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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Dealership praise/horror stories
- Thread starter double-n
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that_guy_Ettiene
///Member
BMW Centurion Leo Haese impressed me last week Friday.
Wife's Mini went for a service there.
No complaints, fast, friendly service from Shannin.
Wife's Mini went for a service there.
No complaints, fast, friendly service from Shannin.
MajorChipHazard
Member
Auto Alpina Boksburg,horrid service for myself,a friend and a cousin.That's probably one of the most useless and most dont care attitude stealership I've been to.
Ratslaaf
///Member
Hehe, I have the exact opposite hey. In fact I have the one parts guy on whatsapp and goes out of his way to help, even people I refer there. But it's like anything I suppose, the guy I deal with always has two phones on his ears and he battles to get through all his work.
I have a similar scenario at another supplier I deal with. So I didn't throw my toys out my cot with the guy that helps me, but I had a hard chat with his manager and explained to him that they are clearly understaffed and that is affecting my business. It helps having a good rapport with the guys in the front line. A good attitude really goes a long way as well.
I have a similar scenario at another supplier I deal with. So I didn't throw my toys out my cot with the guy that helps me, but I had a hard chat with his manager and explained to him that they are clearly understaffed and that is affecting my business. It helps having a good rapport with the guys in the front line. A good attitude really goes a long way as well.
sunnyj
New member
Guys please stay away from Southeast Auto BMW, Germiston :RedNo:. Dealth with the most dodgy salesman by the name of Johan. Been looking at a 330d as found that the320d's were poorly specced. http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...ontype/automatic/transmissiontype/steptronicd, came across this one. Salesman was not very cooperative or wanted to negotiate. I am from Durban so told him I'll get my BIL from JHB to view the car on Sat. He said that would be fine. When my BILwent to view the car this is what he saw
. Car parked in the workshop with the dash ripped out - climate control issue if you go by what Johan says. Johan was not very approachable and made no apologies regarding condition of the car. He could have at least had the decency to phone & say car is not available for viewing. When I spoke to him today he said he did not know my BIL was coming to view the car (f***n liar):argh:. Give this dealership & Johan a wide berth :cartel:.
zippy320
Well-known member
Hmm that's generally not how a car should look before a potential buyer goes to see it , but at least they were honest and let you see it while its been worked on hehe .... At least you know its getting a new something .
And we got to see it 2 :rollsmile: One thing though , I have never seen a dealership leave parts on the seats on any of my cars when they go in for service or repairs. They should have a safe place for all the little pieces . I to will be horrified though to see the car in that condition .
And we got to see it 2 :rollsmile: One thing though , I have never seen a dealership leave parts on the seats on any of my cars when they go in for service or repairs. They should have a safe place for all the little pieces . I to will be horrified though to see the car in that condition .
HitokiriZed
Member
MaX said:
I agree the sales team from JSN is pretty good. My BIL purchased an M4 from them (on my referral) and Shaun helped with the procurement and installation of some M and AC Schnitzer parts. I have since also purchased some stuff from Shaun.
My experience with the service team was pure unadulterated horse excrement.
I took my car in for more oil at 10,000km (the OB computer said I was at half way). I was told that the service tech would inspect the car and everything required would be claimed from the maintenance plan. In the event that I would have to pay - JSN would contact me for authorisation.
No calls, except to say my vehicle was ready for collection. Get to the dealership and get smacked with a R2k bill - I paid thinking that JSN techs drained and replaced my oil and believed that BMW may charge a premium for oil, and that R2k may be justified.
After payment I received an invoice - they had in fact carried out a full oil service, incl. removal and replacement of the pollen filter and 2 car washes (at least that's what I was billed for). This was unnecessary for a car less than 6 months old. I got upset and advised management that this was unfair and stupid on their part. They apologised but refused to refund me.
I drove home parked my car off and went about the day as usual. When I woke the next morning - driving away from my parking spot - I noticed a few oil spots on the floor. Then I was greeted with a low/no oil warning on the idrive display.
Long story short - I drove to Northcliff BMW (after calling ahead and ensuring it was safe to do so) - they checked out the car and confirmed that there was no oil filled, which they chalked up to incorrect sump plug fitment. Although I have email proof of JSN admitting their negligence, they refuse to reimburse me or make amends for their folly. BMW SA also were not very helpful - since they are unable to recommend any course of action to franchised dealerships.
In retrospect I should've gone to the Ombudsman, but the hassle after over a month of arguments with the JSN management was, at that point, not worth it.
I know some guys get great service from JSN, this is just my story and the reason I will not soon give them any of my business.
Philip Foglar
///Member
I had a very good experience today with Forsdicks Tygervalley parts department and Autotron in Bellville.
Posted the link to the thread and quoted below: The E90 battery drama - sorted!!
Posted the link to the thread and quoted below: The E90 battery drama - sorted!!
In late August 2013 I finally decided to replace the E90's battery which at the time was 8 years old and dying a slow death, being at its worst each winter. I priced some batteries and places to have it fitted/registered, and eventually decided to stick to a BMW OEM battery and have it fitted by a local auto electrician that I have dealt with before.
