Car worse off after supposed service

<p>My wife Jenna Bezuidenhout bought this Peugeot 407 (REG VPN085GP) from Peugeot Northcliff<br /> on 27/05/2014. From day one it has been a problem starting with the sale of the vehicle as we had to wait two weeks for the vehicle after we paid for it. We asked to have rear PDC fitted and the dealer went ahead and had front PDC fitted as well and then wanted to charge us for it. On the date of sale I asked for a new service book with a complete service history as well as a new spare key. The spare key we received two months later and the service book that we got was from another vehicle with different VIN number and registration. After asking again all we got was a clean service book with nothing written in it. Again I asked if they could print invoices of the service history and they said they would. I got the incomplete service history almost two years later.</p> <p>On the 09/06/2016 I took the vehicle back for a misfiring problem, the day before I took the vehicle in I replaced the spark plugs hoping it would just be that but it wasn't the case, so on the day that I took the vehicle in I told them about what I had done and asked them to replace the faulty component. Three days later I phoned them to find out what is going on with my wife's vehicle as all they had to do was replace the ignition coil and I was told that they were still checking the problem so I told them again that I had it was the ignition coil based on my lengthy motor industry experience. I was then given stories about getting another customer mixed up with me and that the part was on order. Five days after I took my vehicle in to have the ignition coil replaced I was told that the vehicle was done and that I could go pick it up. I was given the keys and told to pay the invoice but nothing was explained to me at all and it felt like I was just pushed out the door. I never went back to Peugeot Northcliff again and will never.</p> <p>I booked my wife's vehicle in at Peugeot West Rand for a cambelt service and some repairs in at the end of January 2017. I got to the dealer at 07:00 am on the Monday and was the second customer in that morning. After not hearing from them I called in the afternoon and was told that they would only look at the car the following day and that they would phone me with a quote. Two days later I phoned back to ask “what is going on” and was told that “they were still busy checking the vehicle”. The Friday I phoned back to ask “what was going on” and was told that “they were about to phone me with a quote” and after speaking to the service advisor about the repairs, go ahead was given to a value of around R24 500. I was told that some of the parts had to be ordered and that the vehicle should be ready by the next Tuesday or Wednesday latest. On the Tuesday I phoned to find out if the vehicle was done only to be told that “it wasn't” and that they would phone me the following day to let me know. On the Wednesday in the afternoon I called the dealer and was told that there was a problem as the radiator and thermostat broke when they tried to remove the radiator pipe and now I had to pay almost R5 000 more because of that as well as having to wait another week for the parts. The following Monday the service advisor phoned me to let me know that there was a problem on the vehicle and that they were checking for the fault. During the following week I phoned numerous times just to find out what is going on and was given numerous vague answers. I was finally told on the Monday 13/02/2017 that I can collect my vehicle the next day. On the 14/02/2017 I was told that they were still busy checking the vehicle and that it "should be" ready later that day. I collected and paid R29 889.90 at 16:21. I was given a brief explanation of what was done.</p> <p>When I went to the vehicle all seemed ok until I started the vehicle. There was two noises and heavy shaking now present that was not there when I dropped the vehicle of almost three weeks earlier, when I asked the service advisor and workshop foreman I was told that the pulley for the air con compressor drive belt was noisy and subsequently told that “these things happen”. I then left the dealer feeling that I was just done in and paid allot of money just to have my wife's vehicle returned in worse condition than what it was when I took the vehicle in. As I was driving, the car was surging and cutting out at robots which it wasn’t doing prior to cambelt replacement. I replaced the pulley for the aircon drive belt myself. That same week I called back really not happy with the service that we received and was told to book my vehicle in on a later date so that they can look at it. The same day I called again and spoke to the dealer principal (Gary) and he told me to bring in the vehicle the following week. I was also told that I would be given a loan vehicle so that they can check the fault. I did take the vehicle back the following week was asked to and was given a loan vehicle. When I got the vehicle back the following week the shaking was gone but the noise from the engine was still there albeit a little softer, when I asked the DP about it he explained to me that was just due to the age of the vehicle and that it would cost about R20 000 more to fix. I was promised a good trade in value for the vehicle on another vehicle. I also told Gary that was not in a position to pay a further R20 000 or trade the car in at the moment at I was unemployed. He then said there were possible positions for me and asked for my CV. My wife sent my CV to him and he told me call him back as they were auditing the dealership. Week after week I would call as a job would assist my wife in trading in the vehicle and buying another vehicle. Three months later he has still kept me on a string of hope that I could assist my wife. He has manipulated me into thinking he would assist and this makes me believe he is covering up for “shoddy” work done by his dealership even the promise of a good trade in value substantiates my statement. We are to travel to George in July and we are not even sure whether we will arrive safely having to drive this vehicle for that long of a distance.</p> <p>My biggest problem is the vehicle was fine before it went in for the cambelt service and the only reason why we had the cambelt replaced is because no-one could tell us if and when the cambelt was replaced. We obviously thought we were doing the responsible thing by servicing our car at an actual approved Peugeot dealer.</p> <p>From the start we have had poor to less than poor service from Peugeot and it feels like they just don't care about their customers and that they are just going through the motions of having and doing a "job" and nothing else. No care was given to us as paying customers and during this entire ordeal we were only contacted by the dealer twice bearing in mind that the vehicle was there for almost three weeks and in that time we were only contacted twice and each time I had to phone to find out what was going on. We have sent complaints for previous ordeals to Peugeots Customer Care and nothing gets done, you are only told “We apologise for your experience and that’s it! Hence why I have writing my complaint directly to you Peugeot Customer Care will do nothing!</p> <p>I have been in the motor trade a combined 17 years and have worked for various car manufactures'/dealerships such as VW, Audi, Volvo, BMW and General Motors and this is by far THE WORST service I have ever seen, there are no words to describe how bad the service is from those dealers. Makes me wonder just why the product has such a bad reputation, it's not the product but the after sales service that gives the product such a bad name.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kind regards</p> <p>Gerhard and Jenna Bezuidenhout</p>