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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Dealership praise/horror stories
- Thread starter double-n
- Start date
SanM
///Member
Dealer: Sovereign BMW Bloemfontein
Purchased my 120d from there.
After purchasing the car, realized there was a comment on the backdoor; dealer replaced it due to faulty handle. This was disclosed when purchasing so I was fine with it. During a heavy rain soon after purchasing, the back seating area was flooded in. Took it into Sandton Auto, who informed that their workshop didn't do a good job sealing the door. I eventually got myself to look past this. Later on, when trading the car in, I was informed by the evaluator that there was actually paintwork on the rear bumper. So, the car did have some accident history behind it, which wasn't disclosed.
Before trading in (in fact, soon after receiving the car), I noticed and subsequently reported a lot of juddering when driving. Sent it in to Sandton Auto again, and was informed that the car rear tyres were severely buckled. This was the case while the car was with them (as I booked it in shortly after receiving the car, and which I disclosed shortly to the dealer). Dealer kept promising to resolve but never did anything about it. Calls were avoided, management changed and so on. Very kak service.
So yeah, just be careful when dealing with these okes. Not just poor, lemon cars but really shocking service. Only positive was my salesman (Johan) who did his best to assist.
Purchased my 120d from there.
After purchasing the car, realized there was a comment on the backdoor; dealer replaced it due to faulty handle. This was disclosed when purchasing so I was fine with it. During a heavy rain soon after purchasing, the back seating area was flooded in. Took it into Sandton Auto, who informed that their workshop didn't do a good job sealing the door. I eventually got myself to look past this. Later on, when trading the car in, I was informed by the evaluator that there was actually paintwork on the rear bumper. So, the car did have some accident history behind it, which wasn't disclosed.
Before trading in (in fact, soon after receiving the car), I noticed and subsequently reported a lot of juddering when driving. Sent it in to Sandton Auto again, and was informed that the car rear tyres were severely buckled. This was the case while the car was with them (as I booked it in shortly after receiving the car, and which I disclosed shortly to the dealer). Dealer kept promising to resolve but never did anything about it. Calls were avoided, management changed and so on. Very kak service.
So yeah, just be careful when dealing with these okes. Not just poor, lemon cars but really shocking service. Only positive was my salesman (Johan) who did his best to assist.
MiteshN
Member
What recommendation are you looking for? Are you looking to buy, sell or service a car?
With the current dealership on-boarding on the forum of the BMW opposite Mall of Africa, that might be a great all round place to try.
I personally used Autoglen while my car was in MP, and never had an issue, even though my car seemed to live there ever so often during the time, ensuring I had every niggly small bit sorted out, before it came out of MP.
Now that my car is out of MP, I am using an Indy with extensive BMW knowledge to service my car, and have no issues...
What recommendation are you looking for? Are you looking to buy, sell or service a car?
With the current dealership on-boarding on the forum of the BMW opposite Mall of Africa, that might be a great all round place to try.
I personally used Autoglen while my car was in MP, and never had an issue, even though my car seemed to live there ever so often during the time, ensuring I had every niggly small bit sorted out, before it came out of MP.
Now that my car is out of MP, I am using an Indy with extensive BMW knowledge to service my car, and have no issues...
With the current dealership on-boarding on the forum of the BMW opposite Mall of Africa, that might be a great all round place to try.
I personally used Autoglen while my car was in MP, and never had an issue, even though my car seemed to live there ever so often during the time, ensuring I had every niggly small bit sorted out, before it came out of MP.
Now that my car is out of MP, I am using an Indy with extensive BMW knowledge to service my car, and have no issues...
What recommendation are you looking for? Are you looking to buy, sell or service a car?
With the current dealership on-boarding on the forum of the BMW opposite Mall of Africa, that might be a great all round place to try.
I personally used Autoglen while my car was in MP, and never had an issue, even though my car seemed to live there ever so often during the time, ensuring I had every niggly small bit sorted out, before it came out of MP.
Now that my car is out of MP, I am using an Indy with extensive BMW knowledge to service my car, and have no issues...
Malone said:
Will give them a try next, anyone in particular to ask for? Might need to see Technospec for rod bearings as preventative maintenance.
Service and sales if you have any recommendations. I am currently looking for a very good indi with M experience, stealers getting ridiculousMiteshN said:
Malone said:
Will give them a try next, anyone in particular to ask for? Might need to see Technospec for rod bearings as preventative maintenance.
