Car Repairs Complaint

Good day,

I feel that it is important to inform you that we are being de*****ed by a company that you do business with.

We purchased a vehicle from Citton cars, Gezina on 7 January of 2022. We purchased a full Warranty with the vehicle.

On 24 April 2022 we took the car into Citton Motors, as the vehicle was giving us problems. We indicated to them that we are experiencing the following problems: 1. There was a rattling sound coming from the engine. 2. We had to refill the water of the vehicle more than once a week. 3. The vehicle’s oil light, as well as the electronic notifications were regularly indicating that the vehicle needed oil. When we then checked the oil, as we did on a regular basis, the oil in the vehicle was sufficient, according to the dipstick levels. 4. The check engine notification and warning messages would appear and the disappear again. 5. The air conditioner was not working properly. The light was also flickering. 6. The engine would smoke from time to time.

Citton cars informed us that they sent the vehicle for tests to check the engine and the other diagnostics. A job card by Bosch indicate that they only checked the rattling sound, but performed no corrective action. Citton returned the car to us and told us that they could find nothing wrong with the vehicle. They told us to ignore the warning lights and other signs, as it “must be a wiring issue” and that we should not be worried.

Just over a month later we drove the vehicle to a shop nearby. Upon returning to the car to drive home the car would not start. I checked the oil and water levels. Both levels were full. We had the car towed to a mechanic, on our own costs. He informed us that – in his opinion – the vehicle was overheating and that the head gasket, cooling system or a small pipe leak might be the cause of the car not starting. He also indicated through a quick diagnostic (without stripping the engine) that the cooling fan for the radiator does not switched on, as it should be. We subsequently notified Citton Cars.

On Monday, 6th June 2022 Bosch collected the vehicle, as per instructions from Citton Cars.

The stories from Citton cars kept changing. What we would be financial responsible for was also something that changed from one moment to the next.

We first spoke to Citton cars. We reminded them that they recently had the vehicle and that we told them of all the above mentioned. They told us that the vehicle is covered by the warranty and that we need not worry. They also indicated to us that the vehicle will be looked at so that Bosch can determine what is wrong and what the (if any) co-payment will be needed in addition to the amount covered by the warrantee.

We then later on spoke to André from Bosch. He informed us that: 1. The vehicle was sent to them on 24 April. Citton cars however only informed him about the rattling sound that we mentioned to Citton. He stands by the fact that they never informed him of our other complaints regarding the warning signs. 2. He furthermore made it clear to us that had he been informed of the list of things we mentioned was wrong, he would have specifically looked at those issues and that had he known about them we would not be in the situation we find ourselves in. 3. He then indicated to us that he will first have to strip the engine, look at the engine of the vehicle and come back to us with an estimate. We however are also notified that stripping the engine will cost us R 6,000 upfront – which is nowhere in any of the warranty document. This is in contradiction with what Citton Cars told us – which is that they will first determine exactly what is wrong and then we will address what is covered by the Warrantee. 4. There has been no diagnostic test done on the car. We are however expected to make a payment of R6000.00. This is totally contradictory to the Warrantee.

We gave all the feedback to Citton cars. We reminded them again of the issues we told them about. To this date they have ignored this and have not responded as to why the issues we mentioned were not looked at, mentioned or addressed.

We were now informed by André from Bosch that he cannot tell us what is wrong with the vehicle. He says that we first need to pay R6000.00 for the engine to be taken apart for them to determine what is wrong and if it will be covered by the Warrantee that Citton Cars sold us. Therefore, it seems that they do not want to run a diagnostic test first to determine what part of the car is the issue.

We find it unacceptable that we need to make payments just to determine what the repairs will cost. It is also unacceptable to us that we told Citton Cars that the vehicle was giving problems and they told us to ignore the problems. They however now refuse to address the fact that they were aware of the fact that something was clearly wrong with the car that they sold us.

Bosch refuses to work on the car any further, until payments are made to them, despite the fact that the vehicle is under a warrantee. Citton cars are also not taking any responsibility as they claim Bosch performed the quality test prior to the purchase (document also attached).

Citton further claim that the car has driven more than 10,000km after purchase. Mileage on 26 May: 147,566km Mileage upon purchase: 136,309km A petrol car is required to be serviced with them every 15,000km. We have comp**** with all the terms and conditions, as stated by Citton Cars. We feel that we should not be held liable for the actions and lack of actions from the dealership who sold us our vehicle and the warrantee.

Please find attached: (The password to open the documents, is: ***) 1. MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN INSURANCE INSPECTION CHECKLISTREAKDOWN INSURANCE INSPECTION CHECKLIST 2. OPTIONS FORMULA EXPLORER PLUS WARRANTY (2018) 2 YEARS BENEFIT OPTION 2 24 MONTHS / UNLIMITED KILOMETERS

Information that you might need: Vehicle Vin Number: 1C4NJREBXED647555 Vehicle Type: PATRIOT 2.4 LIMITED CVT A/T Wesbank Finance Account Number: *** Customer ID Number: *** Vehicle Registration Number: DC23TRGP

Our contact people at Citton Gezina are: Shanie: *** Anton: ***

We would appreciate it if you can assist us with making sure that Citton Cars take responsibility and address this matter with urgency.

Thank you for your time and assistance in this matter. We await your feedback.

Kind regards,

Cobus Heunis ***