SHOCKING service from Vaalridge Auto - now known as Sovereign Vereeniging

Good Day BMW South Africa,

This email/message is with regards to my BMW 118I M Sport and the level of SHOCKING service that I have received from your BMW Sovereign Vereeniging Dealership in Vereeniging.

My vehicle from the day that it was bought has NEVER been serviced or repaired at another other BMW dealership, other than BMW Sovereign Vereeniging. The experience that I have received from the dealership, the staff, the managers and dealer principle is unacceptable. My experience has been anything BUT pleasant.

Please see below some of the experiences that I have had from your dealership, and the below is just a few to mention.

3rd of November 2016

My vehicle was booked in at the Sovereign Vereeniging dealership for the 40 000km service, when the after sales consultant David asked me if there were any other issues that I have been having with the vehicle I said yes, the left front door lock was faulty, at times the door wouldn’t lock or unlock and occasionally the door would jam which would result in my passengers having to climb over my seats. I also brought to his attention that there is a rattle on the front left of the vehicle.

Later that afternoon the dealership contacted me to let me know that the vehicle was ready for collection. My partner and I went to collect the vehicle, I noticed that my vehicle hadn’t been washed properly and that my tyres were dirty and not even polished, also to find that my new air fresheners that I had in the side of the door had also been ******. As my partner and I had just arrived home I realised that the right rear brake light was not working. The next morning I contacted your workshop manager at the Jay, and let him know the concerns and issues that I had with my vehicle and this dealership, as this wasn’t the first issue that I had had with your dealership. Jay then assured me that he would have a look into the problem and that he would then come back to me with feedback and ensure that he got the problems solved. Jay then contacted me back and said that he would have the technician come out to my offices on the 9th of November to have a look at it, and see if he could repair the vehicle at my offices, unfortunately they were not able to repair it at my offices as he said that the light may be faulty. I feel that my vehicle was there on the 3rd of November for a service, should the dealership not have done an overall check on the vehicle to ensure that everything is 100% correct before leaving your workshop. I understand that with the technology now a days that we rely on what the computers and senses tell us, but they too can be faulty and they too can give the incorrect information on a vehicle. I was also taken back when Gareth the Service advisor mentioned to me that the error or problem might be the spark plugs and that they may need to be replaced, ONCE again my car was there a week prior for a service, why was this not checked?? I was also taken back when I went to go and collect my vehicle, it wasn’t washed once again, the tyres weren’t cleaned and I feel that this is not fair as we do get billed for this which is part of our motor plan, how can you bill me for something that you haven’t even done.

9th of November:

As promised by Jay, the workshop manager at the time, he would send Gareth the Technician to my offices to see what the problem was with the Rear Brake Light which is what he did. Gareth came through to my offices but was unfortunately not able to fix it on my premises as they thought it was just a loose connection, however this wasn’t the case and they were unable to repair it. Gareth then mentioned that the vehicle would need to go into the dealership and they would need to replace the light. I had asked him if they were possibly able to give me a courtesy vehicle as this is the only vehicle that I have, and I can’t be off the road as I am the director of 3 companies so it’s quite difficult for me and I have meetings in Johannesburg all the time which I can’t miss, he said that it shouldn’t be a problem and he will do his best to get me a courtesy vehicle.

10th of November:

Gareth called me the following day to please send him picture of the Right Rear Brake light that wasn’t working so that he can compile a report for BMW SA as they wanted to investigate the problem. As per his request I sent him the photos and what he needed in order to compile his report, he said that once BMW give him the go ahead he would let me know. Should I have been stopped by traffic officer during this time, I would have been liable for a fine on my vehicle. He then asked me if I could bring the vehicle in on the 22nd of November which I said was perfect.

21st of November

I contacted Gareth to remind him to please arrange the courtesy vehicle for me, he assured me that it was sorted and that there would be a courtesy vehicle for me.

22nd of November:

The morning of the 22nd of November I went to drop off my vehicle for the Rear Right Brake light to be exchanged, and again I reminded Gareth there is still a rattle in my vehicle if he could please have a look into it as the rattle is still there. I was then given a courtesy vehicle a 120D Sport, I was very grateful to have been given a courtesy car HOWEVER this vehicle STANK like an ASHTRAY that was about 10 years old, there was cigarette ash all over the vehicle and the vehicle was DIRTY in side. About an hour and a half after dropping off this vehicle and collecting the courtesy vehicle, I got a call from a VERY IRATE salesman, and he was adamant that I return the car immediately. After explaining to him that I was in Johannesburg for a meeting but I would be back on my way with in the next hour. He then said to me not to worry he will come and collect the car from me and swop it out,. I had no problem with that however I was in the middle of the Johannesburg CBD and I wasn’t prepared to sit waiting in the car for an hour while waiting for them to come and swop out the car so I said that I would swop it out when on my way back from Johannesburg, Had I been the client to view or purchase that vehicle I would have cancelled the deal right there and then based on the condition and the smell of the vehicle. This was a HUGE inconvenience for me as I had a meeting in Vanderbijlpark with my clients which wasn’t a good impression on me or my business as I had to keep them waiting to suit the salesman. When I went to the salesman to swop over the vehicle they then gave me a BRAND NEW 320D, it was stunning however this too was dirty inside and it only had about 1500kms on the clock. Just to bring to your attention that both of these vehicles that I had collected were both on less than 20km range, I do understand that times are tough and that you can’t fill the vehicles for your clients, I understand that. However I don’t agree that you will leave them with such a small amount of range, the least you can do is just put in R100.00 petrol just so that it’s not in the range.

