Yes, Rapid Tune has been accused of unethical and dishonest business practices across multiple locations in Australia, based on customer reviews and complaints.
Key Allegations:
- Overcharging and Unapproved Repairs: Customers report being charged thousands of dollars for unnecessary or unapproved work, such as a $7,300 repair initially quoted verbally with no written confirmation.
- False Diagnoses: Instances include misdiagnosing a head gasket issue (potentially costing $5,000+) when only seals needed replacement, and recommending $3,000 fuel injector replacements when a $100 sensor was the actual issue.
- Failure to Perform Paid Services: Customers claim services like oil and filter changes were not done despite being charged, and worn brake pads were not flagged despite being part of a “free inspection.”
- Poor Communication and Accountability: Numerous complaints cite lack of follow-up, refusal to provide written quotes, and denial of responsibility when issues arise post-service.
- Use of Incorrect Parts: One review states the wrong transmission oil was used and filters were not changed, leading to major damage.
- Theft Allegations: One customer alleged Rapid Tune Derrimut stole their 4×4 tyres, later recovered through insurance.
Customer Reports:
While official court records or formal reports are not publicly compiled, copies of customer complaints are available on review platforms:
- ProductReview.com.au: Hosts 196+ reviews with a 3.6-star average; many detail deceptive practices.
- TrustIndex.io and Word of Mouth: Include accounts of breakdowns after service, wasted time, and financial loss.
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Ammar Khan VIC
6yPathetic service, customer dealing (Epping branch) – I went for my car inspection to Rapid tune Epping and found Pathetic customer service. My car was not washed when I reached and they were telling me a lie that the car has been washed. People, please be aware of the rapid tune Epping branch. They don’t know how to deal with a customer. I paid 340 for an oil change, transmission oil, etc but did not rely on them whether they have change it or not. If they can lie on car wash they can lie on anything. Please beware of their voucher thing as well. I was trapped in that’s why I went to them. Pathetic customer service they have.
Aahh A.
6yI have booked online and over the phone but they just didn’t care about it – I have booked for rwc online and over the phone and when I come to the day which I should do it, I found there is no booking and I have to wait week and I don’t have time I need to get the rwc as soon as possible. This is ridiculous how they come with excuses they don’t care about the customer they just running their business as they told me. This is with Hallam branch.
Asraful Goni VIC 3 posts
6y VerifiedRapid Tune VIP Voucher is absolutely Terrible – This is not about the RapidTune service quality as didn’t experienced, But its all about the voucher which is Dozzy and absolutely cheating. I am writing just to make people to be aware of this – read and then sign. I bought a RapidTune’s Loyalty VIP voucher for 3 ‘free’ car general services and paid $179 for that. According to a list on the card, I would receive a ‘Total Savings of $974’ as a ‘VIP’ customer on 9 items. The lady sold it to me on a car park and described wrongly without telling me the actual facts. After getting the payment she made me to sign the tick boxes and promised to get refund if i dont like it in future, just by calling their head office number mentioned in the card. But when I called them to make the first appointment, I realised that I will have to pay a minimum extra cost of $79 just for an oil change and possibly much more for any other defects. I believe the oil change is a very basic part of any car general service. I called RapidTune’s customer service on 03 9425 9444 for an explanation/refund and they promised to call me back, They called me back and explained i have signed and ticked, so they are unable to make any refund.
Be very careful with the RapidTune’s terms mentioned in ‘How To Use Your Certificate’ on their Loyalty Certificate. At the time of buying the card, I didn’t pay attention to this section which is apparently where they justify all of their hidden/extra costs and dodgy charges. This is definitely like a scam to me.
Nire 2 posts
6yNo savings on “service loyalty” cards – Got my car serviced today after purchasing a voucher for 3 services for the price of one and a half. Website quotes $150 for logbook service including oil. Use the voucher however and it cost you at least $140 as oil, on top is $79, for each service. So no real saving people, unless you normally go to a dealership I guess. Not worth the money as first thought.
Amir VIC 2 posts
6y VerifiedSignificant extra charges involved! Be careful – I bought a RapidTune’s Loyalty Certificate card for 3 ‘free’ car general services and paid almost $200 for that. According to a list on the card, I would receive a ‘Total Savings of $974’ as a ‘VIP’ customer on 9 items. But when I called them to make the first appointment, I realized that I will have to pay a minimum extra cost of $79 just for an oil change and possibly much more for any other defects. I believe the oil change is a very basic part of any car general service. I called RapidTune’s customer service on 03 9425 9444 for an explanation/refund and they promised to call me back, but they didn’t.
