Volvo Nightmare

I have been driving Volvo cars for the past 27 years. Never wanted another car. By 2010 I had already owned two Volvo S40 cars but I fell in love with and purchased a brand new Volvo C30 2L automatic. My car was my dream and was treated like a baby. On the 2nd of April 2019 my car went for its usual annual service at CMH Bryanston, which cost me just shy of R17 000. The car returned to me and my year long nightmare started. The car would stop in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. It went back to CMH Bryanston, several times, and I was eventually told I needed a new mechatronic unit, cost R32 000. I paid because I could not afford to replace my car. It was returned to me and again and again the car would not start, lost power, we battled to get the key into and out of the ignition, nothing was right. I contacted Volvo South Africa who were initially very concerned because I had been such a loyal client for 27 years. They told me that my car must be taken to Tom Campher Volvo because they are "Volvo Royalty" and the experts. So that's where my car was taken. The nightmare got worse, I was then told that I needed a new gearbox which would cost R48 000. I still could not afford to buy a new car but was assured that the car would be fine once the new gearbox was installed. We got the price down to R42100. When my car was taken for its service on the 2nd of April 2019 the mileage was 69 750. It had always been serviced by Volvo, the cost of my services from May 2015, when my motor plan expired, up until July 2020 is R61 738.00, in five years. I never complained, I just paid because I trusted that my car was being well cared for as it needed to last me a very long time. From 2nd April 2019 until I got my car back in March 2020, I had my car for about 35 days total and it was returned to me with a mileage of 75250. How is a car that is not drivable clock up this kind of mileage. When my car was returned to me in March 2020 it was clear that something else had happened to my car while it was with Tom Campher. It also had a huge bubble on the front tyre, which I had to replace at my cost. After digging and some detective work, I discovered that my car had been involved in an accident and that Tom Campher Volvo had **** about it and tried to cover it up. They had send it to a little guy operating out of his garage in Fairlands for repairs. My daughter, who takes care of this car like a little car, knows every nut, bolt, *****, everything about this car. The car came back to us in a shocking state, the paintwork was amateur at best, there were signs of residue paint all over the engine compartment. Having been exposed, Mr Vic Campher told me that he did not care about my debt. Nice! In September of 2017, I was advised by CMH Bryanston that it was best to replace the battery with a Volvo battery as it lasts a lot longer than other batteries, so I paid my R3500 and got a new Volvo battery installed at CMH Bryanston. However in September 2020 the battery needed to be replaced once again. Okay, but when the car was returned to us from Tom Campher Volvo the battery cover was missing and the engine cover was loose under the bonnet. In February 2020 when I told Volvo South Africa that I was very unhappy with how this whole year of stress and very high costs had gone and I still did not have a car that I could rely on, they were very arrogant and told me that I could go to the Ombudsman if I felt that way. Now understand something, in May 2010 I paid cash for my little car. Ten years later I have a car debt in excess of R100 000.00 with interest on that debt killing me. I also paid insurance to the tune of almost R15 000 for a car I wasn't even driving. I did lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman on 11th February 2020 and heard yesterday, after nine months of almost complete silence except for a letter regarding Covid, that my complaint had been rejected. The Ombudsman was provided with correspondence, documents, photographs and video footage of my year of nightmares. How can can a car that has been babied and serviced by no one else but Volvo for its entire life to the tune of about R80 000, including annual services, lightbulbs, batteries, windscreen wipers etc. over a five year period have gone so spectacularly wrong? You see, Volvo will always get away with it. I'm just an ordinary person who doesn't have the kind of deep pockets and attorneys they can afford and the reason THEY suggested I go to the Ombudsman is because they know they are always going to win. Its impossible to believe that the Ombudsman looked at all the evidence and still rejected my complaint. I'm sorry for the long review but its been a very long nightmare and for me the nightmare continues as I still have to service this massive debt every month. Oh and in case Volvo take exception that I don't mention it, they did give me a loan car and a discretionary discount of R10 000 on my gearbox, for which I suppose I should be eternally grateful. Don't get me wrong, they are the most magnificent cars in the world but the people at Volvo are a different kettle of fish altogether. I still own two Volvo C30, my 2010 and my son's 2009 and as soon as I am able, with some luck, I will definitely cut all my ties with this car manufacturer. Dream turned into nightmare.