Unhappy Customer

To whom it may concern,

Hope you are well.

I am writing this e-mail as a customer who is not happy, I feel that I didn't get the best service from the BMW in Sandton and furthermore I feel that I was made to pay for something that was damaged by the negligence/not proper work done by the technicians at BMW Sandton.

Just a bit of history

Mid-February, my car had a problem with starting. I then took it in to BMW Sandton to get it checked out. I was informed that the problem with my car was the petrol pump. We got it fixed, took the car home and approximately 2 days later I started hearing a rattling sound from the bonnet. I initial thought my car was adjusting to the new part that was changed. So I waited a bit. 2-3 weeks later the sound was still there and getting a bit worse. Called BMW Sandton and booked the car in to be checked out. Car was booked in on Monday the 19th of March 2018, on the 20th of March 2018 around 1pm, received a call from the technician asking there the sound was coming from. I then explained that its from the bonnet on the left hand side. At 3pm my service adviser Fatima called me and told me that she is sending a driver to come pick me up. I asked how much it would cost to fix the car and she said I must not worry I must just come collect the car. Got to the dealership, I was given the gate release and we went outside to wait for my car. The driver came with the car and I could hear the rattling sound from a distance. When the driver got to me, he asked if this was my car. I said yes and he asked what sound as that, I told him I dont know that's the reason I brought the car to them. At this point my service adviser was already back in the shop. I walked back in an attempt to find out what was fixed on my car and why the sound was still there. She said the problem with my car was the heat shield *****s. They have ordered me heat shield *****s and she will call me as soon as they arrive. She also assured be that it is safe to drive the car. I took the car and went back to work as I had left my stuff in the office. When I left the office, I realized that there was a part in my boot that looked like a foil. I was not sure what the part was so I just left it there. Wednesday was a public holiday, I didnt drive the car as I was home the whole day. Thursday drove to and from work. On Friday, I drove to work knocked off late as I had a meeting that ran till late. Got to my car and as I was driving out of the parking lot I got the drive-train warning light. After about 5Km's of driving I got a message telling me that my oil levels were too low and that I had to stop the car and call BMW assist. Couldn't stop then proceed to the next garage where I attempted to fill the car with oil. Unfortunately for me they didn't have synthetic Oil. So I had to leave the car there in search of Synthetic oil. Managed to get the oil and I filled up the car with approximately 7 bottles. When I drove home the rattling sound from the bonnet was gone.

The following morning, first thing in the morning I drove the car back to the BMW Sandton Auto, unfortunately for me the service adviser was not there but I then spoke to the service manager that was present on the day. I explained to him that I don't understand how a car that was brought in to be checked by them in the previous 2-3 days is giving me this error. I also indicated that at home where I park there was no oil spillages and same goes for at work where I park, there were no oil spillages. I also questioned why is it that after I poured the oil, the rattling sound from the bonnet disappeared? I also expressed my disappointments on the service tat I had received from them. I also expressed my worry that what if me driving a car without oil could have damaged my car? He then called some technician guy and we all went outside to check the car. I was asked to open the bonnet and start the car and leave it idling. He raised some concerns on the excessive shaking of the engine, he also question why was my heat shield removed. I was also showed that there was some oil on the bottom cover on the car. But again, the amount of oil that we saw on the bottom of the car couldn't equate to the amount of oil I poured the previous day.

I left the car there, so that it could be checked out. Monday didn't get any feedback and I called on Tuesday to find out the status, I was transferred to Fatima to assist me and it sounded like the service manager was no longer looking at my case. After a few day I was told that the problem with my car was the timing chain and they also had to reseal the oil tray. I called trying to find out what could have caused my timing chain to break, and the technician said it was because my car was been driven with low oil. As I was trying to find out from the technician what could have lead to that and if it is possible for him to check what was done on my car previously when I was there, he said it was a bit loud in the workshop, and someone is calling him he would call me back. To this day he hasn't called me back

My Issues.

1. Why was it not detected when I brought the car in on the 19th of March 2018 that my oil tray was leaking and that my timing chains where giving in?

2. Is it possible that either when they were changing my petrol pump or when I brought the car in to be checked for the rattling sound that the oil was drained then or the oil levels were already low by then? Maybe its my blondness but when I bring in a car to a BMW dealership I am expecting it to be checked thoroughly. I don't expected to be checking oil and all and that is the reason I bring it in to a BMW dealership.

3. This is a question that is just making me uneasy, is it possible that my timing chain broke because of the negligence from the people that work at the BMW dealership? And if that is the case why was i required to pay for it to being fixed?

4. Also if I bring in a car as a complaint and I leave it with the service manager, is it not the service managers duty to call me and check if all went well? Cause to this day the service manager has not called me to check if all is well with the car?

I am really hoping you guys can assist me with this, as I am really not a happy customer