Service and sales if you have any recommendations. I am currently looking for a very good indi with M experience, stealers getting ridiculousMiteshN said:
MR_FORD
Member
BMW Ballito - I drive 70km just to take my vehicle to this dealership as the ones closer to me have an attitude towards their customers.
Its well worth it, I leave my vehicle there , they drop me off at Lifestyle Centre( A must see! ), When my last visit ended up having my vehicle there for 2 weeks due to running a R60 000 bill to my MotorPlan( know a good few staff there that ensured my vehicle was in tip top shape while on MP) , the Dealership arranged to have a driver drop me off at home(I have a Daily Vehicle as the BMW is just for Toying on the weekend)
Sunil - Service advisor, great chap, sad to hear he will be leaving soon.
When vehicle was complete, know a trusted staff member that I had drive my vehicle back to me.
Services are done Mon - Sat
Repairs are done Mon - Fri
Its well worth it, I leave my vehicle there , they drop me off at Lifestyle Centre( A must see! ), When my last visit ended up having my vehicle there for 2 weeks due to running a R60 000 bill to my MotorPlan( know a good few staff there that ensured my vehicle was in tip top shape while on MP) , the Dealership arranged to have a driver drop me off at home(I have a Daily Vehicle as the BMW is just for Toying on the weekend)
Sunil - Service advisor, great chap, sad to hear he will be leaving soon.
When vehicle was complete, know a trusted staff member that I had drive my vehicle back to me.
Services are done Mon - Sat
Repairs are done Mon - Fri
MR_FORD
Member
Iceman007 said:
I have a good mate thats a technician, so he changed a lot of components, discs, calipers, radio head, rain sensor, hooter, software reprogramming, a rod that adjusts the headlights(was rusted), shocks, vibration damper, etc etc...
cant mention too much here lol. have MP police here :fencelook:
SanM
///Member
Samuel Auto, Durban North, Glen Anil. A family member booked their Chev Utility in for a service. When it came back, the clutch was raised very high and the gear lever clip was broken. They denied it and refused to assist. We had to then find an independent mac to fix the problem, who confirmed that the clutch was raised too high, and suspected foul play. Be careful with these guys.
On the flip side, I highly commend the excellent service I received from the mac above. He specializes in Chev Utilities, specifically gear boxes. He's brilliant at his craft and did an amazing job refurbishing the gear lever. Honest guy and extremely sharp and efficient at his job. Can share details on pm.
On the flip side, I highly commend the excellent service I received from the mac above. He specializes in Chev Utilities, specifically gear boxes. He's brilliant at his craft and did an amazing job refurbishing the gear lever. Honest guy and extremely sharp and efficient at his job. Can share details on pm.
msm
Well-known member
Dealer: BMW Midrand (Previously Auto Bavaria Midrand)
Praise: Go to the dealership for extremely good deals on cars and parts - good fanatics discounts applicable and excellent service. Been recommended by many fanatics to source my (used) car from them and they certainly came to the party in finding me a car with the right specs at the right price. Will be visiting them for parts as well, due to the good discounts. Pretty decent showroom, with some unique M cars always on display.
Horror: If you can, take your car elsewhere for servicing and repairs. Ironically, been warned by a few fanatics to stay away from their workshop and I can attest to this as of October 2020. (Putting a date to this, hoping they improve in future).
Praise: Go to the dealership for extremely good deals on cars and parts - good fanatics discounts applicable and excellent service. Been recommended by many fanatics to source my (used) car from them and they certainly came to the party in finding me a car with the right specs at the right price. Will be visiting them for parts as well, due to the good discounts. Pretty decent showroom, with some unique M cars always on display.
Horror: If you can, take your car elsewhere for servicing and repairs. Ironically, been warned by a few fanatics to stay away from their workshop and I can attest to this as of October 2020. (Putting a date to this, hoping they improve in future).
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
msm said:
It doesn't seem to have changed in 6 years unfortunately. At regular intervals I have tried to gauge whether there was improvement because it is so close and convenient for me. It is literally down the road (maybe 5 mins away if that) vs. a 20-30 min drive to JSN for me. I gave them two shots with the M5 and that was it... experienced JSN when I fitted my ACS springs and never looked back.
