BEWARE! VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH AFRICA....A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.

BEWARE! VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH AFRICA....A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.

A week ago I bought a new Polo GTI from Barons .. Edwin Swales . Four days later on my way to work ..the car started to jerk....NO WARNING MESSAGE. popped the bonnet open and there was oil spilling out on the entire engine...with smoke and sparks. I HAVE PICTURES.

Long story short...car had to be towed....Few hours later Barons calls to say your car is ready to pick up. They stated that the oil cap was missing. I refused to take the car back as I can attest to the fact that I nor any other person removed the oil cap from the car. I was not prepared to accept an excuse like that because I had already clocked 465 km on the car prior to driving to work that morning, and if the oil cap was missing WHY ON EARTH DID A WARNING NOT COME UP. This posed a MAJOR SAFETY concern to me. The car could have caught on FIRE and could have destroyed 35 other cars in the ba*****t parking as there was oil flowing all over the floor. Must a consumer who bought A BRAND NEW CAR simply take back the car after having witnessed, just hours before, the terrifying scene of hot oil spilling all over the electronics of the car? Did VW Barons do the PDI on the vehicle? Are they aware of WARNING stated on page 261 of the VW manual about engine oil spills ? I don’t believe so. For these reasons I escalated the matter to VW head office the VERY SAME DAY. I had a long chat with a lady ..Robin Ferreira from CUSTOMER INTERACTION CENTRE (CIC). who appeared to be sympathetic and listened and asked me what my expectations were and I stated very clearly that as this was an issue of safety that I want a new car and an explanation as to why NO WARNING SIGNAL came up prior to the jerking , oil spill smoke and sparks. After a few days having had no response I emailed the Sales executive, Keith Naidoo and re -iterated that the car must be replaced as this was a SAFETY RISK. Keith then called me stating that Barons was in negotiation with the FACTORY to exchange the car. Subsequently the dealer principal of Barons VW, Shane Naidu, informed me that the OIL CAP was LOOSE and they refilled the oil and tightened the cap. I then informed him that his Service Manager, Cliffy Govender, his sales executive Keith Naidoo and the Sales Manager Vusi Mlungwana all stated that the OIL CAP WAS MISSING. Obviously the Dealer Principal was not aware of this and on confronting him with this CONTRADICTION, he quickly stated that I should await a response from the CIC. Its now over a week and we have NO FEEDBACK from VW. I have NOTHING IN WRITING from them....WHAT ARE THEY HIDING? NEGLIGENCE!!!!! VW has obliterated my faith in them. Part of their their Mission Statement is to offer SAFE vehicle. Is consumer SAFETY a priority to them or is it just PROFIT? Hence WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING. I do not want other consumers going thru this experience of waiting, and knowing that somebody is covering their backs. We are often fooled into believing that big companies will GET IT RIGHT. Thanks to Hello Peter , Wendy Knowler.. the Motor Industry Ombudsman of SA, Johan Van Vreden, and our millions of followers on social media we can create consumer awareness and have a VOICE. TOGETHER WE ARE BIGGER!!! I promise to keep you informed with a follow-up review.