Be very careful with the RapidTune’s terms mentioned in ‘How To Use Your Certificate’ on their Loyalty Certificate. At the time of buying the card, I didn’t pay attention to this section which is apparently where they justify all of their hidden/extra costs and dodgy charges. This is definitely like a scam to me.
Amir 6yUpdate: Somebody from RapidTune called me today after 4 days to follow up on my previous call (see the above comment). Due to the low voice quality (and perhaps my English listening), I was not able to understand what they were saying. So, I asked them to text me instead. They replied: ‘You called us about your Rapid Tune Certificate. How can I help?’ and when I explained my request for a refund, they didn’t reply anymore.
Ingrid S.
6y VerifiedThree reasons I will never go back. See below. Over charged and giving incorrect information on what needed to be done – They over charged me for fixing my breaks And said there was an oil leak. I got my friend who’s a mechanic he said there was no oil leak. I’ll never go back to rapid tune again and will endeavour to get a refund. They said my tyres needed changing they were only 6 months old. I took them back to the tyre place and they said they had another 6 months in them.
Sue 2 posts
7yDisappointing – The first time I had servicing done with Rapid Tune (East Brisbane), they were great. They were honest and didn’t try to sell unnecessary services to me. I knew I would be back. Then the second time, my car was brought in for a full inspection, oil change, etc. Once I got home I realised one of my hub caps was missing. I called them up and asked if they forgot to put it back on. He insisted that they were all put back on. I told him it clearly wasn’t put back on properly, because in the two minute drive home, it’s managed to be lost. He said he’d go look around and call me back. Never got a call back. Very disappointing. It shouldn’t have to cost your customers for your mistake.
Trent 9 posts
7yNot sure they know what their doing – I booked the car in for a service in a Saturday morning. When I went to pick the car up at 12.45 they asked if I would like the car washed. As it was included in the price I paid I said yes. They sprayed the car with a high pressure hose but left the wheels dirty. I got in the car an noticed that they didn’t vacuum the car which was also in the quote. I drove towards home when the car lost power at 60kmh and started blowing a lot of smoke. I rang them straight away and they said to bring it back. When I arrived they had the car for 10 mins and said everything was fine. I again drive the car away and again it was blowing smoke. I bought the car back and took the mechanic for a drive. It blew smoke straight away so I left the car there as I had somewhere to be. I got a text message at 10.20pm asking to keep the car until Monday which was not an option as I needed to get to work. He messaged me to say he will let me know when I could pick it up on Sunday. I tried to call and message on Sunday with no response. I called the head office and they defended the store stating how experienced the owner was and he would take care of the car. I was sick of waiting so I went down to the mechanics and the apprentice was there and he got my car out but he had no idea what was wrong with it. He said the owner would call me but I’m still waiting for that. My issue is not that something went wrong but how they handled the situation when it did. The lack of communication is annoying and it doesn’t give the impression that they know what they are doing. It’s actually quite rude. If the owner had kept me informed as to what the issue is and how he was fixing it that would had turned me into a promoter of this business instead of a detractor. I won’t be going with them again
Callum QLD 2 posts
7y VerifiedDon’t walk away from this business…… RUN – Took my car in for a service and they overfilled the oil by double the capacity required an the air box was left un-clip and loose in the engine bay. I had to rectify the issue at home, so the vehicle would not be damaged. I Followed up with the “manager” and they spent more time quoting ACCC law than actually dealing with my complaint.
AWG VIC 3 posts
7yRapid tune Keysborough- shifty and horrible service – I serviced my Car with them, they picked up on a few issues and asked me to fix through them. I got a quote from a mechanic a kilo Metre away. Was 3 times cheaper than them. When I refused to do let Rapid Tune Keysborough people fix it. They threatened me that they will inform vicroads that my car is not roadworthy. When I took my car to the next mechanic, the mechanic said these items are not necessary to change now. They are all good for now and wrote it on the book as well.
Never trust them and don’t be fooled by their 3 cheap service offer. That is a true scam.
Rapid tune Keysborough the true scammers.
