POORLY BUILT, POORLY SERVICED, POORLY REPAIRED. WONT BUY BMW AGAIN

Item: BMW South Africa
Rating: 1
Author: jayson.rebelo jayson.rebelo

In 2014 I found a BMW 125I Msport and with the assistance of BMW I did a search on the Vehicles Vin number. I was advised that there were no mechanical faults/defects/repairs on the vehicle. Only the passenger door and side skirt had been replaced due to the previous owner closing a gate on it (I contacted him to confirm this). I also have the incident report from Auto Atlantic BMW which specifies the nature and extent of these repairs. In order to transfer the Motor plan to my name the vehicle was sent to South East Motors Germiston (“South East Motors”) to be serviced and for the BMW Motor plan check form to be completed. The Vehicle was purchased and transferred into my name in April 2014. At the time of purchase the vehicle advised me that the next service would be due in another 30 000km or December 2014. This advice did not seem to change for many months. At some point in the last quarter of 2014 I was contacted by BMW to advise that there was a minor recall on a part which I was told had to be replaced. Accordingly I made arrangements to have my vehicle taken into Auto Alpina Boksburg (“Auto Alpina”) for the necessary replacement. I also advised them that the vehicle was not indicating that the next service was drawing closer (by reducing the kilometres until the next service). Shortly thereafter Auto Alpina contacted me to advise that my vehicle had in fact never been serviced and that they could not “touch it”. Thankfully I had requested a copy of the BMW Motor plan check form on purchase,which clearly indicated at point 1 that the there was a full service history with the BMW SA Workshop and at point 3 confirmed that South East Motors had carried out the next available service, which I now assume had not actually taken place. A copy of the BMW Motor plan check form is available to anyone who wants it. After a few heated telephone calls between myself and Auto Alpina, I was advised that BMW SA had authorised the service of my vehicle. However when the vehicle was serviced it was discovered that the engine was filled with sludge and would have to be replaced. This was deeply concerning as the vehicle only had approximately 40 000km on it at that point. With no other option available to me I allowed the engine to be ordered and replaced. This process lasted several weeks and I received my vehicle back in December 2014. A few months later my friends pointed out to me that my exhaust was making a sickly noise. I took the vehicle in to BMW and was repeatedly advised that the noise I was hearing was a characteristic of the F20. In September 2015 the exhaust noise became unbearable. The noise it was making was uncharacteristic of ANY car. When I took it into Auto Alpina they conceded that the silencer now needed to be replaced. At the same time I also advised them of some worrying noises I was hearing on the turbo and when I reversed the vehicle. After Auto Alpina and BMW SA had completed a barrage of tests they advised me that the turbo and intercooler would also have to be replaced. They further advised me that the noise experienced in reverse was attributable to the gearbox… but that same was a characteristic of the F20 and did not have to be replaced. I refused to accept this explanation after the issues I had had with my exhaust and eventually BMW SA conceded that the gearbox would also have to be replaced. I have had almost all of the major components replaced. In total the replaced costs amount to in excess of R250 000.00. It has become clear that my car is defective in almost every way, and has been described as a “Friday car” by the service department. I was unfami**** with the term “Friday car” but my internet searches have informed that the definition is as follows: A poorly built automobile. The reason behind the name "Friday" is that workers typically had a long week, are tired, and are looking forward to the weekend... therefore, they are a lot more careless with the construction of the vehicle, lending to it's numerous problems. My vehicle is currently on 86000km with 6 months left on the motorplan, but I have unfortunately lost all faith in it as the gearbox is again acting up and the turbo is once again making noise. I have advertised the vehicle on used car sites as every dealership I have taken it to has offered me a pittance for it. The prospective private purchasers who have viewed the car are reluctant to purchase a vehicle with this amount of comments and mechanical defects. On 24 April 2017 I was contacted by a BMW dealership in Centurion, Pretoria who had viewed my advert. I received written confirmation from a salesman that the dealership would like to purchase my vehicle for R245 000.00 and that I should cease all contact with prospective purchasers I was negotiating with at the time. When I contacted his manager the following day to make the necessary arrangements. I was told that they were not going to simply buy the vehicle from me, but would only do so on the basis that they could structure a deal for a buyer that was favourable to the dealership. I was told to cut my possible buyers loose, to be left in limbo. It is now 3 weeks later and I cannot get an update from this dealership. Based on all of the above I will NOT purchase another BMW. I was let down when purchasing the vehicle as it was not properly checked. The original parts and replacement parts are sub standard, the attitude of BMW SA was poor when I first contacted them about the replacing of parts and now, as if to rub salt in the wounds, I am being given the run around on the sale of the car. MY ENTIRE EXPERIENCE WITH BMW HAS BEEN ****NDOUS FROM START TO FINISH!!!! All of the facts above can be substantiated with documents and emails. If you would like copies of them please dont hesitate to ask me. My email address is **********

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