BMW South Africa - worst customer experience in the car industry

I have experienced the poorest service from a low quality product. Never again!

2012 BMW 328i

Last year November 2018 my car broke down and was vandalized, the car then went to Northcliff Auto ARC for body repair.

The car was only done with body repair in February 2019, I then booked the car into BMW Northcliff Auto to diagnose why the car broke down.

I received correspondence from Northcliff BMW on the 12th of February 2019 letting me know that the timing chain had broken and that I needed to replace the engine with a quote of R250 000, this is more than the car is worth and I don't have that kind of money as I'm still paying for the car.

My only resolution was to turn to BMW South Africa for assistance with the repair as the timing chain is a common issue with these cars.

I read a number of articles where people experienced the same issue (mechanical breakdown) and thought that BMW South Africa would show compassion for a loyal customer for more than 15 years.

Oh, Boy Was I Wrong!

The customer service I received was appalling and disgusting, to say the least. On the 26th of February 2019 I received yet another letter from Mr. Kesan Pillay letting me know that BMW South Africa will not be assisting me in any way with regards to the repair, this was really hard to accept as I thought BMW was a brand that I could trust, but I had to accept and move on.

I then called BMW Northcliff Auto to have my car towed to a 3rd party repair centre only to be told that I need to settle an invoice for stripping and installing, according to Tony the workshop manager at Northcliff Auto, BMW South Africa gave them the go-ahead to disassemble my vehicle without my consent. After a few days, a received an email letting me know that my car can now be collected.

I finally got my car towed to the 3rd party repair shop where the car was booked to have the timing chain replaced. I got a call from the workshop manager last week Friday letting me know that there are a number of parts that were damaged and left in pieces.

The following parts were damaged by Northcliff BMW:

Oil pump - damaged with an angle grinder - needs to be replaced Main Bearings and main bearing caps was disassembled and damaged Fan belt tensioner - damaged Main Bearings oil cap bolts are missing

I emailed BMW South Africa letting them know that the above mentioned parts were damaged and need them to replace it as I did not give them permission to disassemble my car, today 16th May 2019 I receive an email from BMW South Africa.

Here is the response that I received.

Please see feedback from the dealer below: Ø All the bolts should be in the car. Ø Regarding the oil pump, they had to grind the bolt on the oil pump as it was stripped. Ø The tensioner was already damaged due to the timing chain that snapped. Ø Grinding marks on block –dealer apologised ,they confirmed it was a human error and they are glad the damages are not severe. Furthermore, BMW Northcliff advised that they will not be assisting with any of the parts. Kind Regards -- BMW Group Financial Services

This is response I get from this thievery organisation. I can't believe that a brand like BMW will not accept responsibility for their actions and leave a customer more in debt than ever before.

I am seeking legal advice for legal action against BMW for malicious damage to property.