Renault is uncaring and without integrity

I bought Renault Captur in December 2015 and I have always serviced and maintained it with Renault dealerships even after it came out of the Motor Plan.

I initially had issues with this vehicle on 15 January 2020, it was sending out different emergency lights, losing power whilst driving and it would also not get into reverse gear. I took it to Renault Roodepoort 17 January 2020 and again 4 March 2020 as the problems still persisted despite them having repaired it. I was inconvenienced for quite a long time due to this and I couldn't use my car for a long time as they had failed to repair it on both occasions. It broke down completely on 18th March and it was towed to Renault Clearwater and they indicated that it needed gearbox replacement, which they made me pay for 25% of the costs, despite it being under warranty, they said something about late service and I agreed to pay the relevant amount as I needed to have my car as soon as possible.

Nonetheless, my car was kept in their workshop for more than 3 months and they had initially indicated that they would loan me a car, and when I agreed to pay the fees for a rental they later came back to tell me that they can no longer give me that car.

Eventually when I received my car, I only drove it for a week and it started giving me even more problems, it also constantly needed to be refilled with oil and had splashes of oil on the body of the vehicle and was also blowing out greyish smoke which is something that I have never experienced before. I managed to take it back to Renault Clearwater on 9th June 2020. The next day, I was given feedback that the issue is with the engine and they will replace it themselves. And then they were quiet for almost 2 weeks, I called them for feedback on June 19th to get an update and they assured me that Renault will cover the costs, they are still sourcing the outstanding amounts from the other departments. (I have a recording of this communication).

However, on 9th July 2020, they came back telling me that the total cost of the engine replacement is around R150 000, and Renault will only cover 60% and I am liable for 40% because the car is out of warranty, which is completely different from the updates they gave me in June. They had assured me on both occasions that they would replace the engine, and for almost a month made me believe that they would carry the costs.

What is also unacceptable is the fact that my car was still under warranty when I sent it for repairs in March, but they then kept kept it for months and months. Furthermore, they also serviced this car at the same time that they replaced the gearbox and there was no indication whatsoever that the engine was problematic, so there is definitely something sinister about all this. It seems way too convenient that my car would experience engine problems when it is suddenly out of warranty, either it always had engine problems since January or they damaged the engine during the repair process in March. I sought out their complaints department for a resolution but they don't reply to customers, to date I still haven't heard from Renault SA. And I am busy paying for a car which I am not using.