Zambesi Auto outsources
In 2017 I bought a BMW 316i from Bidvest McCarthy VW Menlyn with one request - A towbar should be fitted as I am a camper and need to be able to tow my caravan. But I insisted that a towbar be fitted by BMW as I did not want to lose my warranty or motor plan that remained on the vehicle at the time. The manager, who did me a great service (I can really recommend VW Menlyn) sent the car to Zambesi Auto BMW - probably the largest BMW dealer in all of Pretoria. The car came back, fitted with a Brink towbar, which I did not question as I know BMW also use Thule and Brink other than an original BMW towbar and the warranty and motor plan were not affected. For two years I have been having trouble with the battery, to such an extent that in December 2018 while travelling to the Natal South Coast the battery swole up and burst, releasing all those wonderful poisonous gasses into the cabin. We were forced to continue our journey with the gas buring our eyes, noses and lungs, it was raining **********ly so we could not even drive with open windows - if it was not for the mercy of the sunroof on tilt and the aircon blowing towards that gap I do not know what we would have done - it was past 21:00 at nght. I took the car to BMW Supertech Shelly to have them investigate the problem. My car disappeared for 3 days and when I got it back I was told that they cleaned the interior to get rid of the smell and replaced the battery - I was given no explanation as to what really happened to the battery or why, eventhough I asked. A day later I received a call from Supertech again asking if the smell was gone yet, it was not.. They took the car back and did a full valet on it - I mean a serious valet, carpets removed (thanks for the hole in my carpet btw) the whole shabang - it looked like the car just drove off the line. But still no explanation. In June 2019 I started having battery problems again, the start/stop funcion would not work and at times the car would battle to start if I drove less than 20 km for the day. Back to BMW, this time Menlyn Auto BMW (if you MUST use them, ask for Isabel - she goes the extra mile for her clients)- to be notified that something must be draining the battery, we discovered a tracking device from the previous owner. After a moth long battle with Cartrack (and locating the owner for permission toremove it) I was told that my battery problems were over. Surprise! It was not. This time I am on hoiday again visiting my parents so I take it to Auto Glen Motors BMW - After a week of up and downs we end up finding the following: Zambesi Auto sent my car to Zambesi Care Centre to have the towbar fitted, so they never booked the car in. The towbar is the culprit in draining my battery for two years now - Auto Glen was the first dealership to actually come to the real cause and exlain to me what is happening. Now Zambesi BMW are refusing to take ownership of the situation as they outsourced the towbar, Zambesi Care Clinic are refusing to take ownership for their botched installation of the towbar as the 1 year warranty has expired (and apparently I should have noticed the towbar draining the battery from the start when even BMW could not). I am stuck having to replace the battery for a whopping R7 800 on my own and have the towbar wiring redone (no estimate yet). This is such a disappointing moment for me, not only as a massive BMW fan, but also as a motor enthusiast. The people we trust to keep us on the road, as=re also the ones dropping us when the things they don't do right, show up.