Visit To The Dealer
Last Thursday my car was due for its first 5,000km service. It is a 2006 Mitsubishi Adventure that we bought new at the end of November, 2006. So far all my experiences have been good ones. The sales process was about as un-hurried and honest as any I’ve ever experienced. The new car process works a bit different in the Philippines, as you might imagine … at least for Philippine-made cars like this Mits.
The sales cycle doesn’t revolve around a “new model year” rollout in September or October a sit does in the US. The manufacturer’s produce the number of cars they think will sell and the dealers sell them until they are gone. Thus the 2006 model when, in fact, we “should” have been getting a 2007. We paid the same price as this model had been going for all year, less a special dealer promo discount and (what made my wife particularly happy) a free Toshiba laptop. No matter what we paid for a car there’s always someone out there who could have got it cheaper, but let’s just say this … it’s not our first car and we feel we got a good price.
The other thing that may seem a bit different to folks is the way many dealers are part of very large corporations. Our dealer, CarWorld Marilao is owned by a large corporation known as the Laus Group which has investments in television stations, restaurant chains and I’m not sure what al else. The advantage of this arrangement is that there’s a lot of money behind the dealership and the parent company is not afraid to spend on training and the small touches of customer service that so many of us Westerners seem to find lacking. At CarWorld you’re treated well, from the service advisor being in place for years (they know me, I know them) to the sales manager coming out up and greeting me personally, making me a coffee and seeing that I’m comfortable in the modern spacious waiting area, all the while knowing I’m not likely to be buying anything again for quite some time.
But the part of the day which really made me feel people were looking out for me was how they handled my only warrantee issue so far. The car had developed a slight exhaust rattle noise when backing up into my driveway. It really didn’t sound like anything of consequence … probably some loose tin heat shield or perhaps the parking brake cable hitting the exhaust pipe I thought. When the car was ready (in less than 60 minutes) my service advisor took me back in the service area to show me what they had done. On the floor next to the car was the entire exhaust system, from engine manifold connection to the chrome tailpipe extension beneath the rear bumper. The exhaust pipe itself had a small crack develop where it went up over the rear axle, account for the noise. “We don’t do “piece part’ exhaust replacements” the mechanic advised. “Too many parts to come loose”. Total, end to end replacement, when for all I knew they could have just patched something up and told me they tightened a loose clamp. My cost? Nothing, nada, not one centavo.
Will I buy another car from CarWorld? In a heartbeat. Is it possible to get excellent value and customer service in the Philippines … to Western (or better than Western) standards. yep, it is.
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