Nissan dealer stuffs up service. What to do?

[rd28eti@WA]

Hi guys,
I'll give you a bit of background of your not interested skip to next paragraph.
In August I've sold my beloved 1997 patrol GU 2.8 DX.
It served me well but I wanted something more reliable as I'm planning a big trip around Australia in 12-18 months.
My pick is a 2006 patrol GU 3.0 ST with 110.000 km on the clock with full service history, very well maintained vehicle.
Never used a drop of oil or coolant, beautiful to drive.


I've decided to take the car at Nissan for the 120000 km major service (1100$) thinking that the extra money is for their top notch maintenance and it will help the car retain its value.
On Friday I just drove it home from the dealer (30km).
On Saturday morning I've done my weekly check of oil and coolant.
With my greatest disappointment both the coolant tanks (reservoir and overflow) were empty.
Top up took 2.5l of coolant.
Called them straight away and took the car back on Monday.
They had a look at it and flushed the system.
They said:"it must have been an air lock"
For **** sake, how could that happen?!
They gave me 1 week to find out if there any permanent damage.

How should i test the car?
Is what they did fair/legal?
What are my rights?

Thanks
Regards.

[GQtdauto]

Only real advice I can give is find a good reputable independent mechanic , ask around or even ask here .
Our GU 2002 grenade model when we bought it was immaculate, never been off road and the original owner had every service receipt and every invoice for anything that had been done .
Both aftermarket and wear and tear replacement .
The GU was an auto and the buyer was religious with service's and always went back to the Nissan dealer for a service .
After buying it I was going through the invoices and service receipts which were all in dated order to see if there was anything major but apart from a radiator or two and an alternator and a few belt tensioner there didn't seem to be anything too concerning .
But I noticed on one of the service invoices from the Nissan dealer I found the following .
Drain and replace clutch fluid and test operation ! Now this stood out because the car was an auto , could they have accidentally mixed up power steering or auto trans oil I thought but no they had done them as well .
I checked all invoices from them and they were slipping in stuff like plug leads and spark plugs but always the clutch fluid and test operation of clutch .
Now the guy I bought it off was a Vietnam vet but not too mechanically minded to realise what was going on .
I did notice that about a year before I brought it he was getting his service elsewhere and when I rang him he said he suspected they were ripping him off which was why he changed .
Nobody with any brains in town get their Ford serviced or fixed at Ford , they are incompetent and dishonest so why is it the dealers seem to be the worst don't know .

[GQtdauto]

Forgot to mention the GU was a 3ltr diesel .

[rd28eti@WA]

Problem is the car is now using coolant and has loss power.
They have to fix it, but I'm scared they will fuck it up again or just simply do a poor job.
I guess having it done somewhere else and get the to pay for it is impossible.

[Turtle_au]

The sad thing is a lot of dealers only really make money from service and accessories.
And the service departments are constantly under pressure to either cut costs or over-service. The cut costs by getting apprentices or unqualified staff to do "routine" jobs like oil changes etc on the used vehicles, and if your lucky the mechanic might check when the job is done if he has time as he will be doing the new cars.
Not meaning to denegrate the apprentice or unqualified worker (who most probably love working on cars) but they may not notice small issues that a more experienced mechanic would investigate. That being said, time is also a factor and things cn be missed. Check lists are usually filled out after the hands have been washed and after they have done a few the boxes just get ticked anyway.
The other way is to over-service and increase income. This whilst definitely illegal could have an up side as it may mean they may not be as focused on cutting costs and in the long run you end up with a properly serviced vehicle.
By and far the best option is a mix of doing your own services so you get to know your vehicle and finding a good small scale repairer who owns the business, keeps an eye on his reputation and if the job is beyond his scope knows who to recommend. Usually these mechanics will be open and honest and take the time to chat about the condition of the vehicle and any issues to keep an eye on.

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[Robo]

Lost power & using coolant will more than likely mean they will want to do some pressure testing etc looking for whats gone wrong.
soon as you go near another work shop they will wipe there hands of it so tread carefully, the blame game will/could start.
written reports could be your friend in the long run keep all documents etc.
ask them what do they want to do from here?
"Can I still drive it ???? in this condition??? or do they want it on a tilt tray?? who's paying etc,

make a point of not driving it if possible as they will have the k's written down from said service, could use that against you in the long run especially if the problem is known to you both
it's early days you never know you may get lucky and they come good with repairs.
good luck

[GQtdauto]

Don't lose your cool when dealing with them , be firm but don't blow your stack .