GoulburnCountry
Wegotheextrasmile
Submissiontothe2014Review ofMotor VehicleStandardsAct1989
GoulburnCountryMotorswelcomestheopportunitytoprovideinputtotheAustralian
Government'sMotorVehiclesStandardsAct(MVSA)review.
OperatingasaToyota,NissanandSuzukidealership,weemploy26peopleandsellan averageof500carsperyear. Wealsoprovideverysignificantcustomersupportpost vehiclesaleincludingtheprovisionofpartsandservicing.
Sinceourestablishmentin2009wehaveinvestedsignificantlyindealershipinfrastructure, trainingofourpeopleandcommunityinitiativesmakingourbusinessasignificant
economicandsocialcontributortooursurroundingregion.
Theconsiderationoftheremovalofusedandparallelnewvehicleimportrestrictionsas partoftheMotorVehicleStandardsActreviewisofgreatconcerntoourbusinessandone thatwestronglyoppose.
Inparticular,whilewehavenodirectresponsibilitytowardssuchvehicles,manyinthe generalpublicwouldseeourbusinessasthepointofcontactforvehiclesupport.
Whilethesaleandaftersalessupportresponsibilitymustresidewiththevehicleimporter, adealer'sabilitytoofferaftersalessupportwouldbeenormouslychallenging,andcomes withadditionalcostanddelaytoconsumersincluding:
•Servicing-Ourtechniciansarenotfamiliarwithoverseasvehicleofferingswhich cancomewithdifferentspecification. Diagnosticinformationanduniquespecial toolsneededtoadequatelyservicevehiclesmaynotbereadilyavailable(plus Toyota,NissanandSuzukiAustraliawillnothaveanyvehicleservicehistoryfor overseassourcedmodels)
•Partssourcing-Toyota,NissanandSuzukiAustraliadoesnotstockpartsof overseasmodelswhichcanbedifferenttothemodelswe presentlymakeavailable. Thiswillgiverisetolongleadtimestosourcepartsinternationallyfromthemarket wherethevehiclewasintendedtobesoldandsubsequentlygeneratesadditional costanddelaytothecustomer(whiletheirvehicleisoff-road)
•Recalls-IfToyota,NissanorSuzukiAustraliainitiatesavehiclerecall,theability forourbusinesstosupportownersofprivatelyimportedvehiclesislimited. The ownerwouldneedtorelyontheentitythatimportedsuchvehiclesormaketheir ownarrangements(astheirvehiclewillnotbeshownonToyota,NissanorSuzuki Australia'srecords)
•Techniciantraining-Thecapabilitytoserviceandrepairthesevehiclesmaynot existwithinthedealershipthereforecompromisingthecustomerexperience
•Cappedpriceservicing-Toyotapresentlyoffersourcustomerscappedprice
servicingsuchas5standardservicesfortheCamryat$130eachforthefirstfour yearsor75,000km. Usedcarsandparallelimportsdonothaveaccesstosuch offerings
•Warranty-customersmayexpectourbusinessto meetwarrantyclaimsontheir
importedvehiclesdespitethefactthatwehavenolegalobligationtomeetthese claims
GoulburnMotorinvestmentsPtyUd atfGoulburnMotorsUnitTrustABN:56022544676LMVD026056
We gotheextrasmile
•Owner'smanual-Theprintedowner'smanual(ifsupplied)inthesevehicleswill mostlikelybeinthelanguageofvehicleorigintherebynotprovidingpotentialfuture owner'swithimportantvehicleoperationalinformationinEnglish
•Fitforpurposevehicles-AsthesevehicleswerenotdesignedforAustralian conditionstheusualexpectationsofdurabilityandreliabilitymaybecompromised resultinginapoorcustomerexperience
Notonlywilltheabilitytosupportusedvehiclesandparallelnewvehiclesbeproblematic, theincreasedlevelsofcompetitionthroughopeningupthemarketwillplaceenormous pressureonourbusinessandpotentiallyputatriskjobswithinthesector.Wealready operateinahighlycompetitivemarketplace,withAustraliaregardedasoneofthemost competitiveintheworldfornewvehiclesales.Thisresultsinexcellentconsumerchoice, competitivepricesandveryhighlevelsofcustomerfocusbothintermsofvehiclessales andaftersalessupport.
WeurgetheAustralianGovernmenttoconsidertheimpactsofamendingrestrictionson usedcarimportsorallowingparallelnewimports,andtheimpactsthiswouldhaveon establishedandwellrespectedbusinesssuchasmine.
Yourssincerely
GoulburnCountryMotors
DuncanBrede
DealerPrincipal
126HumeStreetNSW
t(02)0800f(02)4821
GouiburnMotorInvestments PlyLtdatfGouiburnMotorsUnitTrustABN:56022544676LMVD026056