Alex Queensland 2 posts
7y Verifiedterrible car service/inspection – Never trust those guys! I bought a second hand car and went to Rapid Tune Underwood for a inspection/service right after the purchase. They suggested my brakes can definitely last for another 10,000 km or 6 months; however, in just 1 month with 1000 km the whole brake system failed and it was found (by another local mechanic) that one of the brake pads was worn completely flat and the rotor was far thinner than the minimal requirements. The local mechanic suggested these parts were supposed to be changed months ago! I high doubt if Rapid Tune had inspected my brakes at all during service! Don’t risk yourself and waste money on those guys…
Mofles 3 posts
7yI went for a free service using my VIP Certificate and they tried to charge around 1200 – Firstly the stupids vip certificates that they offer are a fraud. The certificate says that you will have free in service and parts an amount of around $1000 but nothing of that is true. The free service does not include basically nothing. I know how fraudulent can be a mechanic and they tried to charge me $1200 for suppose issues they detected. My car drives perfectly fine so how is it possibly they say i need to pay 1200 to fix it. So disappointed that car service.
Pete
7yDishonest Mechanics (Epping, VIC) – Went in to do my servicing for my VW Jetta. Servicing was $200 which was fairly priced. This was a Saturday morning. Was informed that i needed to change brakes, rotors, and tires which would be at a tune of $700 for the parts, and $350 for the tires, all up costing me $1250. Called a friend who told me that i am being overcharged too much to which i then called supercheap auto to see that the breaks only cost $54, and rotors $160. Yes i understand a business needs its margin, but at over 300%? To top it off as soon as i told him i was going to call a friend to discuss the quote he immediately said he could drop off $50 from the price. When i called him back and told him i would hold off on the work he said that if i bring it in during the week to do the work he can get better rates by a different distributor for me. That is pure dishonesty and i would not recommend anyone to take their care to someone like that who can’t be trusted.
Garry 3 posts
7yPrime example of misleading and deceptive conduct – Rapid Tune Underwood (Qld) Booked my Kia in for a service using a pre-paid discount voucher that proclaims “Parts” included when the vehicle is to be serviced. When I went to collect the vehicle I was given a $501.95 invoice for parts (4 spark plugs and a tank fuel filter). When I questioned this I was told the voucher did not include these parts.
I asked where it said on the voucher these parts were excluded and, as they could not locate this exception, I was then told their diagnostic equipment was also part of the “parts” (although this did not appear on the invoice).
Asking them again to justify the invoice when the voucher clearly states parts are included their response was to take the matter up with the marketing company who sold me the voucher. I’m off to the Fair Trading Ombudsman.
Garry 7yI am the original author of this blog. I made a claim with QCAT for $927.65. Although Rapid Tune filed a response (which didn’t respond to any part of the claim – they had no defense) and sent QCAT an email containing numerous false derogatory and defamatory allegations that were simply a character assassination attempt, on the day we were called to participate in a mediation conference Rapid Tune decided to pay the claim without any argument or comment.
Dan VIC
8yDon’t let them touch your auto transmission – Went to them with a broken transmission they offered me a second hand transmission which comes with a transmission service changing oil and filter at $4000 This is where the inspection of the box takes place. I believe they didn’t do this as my transmission lasted only 1 year For there service they offered free labour but I had to buy another transmission They didn’t inspect my transmission properly the first time so I spent another $4000 to get the job done properly by a transmission specialist with a 24 month warranty or 50000 Km with a reconditioned gearbox
Philbrand VIC 98 posts
9yCharlatans – Was taking my car here for its regular service. Always seemed something major needed fixing at first, because l foolishly trusted this mob, l went with the flow. But soon realised they where just pulling the wool over my eyes. So went to another machanic and put that down as a lesson leard. However an incident which occured last week has prompted me to write this review
The Radiator on my car went and was towed to my local garage, to the disgust of the mechanic. He noted that rapid tune keysborough had installed the wrong radiator to my car. This wasnt just an oops but they actually cut it back or as the mechanic put it. They hacked it in order to fit it in.
So imagine you booking your car in to have the brakes done and they use there ‘its okay we can make these break pads fit’ philosophy
Negative Experiences
Ferntree Gully (FTG): Multiple users report serious issues, including cars running perfectly before service but developing major problems (e.g., engine failure, black smoke) afterward. Some claim the shop overcharged for unnecessary repairs, lied about damages, or even replaced new parts with used or inferior ones. One customer alleged their new battery and tires were swapped without consent.
