Motor Mechanics & Repairs : BMW Continental Cars lost my 2008 BMW 320i
Share your experience in this category Local Businesses in this CategoryBMW Continental Cars lost my 2008 BMW 320i
Posted by:simi2907 Rating 0 0 `Blogger`This dealership couldn’t seem to fix the problem with my front lights and the car was already booked in with them on 3 occasions. After the 3rd time, they apparently realised that a part needed to be replaced but they didn’t have the part in stock. So the car was to be at their dealership until the part arrived. I requested a courtesy vehicle while the car was booked in with them. They told me that it would take 2 weeks for the part to arrive. Not long after that, the Service Manager, George Zondagh, contacted me, asking if I perhaps collected my car during the weekend as the car was missing. On 13 June 2011 they reported the car stolen. The car was stolen from their workshop, together with the keys (which was apparently in a locked cupboard)The way they handled the situation was appalling to say the least. At the beginning, they were accommodating. They let me hold on to their courtesy car while they were busy with investigations. They suspected it was an inside job and admitted that it was their fault (as the vehicle went missing on their premises), so I was told I would not need to do anything on my side. They reported the incident to the police. However I was getting bad vibes from them, so I also reported it to the police and contacted my own insurance. I had to follow up with them all the time and they made it seem as if I was inconveniencing them.Continental Cars mislead me. On 3 occasions, George Zondagh, mentioned that they value and look after their customers and that I should not stress. He even gave me an example of an incident whereby Continetal Cars damaged a customer’s car and they offered this customer a car at cost price. He mentioned to me that I will not be worse off and that they would not replace my car with something I was not happy with. He also told me to hold on to their car while they try and sort this out. On numerous occasions I asked him to try and source a replacement car as I did not want to be inconvenienced without a car. I expected that by the time, the insurance paid out, I would have a possible car to purchase.Everything changed when I made contact with the dealer principal, Des Soutar. I asked him what the status was on the case and he told me that he was going to have a meeting with their insurance company. He contacted me the next day to say it was confirmed that their insurance company was going to settle the claim. A week later (and they still did not settle the claim), someone from their sales team contacts me asking if I was interested in purchasing another BMW and wanted to know what my budget was. He then mentions to me that they don’t have any cars in my budget range and also tells me that I would need to return their courtesy car within that week. How was I supposed to find a replacement car within a week, so I asked to speak to their Dealer Principal, who was extremely arrogant and unprofessional. He informed me that he does not have any cars to sell to me and that I should source my own car if I wasn’t interested in any of the cars on their dealer floor. I am fully aware that all dealerships work through a dealer network and if he was prepared to source a car from another BMW dealership, he could have done that but obviously he was not prepared to do that. He sarcastically said I should do myself a favour and search the internet for a car. Imagine my shock when he told me that I left my car there at my own risk (that I should have read the job card) and that they were doing me a favour by using their insurance. He also mentioned to me that I was driving a R320000 courtesy car (implying that I could not afford it) and that he had other customers to see to and that he no longer wanted to speak to me. This man literally had me in tears. Its been 3 months and I never even received an apology from them and no one has contacted me with regards to the missing car. Apparently they were going to send all their staff for lie detector tests but obviously they don’t think that losing a customer’s car is a serious matter.Its so sad, as they had no intention of finding me another car and were more than happy to get rid of me as a customer. As per the new Cosumer protection act (right # 8), every customer has the right to demand quality service and Continental Cars defintaley does not give you service at all. What happened to valueing and keeping your customers? I just want to make people aware of the service Continental Cars is giving their customers. Because of this particular dealership, I have lost all confidence in the brand and will never purchase another BMW again. As a premium brand I expected better service.
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