Worst Service and disregard for customers from Imperial Isuzu and Opel Bloemfontein

On 25 April 2019 I took my car to the Imperial Isuzu and Opel service department at Corner of St George and Oliver Tambo Street, Bloemfontein. The problem on the car was the thermostat, I was then informed that this will be replaced and I can collect the car on the 26 April 2019. Indeed the morning of the 26th I came to collect the car and paid an amount which was for the thermostat and labour. I took the car and drove for approximately 15 kilometers and the power went off, subsequent to that i called the insurance and the towing services and i brought the car back to the branch. After informing Service Advisor she called two mechanics to come look at the vehicle. They informed me that there is suction on the cover, the engine is shaking and that the tappet cover should be replaced as it is damaged, they also showed me the seal which was not properly app****. In addition to that the crank position and oil pressure sensor will also have to be replaced. I didn't agree to the air by pass valve because the car had normal power before it came to the service department. The service advisor then informed me that these parts will have to be ordered as there is no inventory on stock, the expected delivery date was the 24th of May 2019. I agreed and left the car at the service department. Throughout this period i had to keep calling to find out if everything is going according to schedule, not once did i ever get a courtesy call from the branch to update me on the progress. On the 22nd May 2019 I called the branch and i was informed that all the parts have arrived and the mechanic is working on the vehicle and it will be ready by Friday (24 May 2019). Still on the 22nd May 2019 Service advisor told me that over and above the requested parts they will also need to do ''timing' on the car and i agreed. On the 23rd I called again and she told me the mechanics are still struggling with the timing but the car will be ready on the 24th. I went to the branch on the morning of the 24th and i was told the mechanics are still working on the car and that they will be finished in the afternoon. I called in the afternoon and the indication i got was that the car will be ready on Saturday which was the 25th. I arrived on the 25th of May around midday and the car was parked outside as it was already time to close off the workshop. I met with Service advisor and went to pay the invoice. i took the car and drove to the nearest filling station to replenish the tank and went home. On the 26th I was driving on the N1 heading to Pretoria and I felt the car was slower, something I never had a problem with before. Because the car was due for service I figured I will take in at William Hunt (Visagie Street Pretoria) on the 28th May 2019 to see what could be the problem. On Monday 27 May 2019 I decided to start the car and open the bonnet and check the car, there was an unusual sound coming from the side of the fan belt, subsequent to that I checked the engine and that the very same suction that the mechanics spoke about it was still happening, the engine was shaking the same way as it did before and worse the seal which the mechanics highlighted on 26 April was still there, which imp**** the tappet cover was never replaced or they did such a bad job there is no difference between now and the time i brought in the car. I informed the Service Advisor from William Hunt (Visagie Street) about slowness of the car, and the straw which broke the camel's back for me is when i received a call from William Hunt that I should fork out an amount in excess of R3500 for "timing", why on earth will I pay for timing twice within a matter of few days.

On 05 July I returned the car back to the service department because it was overheating, oil was leaking from the oil pressure switch, the suction persisted and the car was extremely slow.

After 2 weeks the i was informed the mechanics are still working on the car (I don’t know if this is disrespect or the people working there are ***********). I was then told they will have to replace the thermostat because it’s faulty (the same thermostat i got from the service department). 3 days later i went the service department and thats when they are only starting to work on the car. After fitting the thermostat the mechanic tells me the turbo is damaged.

The service manager’s argument is that a turbo is a wear and tear and its not their fault that it happened to fail when it was at their service department.

I am going to fight this to the bitter end, it’s either they fix my car to the state it was before i took it there or they refund me every cent i paid.