Gareth then called me later that afternoon to come and collect the vehicle as it was then ready, I wasn’t going to be back in time as I went back to Johannesburg for more work that needed to be done and said that I would return the vehicle the next morning, he agreed and said that it wouldn’t be a problem. Once again over the phone I asked him if he had sorted out the rattle and again he assured me that the rattle was sorted.

23rd of November:

When I got to dealership the next morning to collect my vehicle, there wasn’t any one there to assist me. So the after sales consultant (David) assisted me with collecting my vehicle, before leaving his desk after signing the paper work, I asked him to please get a salesman to call me with regards to purchasing the 320D that I had been driving, to date no salesman has contacted me. However when I went to my vehicle I again noticed that it hadn’t been washed once again, you would have felt ashamed had you seen the state that I had to drive my vehicle out of your dealership in that condition. I then proceeded to get into my vehicle and drive it, as I was about to merge onto the highway, I could hear the rattle again which I was ASSURED ONCE AGAIN that it had been sorted. I turned around immediately and I took the vehicle back to them and took back the courtesy as this was now the 3rd time that they had reassured me that the rattle was gone. Jay the workshop manager then called me to say that he had personally driven the vehicle and that the rattle was gone, and that I could test drive the vehicle with me.

24th of November:

I went through to test drive the vehicle with Jay and he was not there so I test drove the vehicle with Gareth, and the rattle was still there. Gareth said that he could hear the rattle and pin pointed where it was coming from, and said that he would have it sorted out. While my vehicle was there for the rattle, I got a call from someone in your dealership to ask when we could arrange for my vehicle to be brought in for the rear brake light which it was there for on the 22nd of November already. So in other words your dealership had no idea that my vehicle was still standing on your workshop, so that makes me wonder if the light was in actual fact done on the 22nd as they said it was.

25th of November:

Gareth called me to say that I could come through and collect the vehicle they have FINALLY found the rattle and it was loose wiring in the dash board and cubbyhole, and I he was 200% sure that he had found the problem, the rattle seemed like it was gone until I opened the inside of my middle console to find that they had just cut black double sided tape around the edges of the console it looked shocking, it was something that I could have expected from a back yard mechanic and not from BMW. If I wanted my vehicle to be stuck with double sided tape I would have done it myself, that same day my water fluid washer comes on and says that its empty, once again please correct me if I am wrong but should this not be something that is checked at my services which it was there 3 weeks prior to that.

1st of December:

I was on my way home from Johannesburg in PEAK hour traffic, and all the electronics and gauges shut down in my car, I got a message on the screen to say “gear selector lever indicator failure. Engage gear is not displayed correctly, caution when driving off or parking have the problem checked at the nearest BMW” this can be quite scary at 6pm on the highway and you are 130km away from home. I contacted the workshop Manager and I made him aware of this problem and he then said that I will need to bring the vehicle in to him. When I tried to start the car to bring it to him the following day the vehicle wouldn’t start, after trying to start it on several occasions the car finally started and I was able to take it through to him. He then was able to assist me with another courtesy vehicle, which was also a 320D which was brand new with 1000km on the clock, however ONCE AGAIN had a 12km range in the vehicle. Jay then said that I would hopefully then have my vehicle back the following Tuesday (6th of December)

4th of January:

I started my car and it immediately alerted me that the water coolant level was low which I wasn’t 100% sure what this was, so I contacted BMW immediately to ask them what do I do. They then advised me that I should fill the water bottle up with water. Please bear in mind that I am a woman alone and not married having to open a bonnet and fill the water bottle, none the less I did it and all seemed fine. Might I add that this is 3 weeks after having my service done, is this not something that they should have checked when it was in for its service?

The same thing kept happening and I just kept filling it up, as I didn’t want to be stuck on the side of the road or cause any damage to my engine. Once again when I brought this to their attention, I again complained about the rattle in my vehicle that had still not been sorted out. They then said that I need to leave the vehicle with them and they will try and sort out the rattle, the new workshop manager who had taken over from Jay, Philemon had arranged a courtesy vehicle for me. Philemon contacted me to say that the rattle was coming from the rear shocks and that they needed to be replaced. This seemed a little strange as the car didn’t have high mileage and also the rattle was distinctly coming from the front of the vehicle and not the back of the vehicle. My vehicle was then with your dealership for 6 weeks, and still the rattle was not solved after changing the shocks.

