It seems I'm not the only Suzuki car owner to have problems getting their new vehicle repaired under warranty.
Italian motorist Claudio Bassi wrote to me asking for help getting HIS Suzuki Vitara repaired after having no luck with Suzuki's Italian office!
Does anyone else think something must be seriously wrong with the Suzuki Motor Company's commitment to its customers satisfaction when someone living in Italy has to resort to asking someone living in Australia for help contacting the Suzuki office in Japan?
Here's Claudio's e-mail... While you're reading it, ask yourself... HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT A NEW SUZUKI CAR AND ARE NOW SUFFERING FROM A LACK OF AFTER SALES SERVICE?
Dear sir,
I am running in similar troubles here in Italy: my Vitara’s 4WD transfer case failed because no oil was filled in at factory (delivered on September 2004).
The Vitara is built in Spain, therefore SUZUKI Italy (who does not market this model since last Summer) feels not responsible for that. No chance to have a contact with SUZUKI Headquarters in Europe, no chance to have the car repaired straight because of the evidence (and, being a Ph.D Mechanical Engineer, it took seconds for me to identify the root of the failure)…
Do you know any shortcut to reach any Japanese SUZUKI guy who can take a decision?
Best regards and all my empathy !!!
Claudio BASSI
Dear Michael,
The soap opera of my Vitara should shortly come to the end…positively.
But I had to invest a lot of time and force the situation:
- I produced technical evidence of the failure (no oil filled in the transfer case ex-factory) to the local Suzuki dealer in charge of the repair: gear failure analysis, pictures of the various components and oil filling plugs with no trace of tools
- After hundreds of temptatives I found the e-mail address of the Suzuki-Santana Customer Care (the Spanish Manufacturer) and explained the story. Its’ funny: you have no chance to find any direct contact with Suzuki Aftersales & Service Offices or Officers: there is an invisible barrier between you, your car and the manufacturer.
- I copied the Customer Care Office of Suzuki Italy with all the correspondence
- I contacted the National TV Broadcast and asked to use my case-story for a very popular “consumers’ bad stories” program (informing Suzuki Italy that they would be a most welcome guest of this transmission)
- I introduced this failure story (technical topics) during one of my lessons at the Engineering and Mechanical Department of the University of Ferrara - Italy
In a few words: putting a lot of pressure directly on the Sales and Marketing organization of Suzuki in Spain and Italy helped. The technical issue was never under discussion… It would be interesting to create a sort of “SUZUKI mail list” or database for all Suzuki owners, so that they can go straight to the source of their troubles.
Your website could be the one!
Yours, as usual
Claudio Bassi
Claudio was also kind enough to pass on the following contact information for SUZUKI VITARA owners (the one made in Spain by SANTANA Motor).
Santana Motor S.A.
Avenida Primero de Mayo s/n. – LINARES - SPAIN
Website: Santana Suzuki - http://www.santana-suzuki.es
Departamento de Post Venta – Aftermarket & Warranty Dept.
José Carlos Lòpez Guerrero – Jefe Dpt. Post venta (Service Manager)
Email address - postdir@santana-suzuki.es
phone.: ++34 953 649210
Fax: ++34 953 653327
Departamento de Marketing – Marketing Dept.
Vicente Martínez Bellón (Manager of Marketing & communication)
phone: ++34 953 649 347 / 639 981 362
Fax: ++34 953 693 563
Email Address - marketing@Santana-Suzuki.es
Chema Laso Villegas (Marketing & communication advisor)
Tel.: ++34 914282410
Fax: ++34 917463960
Email Address - comunicacion@santana-suzuki.es
If anyone else has a horror story like Claudio's to share please e-mail me at the address below and I'll gladly add it to this site. If we get enough maybe SOMEONE in the Suzuki Motor Company might take notice and improve their appalling customer service procedures.
Michael @ mysuzukicar dot com