Utterly Disgusted

I'm beyond frustrated with Cartime Paarl. I brought my car to them with a seized engine, just to figure out why it had seized. I had already bought a new starter because my mechanic found the original one was damaged. After dealing with Masterparts, Dirco Auto Electrical, and Korean Motor Spares—all of whom supp**** incorrect starters—they took them back without hassle and refunded me without a problem.

Cartime, however, replaced the starter without confirming it was compatible, considering the engine was seized. Then, they had the audacity to quote me an insane R78k for an engine replacement, pushing me to take my car to another mechanic. My mechanic rebuilt the engine at a fraction of that cost and quickly found that, surprise, surprise—Cartime also put in the wrong starter, and he had to get a new one. On top of that, they kept the air filter hose for weeks, and I only got it back because I remembered it was with them.

This morning, I went to return the starter to Cartime, hoping for a refund, only to be met with outright hostility. They refused to believe the starter was incorrect for my car, despite admitting they couldn’t test it because of the seized engine. They’re now accusing my mechanic of lying about the fit of the part, claiming he's somehow got a hidden agenda even though he’s got no stake in selling parts. They insisted the starter “works perfectly” after testing it in the shop, but they’d only consider a refund if they pull out my mechanic’s working starter to try their own on the car! None of the other places gave me this kind of runaround or made such absurd demands for a return.

Cartime's arrogance and refusal to acknowledge their mistakes—while trying to paint my mechanic as the one with shady intentions—are absolutely unacceptable.