Total rip-off

On Wednesday,29 November i took my 2004 VW Jetta for a diagnostic test to get to the bottom of a problem it had of a recurring misfire and constantly burning spark plug 1. Tomson motors came highly recommended by a co-worker and instead of using a cheaper home garage i normally use i was convinced the extend of repairs needed higher expertise to what the home garage would. They proposed they carry out tests to ascertain the damage and what needed to be done to fix the problem. No money was discussed at this stage but i was shocked to hear that i had to pay R993 for the tests later on. Okay this was not a problem for me, i just think it's good to put it out there from the get go. They took a full working day to establish carry-out the tests and later on was informed that a cylinder overhaul was needed to fix the problem as cylinder 1 had no compression at all. Other cylinders i was told were fine and shows that the engine is still fine. I'm no car expert and i went with their diagnosis and decided that i would need about a day or so to gather my thoughts after i was given cost estimate of R20 900. I was back by them the Friday, 1st Dec to hand in my car for them to start the repairs. I was informed it would take about 7 working days to fix the car and i had to then ask for a loan car which is norm with other car garages should they require more than 48 hours to do the repairs. Later on that day i was informed i would have a loan car. The repairs carried on until 12 December when i received a phone call from Sean Tomson the garage owner whom i had dealt with from the beginning. He informed me that the repairs are almost complete but they realized that the engine fan is not working would need replacing. This would cost me an extra R3000 added to the cost estimate taking my bill to just under R25k. I really wanted my car to come out good and though this strained my budget i authorized the fan replacement. The following day just after mid-day i was informed my car was ready for collection and couldn't be happier. After paying R24 939,94 i collected my car on the same day, Wednesday, 13 Dec. The car drove like a dream and i was supper happy that the problem was finally fixed-little did i know. The following day in the afternoon my car started showing the same symptoms as before, idle is very erratic, engine started to shake vigorously, which always happened whenever spark plug 1 was gone. Only this time there was now a thick blueish smoke coming out the exhaust. My excitement came down crushing because my car was back to square one again and i new whatever they had repaired did not solve the problem-if not probably worse. I immediately informed the garage and Sean said i could bring the car back when it suited me. I took it the next morning and they looked at it again and the next day called me with the disappointing news. Sean informed me that they had now found the underlying problem with my car and that an engine overhaul instead need to be done to fix the problem. I was shuttered to be honest but what was even more disappointing is to follow. In that telephonic conversation, Sean informed me that he stands by his initial diagnosis of my car and that i would have to attend a meeting that he has called for with a RMI (Retail Motor Industry Organisation) rep. At this stage i did not have a clear picture of the need to attend the meeting with someone else-all this was new to me. I obliged and agreed to attend when it would eventually happen. Over the next day i researched the purpose of this organisation and realized that something was very wrong with their diagnosis so they are trying to cover themselves and shift blame. Today, Monday 18 December i went to the garage to see Sean Tomson to find out more about this meeting and get a full explanation of the matter. The moment i saw him i could see deception in his eyes-could not even look me up in the eye as he had done when taking my money. He explained that he wants a second opinion from the RMI person and he maintains that he did the correct job and i must therefore pay for the engine overhaul that needed to be done. I was categorically clear with him that i would not pay an extra cent to fix a problem i had already paid for but was not successfully repaired. My argument is that i took my car with problem A and problem A still exist so why what have i paid for so far? I was quite polite in my response to him but he just started sacking at me and saying that he knew it would come to this argument and that is why he has called the RMI representative. I felt very sad that i came to this man's garage seeking services that would fix my car, i even overlooked a home garage that i normally would have used because i thought the level and standard of competency would be great for the job at hand. I regret going to this garage and now i sit with a very old loan car with no functional air-con in this Stellenbosch heat. The inconvenience is great and the attitude i got from the owner was that take your piece of garbage back home and leave me alone. No sense of responsibility whatsoever and he even advised me to report the matter to the Motor Industry Ombudsman and he will meet there. I never threatened him with any form of action but all i asked him was whether my car had been rid of the problem i brought it with or not. He said he was actually doing me a favour by letting me use the loan car, he can take it anytime. I did not go to this man's garage to be treated this way, i just wanted my car fixed like any other citizen seeking competent services. I am flabbergasted at this lack of customer services from an owner in this day and age and to consider he has to impart good customer relation s****s to his workforce. All i want is a fair process which results in my car getting fixed. Had he done a proper diagnosis and informed me from the get go that there were no guarantees to the repair fixing the problem, i would have made an informed decision then but to spend that much and not get a satisfactory result is unacceptable. Would i go back after this incident- i bet you on my last cent NEVER.....