BMW owner, Dr Aubrey Mazibuko, has a headache after a car dealership cannot fix his troublesome machine.
HIs misery began in November 2012 after he bought his BMW 650i Gran Coupe that cost him R1.2-million. Mazibuko, 30, says the car showed multiple defects within hours.
He thinks the salesman who sold him the car knew about the defects, but failed to disclose them.
Mazibuko bought the car from a BMW dealership in Menlyn, Pretoria. He says it was a demo model that had clocked only 2000km.
"The car demanded oil [on] the first day. [On the] second day I discovered the air vents were broken and they were fixed," he says.
Mazibuko has been paying his monthly instalment of R17000 every month since November 2012, but has no car to show for it.
Instead, his car has spent 12 months at the service centre being repaired, he says.
Upon inquiry, Ryan McKee, a sales manager at the Menlyn BMW dealership, told him it was normal for this make of his car to demand oil frequently. "It also had a funny sound coming from the engine that prompted me to demand a replacement, which they [initially] acceded to, but a month later they refused to do so," Mazibuko says.
Jan Lotter, aftercare general manager at BMW SA, allegedly promised to take over his instalments while BMW was repairing his defective car, but never did.
McKee told him if BMW replaced the car he would lose his R100000 deposit. During their meeting he called security and threatened to evict him from the dealership, Mazibuko says. He says he was bullied into taking a defective car and left the premises.
"I kept refilling the oil as the car demanded, but one day it broke down after its engine caught fire." The car was towed back to BMW to be fixed for the umpteenth time.
Mazibuko recalls buying 100 litres of oil in 10 months. While his car was at BMW to be fixed he had a loan car, but the company later took him to court for refusing to return the loan car.
Mazibuko says items replaced include the turbo charger, compressor blades, hi-fi amplifier, vacuum pipes, injectors, air nozzle and sump gasket.
He says the engine would suddenly cut out while he was driving. This once happened on the highway, nearly causing an accident.
Sibongile Motloung is another aggrieved BMW customer.
Motloung bought her 1 series model while working in Munich, Germany, in 2011.
The vehicle had clocked less than 20000km when it was shipped to South Africa, she says.
Upon arrival she asked BMW South Africa to help her with a motor plan, but they refused. When her car experienced sudden losses of power, BMW SA told her the problem was beyond its control. It advised Motloung to take it back to Germany to be fixed.
"At times it would cut power from 120km/h to suddenly drive at 80km/h. This is really dangerous [and] could cause a pile-up," says Motloung.
Her problem has been fixed after Consumer Line stepped in, but Mazibuko is still waiting.
Ash Moodley of BMW's financial services department says Mazibuko's case is with by the legal department and he would respond after consulting the legal team.
For more stories like this one, be sure to buy the Sowetan newspaper from Mondays to Fridays
Driven to dispair: litany of car woes unrepaired
BMW owner, Dr Aubrey Mazibuko, has a headache after a car dealership cannot fix his troublesome machine.
HIs misery began in November 2012 after he bought his BMW 650i Gran Coupe that cost him R1.2-million. Mazibuko, 30, says the car showed multiple defects within hours.
He thinks the salesman who sold him the car knew about the defects, but failed to disclose them.
Mazibuko bought the car from a BMW dealership in Menlyn, Pretoria. He says it was a demo model that had clocked only 2000km.
"The car demanded oil [on] the first day. [On the] second day I discovered the air vents were broken and they were fixed," he says.
Mazibuko has been paying his monthly instalment of R17000 every month since November 2012, but has no car to show for it.
Instead, his car has spent 12 months at the service centre being repaired, he says.
Upon inquiry, Ryan McKee, a sales manager at the Menlyn BMW dealership, told him it was normal for this make of his car to demand oil frequently. "It also had a funny sound coming from the engine that prompted me to demand a replacement, which they [initially] acceded to, but a month later they refused to do so," Mazibuko says.
Jan Lotter, aftercare general manager at BMW SA, allegedly promised to take over his instalments while BMW was repairing his defective car, but never did.
McKee told him if BMW replaced the car he would lose his R100000 deposit. During their meeting he called security and threatened to evict him from the dealership, Mazibuko says. He says he was bullied into taking a defective car and left the premises.
"I kept refilling the oil as the car demanded, but one day it broke down after its engine caught fire." The car was towed back to BMW to be fixed for the umpteenth time.
Mazibuko recalls buying 100 litres of oil in 10 months. While his car was at BMW to be fixed he had a loan car, but the company later took him to court for refusing to return the loan car.
Mazibuko says items replaced include the turbo charger, compressor blades, hi-fi amplifier, vacuum pipes, injectors, air nozzle and sump gasket.
He says the engine would suddenly cut out while he was driving. This once happened on the highway, nearly causing an accident.
Sibongile Motloung is another aggrieved BMW customer.
Motloung bought her 1 series model while working in Munich, Germany, in 2011.
The vehicle had clocked less than 20000km when it was shipped to South Africa, she says.
Upon arrival she asked BMW South Africa to help her with a motor plan, but they refused. When her car experienced sudden losses of power, BMW SA told her the problem was beyond its control. It advised Motloung to take it back to Germany to be fixed.
"At times it would cut power from 120km/h to suddenly drive at 80km/h. This is really dangerous [and] could cause a pile-up," says Motloung.
Her problem has been fixed after Consumer Line stepped in, but Mazibuko is still waiting.
Ash Moodley of BMW's financial services department says Mazibuko's case is with by the legal department and he would respond after consulting the legal team.
For more stories like this one, be sure to buy the Sowetan newspaper from Mondays to Fridays
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