Steer Clear from Fury Mazda Pinetown!

If you are looking for a business that doesn't give a damn about customer service or perception, you've found the right place at Fury Mazda Pinetown. I had to take time to write this so just bear with me, it's long but it's very important to express my dissatisfaction in detail.

I bought a used car (well it was a used car, I app**** for and intended to buy a demo vehicle with mileage under 15000km) from this particular dealership and from the start it was a disaster. I happen to land the worst sales person - Siyabonga Vunandlala; a ********* ***** - and in hindsight I should have walked away.

After the purchase was concluded and I had signed the contract, I was given the vehicle info to get insurance. I then noticed that the mileage on the advert and the mileage on the documents was different. It had literally ten times more mileage than advertised. Siyabonga Vunandlala, the sales man, only chalked it up to a typo and gave me a R5000 discount as "compensation". It continued to spiral down from there. Again, I should have walked away but I was at a point where I had no option and had to make a decision, not having a car was no longer an option for me for work and every other option they had was out of my budget. I also couldn't afford to continue renting a car to carry out my duties at work which I had been doing for two months while looking for the right car to buy.

A mere three/four months later, I took the car in for service and low and behold, the brakes needed to be replaced they said. I took this up with the manager, David Anderson, as I had just bought the vehicle and had only driven approximately 12000km and he said that the brakes were actually "not that bad", it was just a visual assessment and I should make it to the next service. By then he would come to an arrangement with me on the replacement of the brakes and all I need to do is come through and see him. This was after tons of emails were ignored. Same applies to the messages.

Fastforwad to now; I emailed David about a month ago to discuss this arrangement as it was now time to replace the brakes and there was no response.

When I went to the dealership, I was told that David had resigned. The new manager (Sanele Ndlovu) said he could not help me at which point I asked that he direct me to someone to whom I can escalate the matter. He directed me towards the Dealer Principal (Sean Scully) who asked me to present some form of proof in writing which I did. Ultimately, the decision taken was that they could not assist me. I engaged him back and forth asking for him to make concessions. Eventually he waived about an hour or two of labour only. Given that I was told that this would be dealt with by the previous manager and also because I have had the car for just over a year, I argued that this was not sufficient and he told me he would apply his mind and arrange a deal and revert back to me the following Monday.

On that morning, I phone and find that he is actually on leave for the week. How convenient.

The service manager (Dario) - possibly the only person who I have had an honest conversation with - said he had reviewed this and he would send me quote. After the third follow up, I still didn't get a quote. At that point it was radio silence. 'Til this day, I've had no feedback (a few weeks later). I eventually had to replace the parts at my own cost through another service provider. The worst part is that I could NOT afford all this. I did not ask for a free pass but I asked to be billed proportionally which was fair.

To top it all off, it turns out that the tyres on the vehicle were swapped before I took ownership of the vehicle and I had unmatching tyres. No explanation was given, ever. Just another example of how things are done there.

This has to be the worst example of customer service, and the best example of false advertising. It's almost funny how badly this turned out for me and this is clearly just the beginning. If only I could laugh at the matter.

There was no genuine concern about my grievances even when I put it in writing as a formal complaint to the then sales manager, David Anderson. He once said he doesnt read emails and that I should come talk to him in person. Can you believe it!?

I just want to warn those who wish to go to Fury Mazda Pinetown. If you can help it, do NOT go there. There are plenty vehicle manufacturers and dealerships that have way better service and that are above board, and willing to listen to custome issues. And if you do end up having to go there, get a second and third opinion on everything because I've found myself being hoodwinked into certain things and also being quoted on the most expensive parts etc only to the benefit of the dealership i.e. the good old upsell. No matter how desperate your situation is, just remember that you will come second best when it comes to this Dealership. I hope not all Mazda dealerships are like this, but at this rate I don't advise you go to any of them and I myself dont intend to ever go back.

Make sure you read everything closely and be prepared to leave disappointed! You won't get any help from there