The article does not mention any particular type of vehicle, but it does seem somewhat biased given that all three vehicles in photos are one particular brand that appears to be regaining its reputation.
These stories are always accompanied by a photograph of some punter and his family or partner, all with the obligatory hang dog look. Perhaps when they are not in these photographs they are extras in the street scene at some Housing Department dispute.
You guys are being a bit harsh on the article and its reporter as well as the owners and their families. Its quite usual, even on TV news to feature the people affected to drive home the point the report is making.
Yes, its a pity it had to be the same vehicle make in all 3 pics, but I haven't heard recently that that particular make had suddenly regained a good reputation. It was only weeks ago that one owner went over the top and totally trashed his new one after going stir crazy with the Dealer and manufacturer refusing to honour their (and the statutory laws) own warranty. I have no sympathy for manufacturers, especially the large ones, who adopt such an arrogant, "up yours" attitude.
I had problems with Ford with a new Territory Ghia I bought about 5 years ago. Within 4 months, rust started to come through the paint work. The Dealer just kept referring me to Ford and they refused to do anything. Fortunately, the Dealership was one owned by AHG and I phoned up and easily got to speak with one of their senior managers. He listened carefully and apologized for their Dealer Principal and asked if I would phone the Principal back in 30 minutes time on a mobile phone number he gave me.
I waited 60 minutes, and only the shoes were showing on the Principal he crawled up me so much. He asked me to take it to a panelbeater of my choice which I did. The car was stripped down where the rust was (obviously Ford knew where) and re-painted and an electronic anti-rust unit fitted. During this time AHG supplied us a demo Territory Ghia. Never heard from Ford though and sold my car as soon as I got it back. Wouldn't buy another Ford after their attitude.
This behavious is not limited to Ford or Jeep - its across the board and the American lemon laws should be introduced here asap
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Bruce and Bev, the reputation of Jeep was terrible for a long time, they fitted the mercedes deisel, and things improved a bit. Then Mercedes bought half the company, built a new dedicated factory for the Grand Cherokee, and things were much improved, especially since they had now removed the mercedes Diesel and fitted a Vittori Motori Diesel (Actually Cartella Vittoria, part of Fiat).
Then Mercedes sold their share to Fiat group, and they then built another factory also dedicated to Grand Cherokee. Fiat then acquired the majority of the group, and now effectively own Chrysler Jeep.
The general (media) reputation of the Jeep is now quite good, just think how many people you know, or meet on the road, and almost all love their Jeep. They do however appear to suffer from lemons, and when they do they just do not seem to handle them well. Given that they can not keep up with sales for Grand Cherokees I suppose the net impact is limited. Just have to feel it will come back to bite them.
Hey Dave.....and I wonder how many people think the Jeep is made by an American company lol.
You only need to look at all the major vehicle producers and they have produced lemons and have either closed down the model or got it together - remember the Craptiva ??
And AHG is the biggest car dealership in Australia. Started in WA and now in all States (not sure about TAS), but definitely in all the Eastern States and NT. They don't advertise that a dealership is owned by them. You can have 10 different new car dealerships in a row and each has a Dealer Principal, but all owned outright by AHG
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
AHG (Automotive Holdings Group) has passenger vehicle and bus and truck dealership operations in Qld, NSW, Vic and WA, along with passenger vehicle dealerships in NZ. Passenger brands include Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, FPV, Holden, HSV, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Truck and commercial vehicle brands include Freightliner, Fuso, Higer, Hino, Iveco, JAC, LDV, Mercedes-Benz, Rosa, and Volkswagen Commercial. Queensland-based dealership and franchiser AP Eagers holds an almost 20 per cent stake in AHG.
Cheers, Joe
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Hino Rainbow motorhome conversion towing a Daihatsu Terios