There are SO MANY people who have bought at ABM because they really do go the extra mile sales wise. Parts wise it is also great with Deago and fanatics discount. Recently another of my mates had a recall notice on his G20 show up. Even when trying to book, they insisted there was nothing (they say they had done it already when the car was last there). He went to JSN to fit his M Performance spoiler and they did the recall for tie rod ends and alignment while it was there. He had that irritating message on his iDrive for over a month and apparently something wrong with a safety critical part of the car which he did keep checking in on (even to just clear the error at some point)!
With the way BMW is going with this dealership model service is the differentiator. You don't really buy the car from the dealer anymore, you have centralised booking and sooner or later you will have centralised parts pricing and online parts sales. Eventually no improvements to the workshop side will catch up.
6spdmanual
Active member
Sandton Auto. Took my car in a while ago now asking that they replace my AUX input jack as it could't pick up many different cables I tried. Would have costed about 1.5K, but I was told that the reason why it wasn't working was because my radio is faulty and had to get it replaced (would have cost about 15K if I recall correctly). Being out of 'Plan, I obviously said no. The same evening I tried some very cheap cable out of desperation from Pick n Pay, and wouldn't you know it, it worked perfectly. Haven't been there for any repair related work since.
ENT_DocY
Active member
BMW Fourways.
Bought a used G01 from them. Car had a few niggles that I picked up after delivery which they sorted with no complaints (I suppose it helps that they could charge MP for most of it)
The salesperson Dylan and UCM Ockert are very helpful.
I also like that I could speak to the workshop manager directly if I needed to.
Only complaint is that they don't negotiate much and won't throw in even the smallest freebie lol.
Bought a used G01 from them. Car had a few niggles that I picked up after delivery which they sorted with no complaints (I suppose it helps that they could charge MP for most of it)
The salesperson Dylan and UCM Ockert are very helpful.
I also like that I could speak to the workshop manager directly if I needed to.
Only complaint is that they don't negotiate much and won't throw in even the smallest freebie lol.
Benji
Well-known member
I also use BMW Fourways for all my parts, Theo is a very helpful and friendly gentleman
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
BMW Menlyn feedback. Bought my first BMW from them many years ago. Was a great experience then and again now. Bought my 3rd BMW from them and took delivery yesterday.
Was truly a great pleasure dealing with them again. The sales guy Abri was patient, even though it took me almost two weeks to say "ok go ahead I am taking it" The sales manager even came to chat to me and thank me for the business. Will definitely use them again in a few years time.
Was truly a great pleasure dealing with them again. The sales guy Abri was patient, even though it took me almost two weeks to say "ok go ahead I am taking it" The sales manager even came to chat to me and thank me for the business. Will definitely use them again in a few years time.
Lovenhatebmw
New member
Yes! I registered on here because this site has been eye opening ! My poor car with low mileage has been parked for nearly a year! Here's why: a year after taking my car to BMW Menlyn for a water pipe related issue my car completely broke down . I reported issues a day after the repairs like the left passenger door lock not working and car driving different ( this was in april 2022) in January 2023 the car started showing a drive train warning and in feb stalled completely with hard start. Car stayed in my garage (as I knew it was going to be an expensive fix just like a small water related issues cost the year before!) I took it to BMW fountains in October and they didnt want to work on the car and said to take it back to LMG Menlyn but they (menlyn) wanted to charge for a replacement battery first even before diagnosing the car. The costs for a new battery alone made me tow the car to an RMI approved mechanic and the mechanic found that the ecu / compuyer box (excuse me I'm not a car boffen) found that the car had a f20 ecu instead of a f30 which the car is?! The car after the initial repair was displaying in the cluster a 1 series instead of a 3series which the car is. It also had warnings of convertible roof and lane assist (all which the car doesnt have ) weird but this is a warning not to trust dealerships out of Motorplan. my car was out of motorplan last year so my suspicion is that they swapped parts. I cant prove it by I suspect it!!
Lovenhatebmw
New member
Menlyn service is only good when selling new/used cars. But wait until you take it to them for a service out of motorplan. You will be shocked ! Reserve you good comments when you see that side
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
Where did you originally buy the car? That is your more likely source of the part swapping situation if one exists. Depending on what tools the guys were using they also might just read these modules incorrectly and misidentify them.
These kinds of issues are common on cars that are written off and then repaired with whatever parts the repairers have on hand (and you can get some russian dude on Team Viewer to code everything to more or less work together).
These kinds of issues are common on cars that are written off and then repaired with whatever parts the repairers have on hand (and you can get some russian dude on Team Viewer to code everything to more or less work together).
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