We purchased a brand new alternator from Cherrymotive which was supposedly brand new and in good working order. From the start it didn't seem quite right but the salesman, Peter, said "trust me, it's good." Well, I am sure you know where this is going. Three weeks later we are hundreds of kilometers from home stranded on a public holiday in a small town when the car just wouldn't start. The NRMA came to our rescue so we could get back to the motel and wait for the auto mechanics and suppliers to be open the next day to get us on the road. The mechanic advised the alternator was faulty, was not charging and was leaking.(drawing current). We had to purchase another alternator to get us home. One which actually works.
Upon our return to Frankston, I took the alternator back to Cherrymotive and advised them of the problem. A reputable company would have provided a refund for the faulty item and dealt with his supplier to return the part. Not Peter. He took the alternator out back and supposedly bench tested it and came back to me saying it was fine. Funny thing is it didn't even look like it had been taken out of the plastic I gave it to them in but I'll have to take his word for it that they tested it and weren't just finishing off lunch (he still seemed to have food in his mouth when talking to me.) Well, if it was fine, we wouldn't have had to buy a new one in Broken Hill. Pretty sure bench testing doesn't test for things like intermittent faults and whatever else is wrong with it,
So I explain it's not fine and finally Peter says they can send it back to the supplier who will test it and then we will be advised if the alternator warranty will be honored or not. He had to get his girlfriend to fill in some paperwork for the return and she wasn't sure how to do that and refused to give information as to who they would be sending the information to. She actually said, "We don't know who we are sending it to as it hasn't been sent yet."
If a company is up front about such things they would have no issue advising who they where sending this part to. She finally said, "to Hallum" but would not provide any further details yet the paperwork I insisted on getting to show I left the part with them, said, "sent back to Cooldrive."
It was all a little dodgy from the day of purchase and they certainly have no sense of customer service or a smile for a paying customer who won't be going back (except for the refund that they should provide when their supplier advises the part was no good.) read more
