Without touching the border of defamation, I thought I'd pass along some dealer information about a personal experience I just encountered.

BAD.....

1. Purchased a Discovery V8i 1995 (LPG)from a dealer on Nepean Highway (next to strike bowling alley)
2. Took over a week for the dealer to have the vehicle road worthy.
3. Vehicle after obvious engine work by dealers mechanic started over heating.
4. After replacing radiator reservoir, water pum, radiator, thermostat, starter motor, I had anindependant mechanic tell me that the engine had been overheated prior to my purchase. It was soo bad that the alloy in the engine block had seperated and was kaput.
5. Called dealership owner who happily advised me that the second I drive the vehicle off his lot, he wipes his hands of any responsibility and thatan idiot id born every minute and in his books thats a great way to make money.
The vehicle (apparently road worthy) cost me $9000, plus the $5000 to trade into another vehicle, didn't even have a jack, LPG sticker or testing history, nor did it have road worthy tyres (as they were changed before collection), and all this done outside of the cooling off period due to the time the dealers mechanic took to have it ready for delivery.

Go Jensens 4x4 Sales..!!!

GOOD...

Traded my dud in for a 97 V8i Discovery without making a cent of profit.
Handover from date of purchase in less than 3 days.
Unlike original dealer, a 3 year warranty offered.
Follow up call to check if I was happy, and to offer ongoing services.
Honest, reliable family owned dealer and workshop specialising in Land Rover and Saab in Melbourne.

Thank you Deacon Automotive. You have restored my faith in human descency.

 

Well, I guess it is simply a matter of individual experiences. My experience with Deacon was terrible...I bought a Rangie from an individual who got the car's roadworthiness certificate from Deacon which turned out to have been done badly for whatever reason...and I am not talking about one or two items which could have been overlooked accidentaly - when I got the car re-tested a week or so later practically everything failed. Cost me a heck of a lot of money and Deacon would not do anything.

I bought my Disco from Jensen's and this time I made sure to go through the right channels, getting the car tested at RACV, etc.. Turned out to be a decent buy although admittedly, the guy is a big talker and that's about it. Nothing to write home about regards the service and wouldn't really recommend.

I think the only thing one can do when purchasing a car from an individual or dealer is to take all necessary precautions (take someone who understands the mechanics of the car, get it tested, etc.) so as to limit your possibility of buying a heap of junk. At the end of the day, dealers are nearly all the same and individual experiences will always vary.