The new battery was fitted and registered and the old returned to Forsdicks Tygervalley. All was fine for a while, but it soon became apparent that the new battery was just not as eager and strong as I would have expected. It was exactly the same capacity and cold crank rating as the one that came out of the car. A months later summer was here and this was all forgotten. Then winter came and it started to battle again, and did not like it if the car stood for anything longer than a week. When it did, and to prevent the battery from taking too much strain, I charged it at the engine bay jumper points with my trusty Ctek charger. Summer came and this time it didn't quite bounce back as I expected, and then it happened - the battery had drained so much that when I tried to start the car it made that awful ticking sound and was greeted by an unhappy cluster. This happened again at the beginning of this year and I have been having to drive the car more regularly and supplement with some charging in between. All of my cars take turns being parked, but it's only this one that was battling like this.
So then last last Sunday I took the car on the BMW Tunnel run which was a nice long run, and returning home with no stops, I was confident that the battery had a good charge. This past Sunday, so literally a week later, I wanted to take the car for a drive. Nope, dead battery again! So back on charge and decided to get this sorted out. Found the invoices and formed a plan of action.
I took the car in to Danie and Autotron who fitted the battery two years earlier so that he could test the car's electronics and the battery to see what's going on. This took a few hours, but I set the day aside for this, so patiently waited there to see what they all find. Nothing wrong with the car's electronics, alternator fine, IBS and power regulator fine, and a cursory check of the battery also seemed fine. It had enough capacity to start the engine a few times in succession. He then set the car so that he could monitor the current drawn off the battery while the car was locked and eventually enters sleep mode. He could see the various stages as the systems shut down, and then eventually entered sleep mode, and the current drawn went down to almost nothing, so no parasitic draw (relief)! He then asked if he could properly test the battery, which meant removing the BMW branding stickers on the top of the battery so that he could access the individual cells. I told him to go ahead with that because I needed to know what was causing the problem with the battery long being suspected. Indeed, it turned out that one of the cells was dead and creating a sort of internal resistance, draining the battery while the car stands.
With his report in hand, and the invoice for the battery, I went to Forsdicks Tygervalley and spoke to Eddie, the parts manager, explaining the situation. At first he said that it is a pity that I am only coming to him now, since the 2 year warranty had lapsed a week or so earlier. I then explained that I have various electronic communications, threads/post of the problems at the time, and that the battery was defective as per what Danie said. He graciously phoned their supplier and explained the situation, then told me that he would let me know once he has heard back. I barely get home and he rings me back to tell me to turn around, they have approved the warranty claim. So straight back to Forsdicks Tygervalley and he arranged to have one of their technicians fit and register the replacement battery.
I am pleasantly surprised and relieved that I was able to get this all sorted out today. And a big thumbs up to Eddie at Forsdicks Tygervalley (have always had good service from him and the part department), and of course to Danie at Autotron in Bellville!!
raise:
Anyone else agree that it is better to take your car to a trustworthy independent mechanic than any big dealership?
I never take my cars to dealerships ever.
Most charge high prices and like to replace parts unnecessarily
A smaller workshop will charge less and a independent mechanic will charge even less.
I took my 318i to 3 of those smaller 'BMW specialist' workshops around Cape Town to get quotes to sort out Valve stem seals, Timing chain tensioner, water leak and do a service
I got quotes for 11 000 and around 15 000.
(Imagine the price if I went to a big dealership..)
I had all that done for R 6400. (I provided my own oil though)
Most want about R5000 for Valve stem seals. That costed me R 2 600.
I never take my cars to dealerships ever.
Most charge high prices and like to replace parts unnecessarily
A smaller workshop will charge less and a independent mechanic will charge even less.
I took my 318i to 3 of those smaller 'BMW specialist' workshops around Cape Town to get quotes to sort out Valve stem seals, Timing chain tensioner, water leak and do a service
I got quotes for 11 000 and around 15 000.
(Imagine the price if I went to a big dealership..)
I had all that done for R 6400. (I provided my own oil though)
Most want about R5000 for Valve stem seals. That costed me R 2 600.
I work collaboratively with a few auto SMMEs that fall within the micro workshop category and have developed an excellent relationship & partnership with them over the years. Some of them specialise in engine repairs/electronics/suspensions. One focusses on software and tuning related services.
The labour and parts fees of these workshops are always lower than bigger dealerships.
I will always support the smaller workshops but i realise they have there own challenges such as capacity, specialised tools, space and of course cashflow.
The labour and parts fees of these workshops are always lower than bigger dealerships.
I will always support the smaller workshops but i realise they have there own challenges such as capacity, specialised tools, space and of course cashflow.
JodyD
///Member
Hi Guys
Since this thread is around might as well share my experience.
Purchased a Car from Cedar Isle Fourways on the 1st December 2017
and been promised to have a spare key within a week then a month then 3 days and 11 months later still no key and not a single word from the salesman
Bottom line they all smiles and happy when they want the sale but after service
sucks :thumbdo:
Since this thread is around might as well share my experience.
Purchased a Car from Cedar Isle Fourways on the 1st December 2017
and been promised to have a spare key within a week then a month then 3 days and 11 months later still no key and not a single word from the salesman
Bottom line they all smiles and happy when they want the sale but after service
sucks :thumbdo:
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