BOSCH SERVICE CENTRE - HI-TORQUE SERVICE CENTRE - DANGER

I am so disappointed, frustrated and angry. I took my car to Bosch Service Centre's because they had a good name in the industry. ONE DAY after the service it was smoking terribly. ONE WEEK after taking my car for a service, it is now not only burning oil, it is loosing water and I am not able to drive it, leaving me stranded. The only response I get from the dealership is it is not their fault and the repairs will cost upwards of R26000, despite the fact that they do not know what is wrong with the car.

The following is the sequence of events:

On Thursday 18 August 2019 I brought my car in for a service. The manager Mr Frans Makwela phoned me to advise me that I had an oil leak. I stated my disbelief at that because there was no oil leak under the car at any time, but took his word for it and allowed him to “fix” said oil leak. I got my car back in the afternoon. The car seemed fine and the service cost R3000.00 with the fix for the oil leak. He at no time mentioned that there was any kind of problem with the car. On Friday 19 August 2019 I brought it back and complained about the copious amounts of smoke emanating from my exhaust whenever I started the car. Frans Makwela’s response was it was just burning off oil and there was nothing to worry about. On Monday 22 August 2019 I brought it back again and complained of the same problem, Frans then said the following:“I think it may be the valve stem sleeves”; “I think it may be an oil leak”; “I am not sure what the problem is but it is going to cost you a minimum of R16000.00. “You can drive the car no problem just keep an eye on the oil, it will not cause any damage". On Friday 26 August 2019 I drove the car to my step-mothers house, and suddenly there was steam coming out of the engine. I immediately stopped the car and did not drive it. I had the car brought to Bosch Service Centre for them to tell me why 1 week after I brought it in for a simple service it was now un-drivable. It was then apparent that the water was also disappearing and he had no idea why 1 week after the service suddenly the car was losing water. Frans then went ahead and started to blame me for the cars problems… I could not prove that I had had it serviced, as it was done through a private person, and thus it was my fault that a week after a service with Bosch the car was un-drivable and will cost a lot of money to fix. They have just sent me a quote for R 26 605.73 & R 18 152.85 for a complete engine rebuild after having a simple service.

Frans also told me this morning he had contacted Bosch itself and they told him to tell me that it is my fault as I cannot prove when last my car was serviced, even though there was nothing wrong with the car before the service. He claims that due to the oil change, with new oil, it has caused all of this to start happening as the new oil “cleaned” the engine and now the seals, rings, or whatever it is (Frans is not quite sure) needs to be replaced at an exorbitant cost.

The car had no issues before the service. It did not leak oil, nor lose water, nor did it use a lot of oil or water. It did not smoke at all. It made no noises, did not lose power or any other sign of problems. Until the day after the service I had a perfectly functioning motor vehicle.

I must add that at no point on the day of the service, nor on the Friday when I took it back, was there any mention of any other issues with the car. They must have started the car after the service and noticed the smoke but said nothing. It is only after the major service was performed that the problems started with the car and now a week later I have no car to drive and Frans saying it is going to cost R26000 to fix and it is not their problem.

I lodged a complaint on the Bosch facebook site, to which I have had no response. I would appreciate some response to this complaint.