Discovery insure and Eljoney Panelbeaters

2023 December 9th, I had a car accident, and as usual, my car was taken by Discovery Insure for assessment, and my claim was approved.

The issue I had with Discocvery was when they advised me where they were going to take my car for repair, and I was very strict with them that I needed my car to be taken to an accredited BMW Panelbeater as my car is still under extended warranty. Discovery then asked for proof of extended warranty, which I submitted. Discover then came back to me that Eljone Panelbeaters is BMW accredited and they have appointed them to work on my car.

I did not have any problem with that because I was advised the Eljone is BMW approved. However, I was more curious to see the condition, where exactly my car is, and who is working on it. To my surprise, my car bonnet was removed, and the front bumper and side cover of the car were removed, which is understandable because they needed to repair those areas. The only The problem I had with them was that my car was parked outside with other cars, and the weather was cloudy and it was just raining. This was an issue because I advised them that the electronics of this car might be affected by the rain, and even the sunny day is not ideal to leave my car like that. I picked up dents and scratches on my mad wheels. I took the pictures and shared them with Discovery Insure to address the issue with the panelbeaters, which was addressed, and my car was parked inside the workshop.

The car was done, and I was called to collect the car. The first thing I noticed was that there was a water vapour on the new light that was replaced, and the other light that was not replaced looked even newer than the one they installed. I asked, and I was advised that will go away over time. I was with my wife because we had to use the other car to get there so that one could drive the car we were collecting. When I got home, my wife advised me that the car is not drivable like before, and I had to drive the car to test drive it, and I noticed that the tire pressure was low. I immediately took it to Tiremart, where they failed to top the air, but eventually they managed to remove the entire wheel and discovered the entire tire was damaged, and I had to replace the entire wheel. that when I noticed that tire pressure monitor was not working as the car did not indicate any problem with the tire. I then discovered that the PDC is also malfunctioning, as the PDC was detecting things that I could not see. I then sent the entire issue to Discovery, and the car was taken back.

All the issues were addressed by taking the car to BMW. I then collected the car with no issues. A few months later, the front bumper that was replaced started to peel. I immediately took the car back to the panelbeaters. They confirmed that they had an issue with the paint; however, they will work on the car.

I was called to collect the car; however, the issue was now that the car is now complaining about the lights, which was something new. When I asked, I advised that the sign is showing that they tampared with the lights when they were working on the front bumper as they had to remove the entire bumper. I was advised to drive the car, and that will reset itself. When I was about to leave, I picked up the car washer. Nozzel was not properly done, and the car is complaining about the boot that is not closed. They checked, and they failed to open the boot, and I had to call Discovery, and then the decision was to take the car to BMW for assessment as even the rear windows were also not opening.

The report came back from BMW Midrand indicating that the controller is fault and is not due to a car accident and electronics to fail. I immediately went to BMW Midrand to understand the report. I was advised that the person who was working on this report work with the panelbeater as this panelbeater buys parts from him. I was advised by other BMW people who I can't disclose their names which question I should go and ask this person. I went there and I asked him what the possibility was that the panelbeaters, when they were working on front bumpers and removing those lights, might have resulted in the controller getting faulty, and he acknowledged that there is that possibility. I further asked him the possibility of my car being jump-started, and that can also result in the controller getting faulty, which he accepted that can result in the controller getting faulty. I then asked him why he did not include that in the report, and he confirmed that he couldn't and he cant help me. I escalated the issue to Discovery and I was advised that unfortunately the claim was declined.

I am now with the car that I need to fix, which I specifically requested Discovery use the BMW account, which I only found out by BMW that Eljone is not BMW approved but RMI approved. Eljone further advised me that Discoery advised them not to use original parts and use used parts; hence, they were issues. we had a telephone call with both Discovery and Panelbeater, where panelbeater advised that the bumper installed on my car is around R3000 instead of the original part, which cost around R13 000 hence, even the washer nozzel are not fitted properly.