I have spent close to $1,000,000 with…
I have spent close to $1,000,000 with this business across 6 trucks. This is how they treated me.
ISSUE 1 — DPF FAILURES AND A CONCEALED RECALL
Within the first 10 days of owning my 1627 Fuso, the DPF threw a fault and the truck went into limp mode. I took it to their service centre where they found a hose leading to the DPF had never been properly tightened — clearly a pre-delivery fault on a brand new truck. Instead of owning it, they told me I must have loosened the hose myself and refused to cover it under warranty. They held the truck until I paid $400 to get it back. When I told them no one had touched it and that it could simply have left the workshop undertightened, I was told that was impossible and the blame stayed firmly on me.
That set the tone for the next 12 months. The truck broke down 7 more times, all DPF related. Every single time I had to fight them over who was paying for the repair, and every single time their answer was that it was my fault. Across all these breakdowns my drivers spent over 30 hours stranded on the side of the road, costing the business more than $3,000 in wages alone — not counting lost jobs or the damage to our own customer relationships.
It wasn't until the 7th breakdown that they finally admitted there was a manufacturer recall on the DPF system from Japan — something they clearly already knew about. I was given a date for the part, then strung along for another month until I went directly to the owner. The part arrived within a week of that call. Make of that what you will.
After everything — a loose hose blamed on me, 7 breakdowns, 30+ hours of drivers sitting roadside, a concealed recall, and months of arguing over bills — not one person from this business offered an apology. Not a call, not an email, nothing.
ISSUE 2 — FIVE NEW TRUCKS AND A SHAMBOLIC DELIVERY
Despite all of the above I gave them a second chance and ordered 5 new trucks in December for agreed January delivery. I had a body builder booked to fit pantecs and that slot depended on the January delivery. Due to incompetence at the Gold Coast branch the trucks were delayed and didn't arrive until late March. I missed the body builder slot entirely and spent nearly 3 months paying full loan repayments and insurance on trucks I couldn't put to work — costing the business tens of thousands of dollars. No accountability, no compensation.
ISSUE 3 — STANDOVER TACTICS OVER A REPAIR BILL
One of the new trucks threw a belt at just 60,000 km — a bill of $1,616.08. I told the salesman plainly: do something reasonable with that bill as a show of goodwill after everything, or send it as is and lose my business permanently. Their response was that they would only help if I committed all 6 trucks to their ongoing service program. I offered to commit to one service first and see if things had improved before going further. A fair compromise. I never got a callback.
The next time a truck broke down and went into their shop I was told to pay the outstanding $1,616.08 on the spot or the truck wasn't going anywhere. That is standover behaviour and nothing else.
A manager recently left this branch specifically over the way customers are treated here. Nothing has changed. If you are a fleet operator or owner-operator on the Gold Coast, go elsewhere. You have been warned.