customer services in Germany, but again, I received no response”.
He says he did not for a second expect Opel “to stand over the car from a warranty perspective, as I did not purchase the vehicle from them. However, I brought my car to a main Opel dealer with the reasonable expectation of professional service, timely repairs, and honest communication. Unfortunately, my experience has fallen far short of these expectations”.
He also points out that no courtesy car was ever offered and his request for a complimentary service, “given that the car has been unused for five months, was dismissed outright. I do not think this was an unreasonable request given the extraordinary delays”.
In late November when he went to retrieve personal items from his car he was told “it was no longer on-site and had been moved. I was not informed of this in advance. Despite being assured I would be brought to the lock-up within 10 minutes, I waited over 30 minutes before having to leave for a prior appointment. Each time I manage to get through to someone, I am told the car will be ready in two weeks. At one point, I was told the part was delayed in Holyhead due to an incident, but there has been no consistent accountability or follow-up”.
His mail concludes with a plea for “any advice or assistance you can provide on this matter as I feel I have exhausted all other options”.
Well, all we could do was contact Opel which is what we did.
A spokeswoman said that the company “fully appreciate [Luke’s] frustration with this very difficult situation. We fully regret the lengthy delay in delivery of the part [he] desperately requires and we fully apologise if communication was neither timely nor satisfactory”.
She said that “as a private importer in Ireland, we pride ourselves on a strong parts supply chain and have invested very heavily in warehousing and logistics in Ireland to ensure we deliver a first-class, customer-focused service to dealers nationwide. We work closely with our manufacturer and supplier partners to maintain this parts supply, and while parts delivery delays can happen, they are not typical or the norm”.
She said she had been told that the part required by Luke is “unique, and we have very unfortunately recently faced an acute shortage of this particular part from our manufacturer. As such, this specific shortage has resulted in an unexpected and aggravated delay, exacerbated further by well-documented disruption to deliveries via the UK”.
She said that when a part is on back-order, it can be “extremely difficult to provide specific delivery time frames to dealers and customers”.
She added that she had been assured that Luke’s case “was escalated to the highest leve, both internally and at manufacturer level, and that the team has been fully committed to sourcing the required part as quickly as possible. Our customer care and aftersales teams are working closely with the local dealer to keep a priority on the vehicle’s repair. We are confident that once the part has been fitted and thoroughly tested, the dealer will have the vehicle ready for Mr Foley. It is my understanding that is now imminent”.
He message concluded by saying Opel’s “customer care team will communicate any goodwill offer directly with the customer”.
We then heard from Luke.
“I have received a call today to from Opel Ireland that the car has been repaired,” he said
“Yesterday, I was assured that the car would get a complementary service. I greatly appreciate your help in progressing this matter and am only sorry I did not contact you many months ago.”
