AUTO WORKS STRAND

Poor Service and No Accountability

I am extremely disappointed with the service I received from Auto Works Strand. I took my VW Polo Automatic in for its 90,000 km service. Before the service, my vehicle was in good working condition. The gear indicator on the dashboard displayed correctly, and the gearbox changed gears smoothly without any issues. However, as I was about to drive out after collecting my vehicle, I noticed that the gear indicator on the dashboard was no longer displaying the gears. Instead, it only showed a horizontal line. In addition, the vehicle started over-revving and taking much longer than normal to change gears. I did not take the vehicle home at all. I left it there to avoid them later saying that I had damaged it, and I wanted them to see the issue while it was still in their possession. I returned the vehicle to Auto Works Strand and requested that they investigate and rectify the problem. Instead of taking responsibility, I was told that the dashboard cluster was probably damaged because of its age and exposure to sunlight. They also claimed that the problem existed before I brought the vehicle in, which is completely untrue. If that had been the case, I would never have attempted to drive the car out without raising it immediately. Rather than properly investigating what may have happened during the service, they dismissed my concerns and attempted to shift the blame onto me. I feel that they are not taking my complaint seriously, and I cannot help but feel that they are taking advantage of me because I am a woman and assume I do not understand vehicles. A customer expects to receive their vehicle in the same condition—or better—after a routine service, not with new transmission and dashboard issues that were never present beforehand. I am sharing my experience to warn others and to encourage Auto Works Strand to take responsibility, investigate the matter properly, and resolve the issue instead of making excuses and denying accountability.