At last! A courtesy car!

Michael's Peugeot has been at the dealers for the last four weeks, as they 'attempt' to fix it.

Communication is not a strong point for this dealership. At first we were told that the mechanic was running tests to find out what was wrong with it. This took almost a week, despite having told our regular mechanic that it would be ready for us within 24 hrs. The mechanic then advised that it was the BSI (computer system) that was at fault and needed replacing. (It took him a supposed week of running tests to discover this when I did a Google search and came to that conclusion in two minutes!) The BSI would take 3 days to get to them.

So I called up in 3 days time, to be told that the part hadn't arrived yet. It arrived the beginning of the third week, they fitted it - and the car still wasn't working. So they ran another diagnostic, and the technical team (in Kuala Lumpar), told them the steering unit stalk/Comm 2000 (the indicator stalk that has a computer in it!) needed replacing. So they ordered that. Again, it would be here in three days.

At the end of week three, on my way to Geelong, I called in to see if the car was fixed. To be told 'oh, the part is on back order and we'll be sent an email when it can be sent out'.

Got Michael to contact the owner of the dealership on Monday. He was told that the part arrived late on Friday and was fitted.... but the computer is still not reading it!! They were going to experiment with some aerials as advised by Kuala Lumpar.

Michael rang on Tuesday, and was told by the owner's wife cum admin person "ring back on Friday after two and speak to the mechanic". Yep, not a good move. He had to get to a staff meeting so couldn't spend the time to react as he wished.

I rang this morning and advised the spare parts chick that Michael and I would be in this afternoon to speak with the owner and find out what the hell was happening with the vehicle! It has been off the road for 6 weeks now. As Michael works days and I work afternoons, it means that I've been running him in to work (40km), home again (40km), back in to collect him and go to work (40km), he'll take the girls home if he has no meetings after work (40km), come back and get me at 7pm (40km) and then we'll go home (another 40km). It makes for an exhausting day, multiplied by five times a week! Caitlin has not been able to go to karate because of its late finishing time. I'd lost patience with the dealer.

Michael and I rocked up at 3.30pm this afternoon and had a long chat with the owner. The owner was a bit shocked that the car had been at his dealership for four weeks - he had thought it was only two weeks. He wasn't able to give us any idea when the Pug would be fixed - it was all the problem of the electronics of cars and outsourcing of technical people to overseas and delay in delivery of parts from the Sydney warehouse. However, after a request from us, he was able to offer us a courtesy car - an old Jeep.

Tomorrow morning, I don't have to be up at sparrowfart to drive Michael to town, Caitlin can go to karate tomorrow night and on the weekend (if the Pug isn't fixed by then), Jemima can go to her friend's birthday party whilst Caitlin and I go to the dog training days. It's not the end of the Pug saga, but at least it's something.