Josephine Miller’s nightmare battle over ‘faulty car’ from Springwood dealership

A Queensland mother has demanded an apology from a car giant and southeast dealership claiming nightmares and anxiety from constant issues with her family car.

Josephine Miller has demanded an apology from a southeast Queensland dealership and VW Australia after constant issues with her family car.

An Ipswich mother claims she is suffering from anxiety, constant nightmares and safety concerns after a three-year battle with a southeast Queensland car dealership over issues with what was meant to be her dream car.

Camira woman Josephine Miller bought a Volkswagen Golf Alltrack Premium from Cricks Highway at Springwood in 2020 for just under $50,000 only for the vehicle to be riddled with problems from the moment it was delivered.

The mother-of-two said the car’s issues included problems with the brakes and rotors, which were faulty from the start until she had them fixed this year, as well as mould growth caused by flooding from an airconditioning fault and bubble sounds coming from the exhaust, which was diagnosed in November last year.

But she says the main problem was a major transmission fault, which would cause her vehicle to lose power when reversing and in drive and shake back and forth, saying it was like “riding a bull”.

The 28-year-old said the problem was diagnosed by Ipswich Volkswagen and the dealership went ahead and replaced the mechatronics with the approval of VW Australia, who covered the $4000 repair bill.

Josephine Miller's Volkswagen which she has had issues with after buying from Cricks Highway at Springwood.

However, Ms Miller said she was advised the repair may not fix the issue and if it didn’t she needed to return the vehicle to Cricks Highway.

After the repairs left her without a car for six weeks, the bond cleaner said her vehicle was running better initially, before the transmission issue worsened and became “more erratic”.

Ms Miller had been using a loan car from when she took her car back to Cricks Highway on May 15 until June 16 and the dealership declined a replacement.

She said at one point she was even told “you just need to floor it in reverse when it starts to lose power”.

Camira resident Josephine Miller.

Ms Miller said they they would “point me off to VW head office” when she raised any concerns.

“I’d remind them that when I’d call they told me it had to be diagnosed at the dealer and they’d liaise with them... as I purchased the car from them.

“The list goes on with Cricks (Highway).”

Ms Miller then contacted VW Australia about the issues in November, saying she had tried calling them more than 50 times over the past six months with no reply until after they were contacted by Quest Newspapers last week – telling her they would have a resolution within weeks.

“Head office has been useless with no one ever contacting me back, up until the Friday last week when the news asked for a comment on the story,” she said.

“I am paying off a car, as well as registration and insurance and for long periods of time I do not have it and instead have a loan car that I have a major stress of a $1500 excess if there is any damage.

“Then the stress of driving a car that feels very unsafe and the worry of what might happen when I have two young children.

“With the reason of purchasing the car was that it is AWD which I intended for it to be safer for my family and a new car with warranty so if there was anything, I would have that protection.”

Cricks Highway VW at Springwood.

Ms Miller said the constant problems had resulted in her losing work.

“We have had to say no to work when taking my car in and not being able to take on jobs we usually would have because of not being able to carry our equipment as we’ve been too stressed to, in case we damage the loan vehicle.

“This is in the thousands of dollars as I do bond cleans.

“I have lost sleep over this, been having nightmares, I have major anxiety and its something that never goes away because it’s just been an ongoing every day problem.

“Having to call VW head office for six-plus months with no one ever contacting me.”

Ms Miller said she wanted an apology from Cricks Highway and VW Australia for “not taking me seriously, for being dismissive not wanting to deal with me, even though the car was purchased from them and wasting mine and my family’s time”.

Ms Miller contacted the Office of Fair Trading, who responded on June 14 saying they would contact the trader (Cricks Highway) on her behalf to negotiate a remedy,”

“Unfortunately, they (Cricks Highway) weren’t willing to give you a remedy,” the response said.

In Cricks Highway’s response to the OFT, the dealership said they conducted tests and found no faults with the transmission operation, could not replicate the concerns raised about the car’s suspension and “repositioned the heatshield” to remedy an abnormal exhaust noise.

VW Australia said they were following up on the matter but issued the following comment.

“Volkswagen is working with the dealer to help Josephine. Her vehicle has been inspected and we’re reviewing the findings. We’ll continue to update her,” a spokesman said.

Cricks Highway were contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for the Office of Fair Trading said buying a new car was a significant purchase and encouraged Queenslanders to do their research before investing in a new car.

“New vehicles often come with a manufacturer’s warranty so it’s a good idea to have a mechanic undertake a full check of your vehicle before the warranty expires. However, your automatic consumer guarantee rights may still apply after the expiry of the warranty,” the spokesperson said.

“If you have a problem with a new car you have purchased the OFT recommends you contact the business to explain the problem and the outcome you want in the first instance.

“The business might discuss with you whether it is a minor or major problem to determine a repair, replacement or refund and who will provide the remedy — the business or the manufacturer if it involves a manufacturer’s warranty.

“If consumers have concerns regarding a Queensland motor dealer not complying with their obligations, they should lodge a complaint with the OFT.

“The OFT takes allegations of breaches of consumer laws seriously. All complaints received are assessed and if there is a possible breach of the legislation we administer for which enforcement action can be taken detected, the matter is investigated.

“Where no such breach is detected, the OFT will still try to assist the consumer by conciliating the matter. However, the OFT does not have the power to force a trader to provide redress, only a court or tribunal has this authority.”