Mitcham: Complaints include being charged for a broken key that mechanics damaged, lack of invoices, failure to perform promised services (e.g., car wash), and not warning about worn brake pads despite a service voucher that included free replacements. Some felt misled or overcharged.
JustinC VIC 13 posts
3yWorst service by far. LIES and Incompetence – I should have twigged when they wanted to change my fuel filter that I changed myself only a month earlier. But that was the most minor issue. They called me and said my front discs needed machining, so I said ‘ok, do it’, after all they were squealing a small amount. So that’s fine, I picked up the car, drive home and the next morning when driving a few minutes up the road, an alarm on the dash sounds, ABS and VSC lights up and message to check VSC system. Then suddenly no brakes, nothing. Foot when flat to the floor to gain slight unassisted brakes. Called rapid tune who organised a tow truck. It spent another two days at lilydale for them to unofficially tell me it’s the break master cylinder. They quoted me $3600 plus gst and labour to repair it. I told them to tow it back to my house, of which I paid for. So here comes the interesting part. The whole time they told me the car was throwing codes related to the rear wheels of which they did not touch. They said it’s confusing them greatly and they can’t work it out. So once I got the car back to my house my brother in law, ex Lexus mechanic obtained the codes from the OBD2 of which they were not related to the rear whatsoever. They were related to the master brake assembly. Code 52 and 56 which are related to pump running longer than 3 minutes, and pressure not detected in accumulator. Applying some brains,a few hours of commonsense troubleshooting and subsequent removal of the master brake assembly and disassemble it was discovered that the mesh filter blocking the pump inlet was blocked. So how does this happen in a closed system. Well pretty much if you need to bleed the brakes and run the system low or dry then of course it’s going to suck in anything low in the reservoir. Of which alleged experts in their field should know or have been aware of. A few hours of cleaning, reassemble and install and the brakes are working perfectly. $80 worth of brake fluid
So my problem with this mob is lies and incompetence. Firstly the fuel filter did not need changing. Secondly the codes related to the rear wheels was nothing but crap. This was an excuse to buy themselves time. Thirdly, how on earth did you bleed the brakes. And lastly, trying to charge me over $4000 for the easiest option when you introduced this problem in the first place when you machined my discs. If I could give negative stars I would.
AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.
- Return Claim Made: No
Rapid Tune Automotive Services 3yHi JustinC, we take all of our reviews seriously and are sorry you feel this way. We have investigated the matter and quoted price was based on the replacement of the master cylinder if this was indeed the problem, we also explained we would need diagnose further. It is not our business practice to carry out unapproved repairs, should you wish to discuss the matter further please contact the store on (03) 9739 5749 – The Team at Rapid Tune Lilydale
JustinC 3yThere’s nothing to discuss further. And if I did call then the public can’t see the conversation. The purpose of posting here is so the public can see and make an informed decision on where they take their car.
I’m not disputing it was the brake master cylinder assembly. What I’m informing the public about it’s the fact that firstly, you had the car for two additional days and it was only when I lost it on the phone on the second day that you finally prioritised my car and started investigating it that afternoon. There was no conversation about diagnosing further. That was your solution. You’d already had prices when I called you. The only further research was to find a cheaper assembly which you already told me are very hard to find. Secondly you said it was throwing codes related to the rear wheels. Plain as day rubbish. That was a clear deflective manoeuvre to pass it off as a problem unrelated to the work you did. That was to buy yourself time. This was a very serious issue. I nearly ended up in the living room of the house at the end of the street. It was very clear this problem was introduced during your service. All I can say is your very lucky I called you and not a lawyer because had this have ended differently or had my kids in the car I can assure you this conversation would be taking place in a very different arena.
Eddie 8 posts
3yHires dodgy marketing company to sell dodgy coupons – I was at the burwood one carpark and someone approached me selling $199 rapid tune vouchers from Dark horse ventures. The information he told me, such as, if I don’t choose my engine oil, I wouldn’t be charged for it. I checked online and realised this was not true later on. I tried calling the number and emailing and even going to the website address to obtain a refund as the “receipt” I got stated there was a 10 day cooling off period. Of course none of these worked. The phone is engaged, the website doesn’t work and nobody replies to the emails.
Rapid tune is hiring unscrupulous marketing / sales people to trick consumers. I would beware. I am reporting this to my bank and will also consider reporting this to the ACCC as the marketing company and rapid tune are working in cahoots.