15th of May:

It came to my attention AGAIN that my back rear light was not working once again, I reported this to Gareth as well as the rattle in the vehicle and he said that he would let the manager know to contact me which he never did.. I tried on numerous occasions to get hold of him and he wouldn’t take my calls. Finally Gareth got the workshop manager to contact me and it him 4 days to come back to me and let me know when my vehicle could come in for the light to be sorted out. Finally on the 19th of May they contacted me to say that I could bring the vehicle in and they would then replace the light for me. Once again, Gareth assured me that he had fixed the rattle and that it was gone which finally it was after they removed the entire console from the vehicle. I remember that the beading on the driver’s door was torn and needed to be replaced, I called him to ask him if he could please exchange it for me and he said no problem the beading should be there after 1pm and I could collect that afternoon, this time I was given a blue 118I M Sport and asked Gareth to get a salesman to contact me, to date no one had ever contacted me. The same day after Garth had contacted me and said that I would be able to collect my vehicle that afternoon about an hour later the service manager then contacted me to say that I should return the courtesy car immediately or I should let him know where I am and he will send someone to come and drop off my vehicle with my and take the courtesy car, he said that no one was able to get hold of me but Gareth had been in touch with me 45minutes prior to that, this just shows me that your workshop manager has NO IDEA what is going on inside of his workshop and he had no idea that my vehicle in actual fact was not ready and they were stilling waiting for the beading to arrive after 1 and this conversation took place at 9am.

9th of June:

WATER COOLANT LEVEL IS LOW: Once again I got a warning to say that the water coolant level was low, and luckily I was at my boyfriend’s offices and he then opened the bonnet to fill the water and noticed that there was a serious water leak, me being a woman alone every time that this has happened I never realised that there was a water leak. It was a Friday afternoon and I was leaving for Durban on the Sunday morning as I had a conference there that I needed to attend, I made Gareth aware of this at 1:50 pm and I asked him to please get this sorted, it also came to my attention that my car had no oil in it, how was I expected to drive this vehicle to Durban with no oil and no water I could have blown the engine. After going back and forth with Philemon (the workshop manager) who had put the phone down in my ear, The manager of BMW and Gareth I decided to take this further to Ray your dealer principle who had a vehicle delivered to my offices and my vehicle collected from me at 5 that afternoon. On the following Monday David contacted me to say that I needed to pay R280.00 per litre for my oil, please correct me if I am wrong but is this not also included in my service plan, and it was in for a services not long before this, should once again is this not something that they should have checked. The courtesy vehicle that was given was DISGUSTNG and it stank, the window was cracked, the boot was stained and full of scratches the vehicle was very run down. When you compare my vehicle with 77 000km on the clock and vehicles that have only 8000kms mine is in better condition.

22nd of July:

WATER COOLANT LEVEL IS LOW: Once again this is 30 days after it was in for the leaks and the water coolant that they had replaced the pipes and assured me that all is in order. I was on my way back from Durban with 2 small kids (4 and 6) in the vehicle when this had happened, luckily I wasn’t too far from Harrismith where I had to wait for about 5 hours for the vehicle to completely cool down and then top it up with water again to proceed home, which then made it that I had drove in the dark with 2 small children, put mine and their lives at risk, the road are VERY BAD and full of potholes, and have you tried to entertain 2 small kids at a petrol station for 5 hours while you are waiting for it to cool down so that you can put water in your vehicle when BMW was meant to fix the problem and make sure that everything is 100% correct.

24th of August:

WATER COOLANT LEVEL LOW: Once again 22 days after BMW has had my vehicle I have the same problem, it is now 4 days later and they have not yet come back to me after my car has been there now more than 4 times for the same problem and it’s still not fixed. Ray the dealer principle does not come back to me and choses to ignore my messages it is now 4 days later and they still have not let me know when my vehicle can come in for a repair. They have said that there might be an issue with the head gasket and the they will need to strip the vehicle to see what the problem is, when asked for a courtesy car they said that I should go to Europe car and rent a vehicle as well as pay a deposit of R2500.00 for the rental of the vehicle I don’t feel that this should be my responsibility when the lack of service and workman ship that I have got from your dealership. Ray has said that this will be a 10 minute fix which I doubt it will be 10 minutes and if that were the case when why is it that this is the 4th time that its going back for the same problem.

I am writing this with matter of urgency to please take this up with your dealership to get this problem sorted out as quickly as possible as I can’t be driving a vehicle around with leaking water pipes with the amount of mileage that I do on a daily basis.

Please if you could come back to me with a response as soon as possible it would be greatly appreciate it.

Kind Regards Terri Bensch **********