Lucky Nkosi, a motorist from Mpumalanga who had a grievance against an Audi Centre that wanted to charge him R12,000 to diagnose an engine for a problem they had previously fixed, is pleased that the dealership has had a change of heart.
The Audi Centre in Trichardt decided not to charge Nkosi, 38, a day after Sowetan Consumer reported about Nkosi’s plight, which would have seen him pay R12,000 to have his car engine stripped to determine what was causing it to misfire and lose power.
Nkosi had taken his Audi A4 to the dealership last month and was charged about R6,000 to have his car’s spark plugs replaced. However, when he got it back days later, the car broke down again and the dealership demanded R12,000 to have the engine stripped to diagnose the problem. Nkosi then approached Sowetan Consumer as he believed the dealership wasn’t being fair for charging twice. He also filed a complaint with the Motor Industry Ombudsman of SA.
The dealership decided not to charge him after the publication of Nkosi’s story. He said the branch manager had called him to let him know that the car would be fixed at no cost to him.
“I’m so happy that I won’t have to incur further costs. It’s been a frustrating journey with Audi and it inconvenienced me a lot because I have not been able to use my car for more than a month. I had to hire people to take my children to school.
“The whole thing cost me a lot of money and I’m happy that it’s finally coming to an end but I hope that they can move with speed in fixing my car. I’m just glad I will not have to pay and I know if I hadn’t gone to Sowetan Consumer, I would have been forced to pay.”
He said he will not withdraw his complaint with the ombudsman just yet.
“As much as I’m pleased with how things are going with my car at the moment, however, I still do not trust them after the way they treated me. I will only withdraw the ombudsman matter once I get my car and it’s in good condition,” said the municipal employee from Secunda.
Charl Stander, the manager of the Audi branch, could not be reached for comment. He had previously told Sowetan he would not make any comment on this story as the matter was still with the ombudsman.
consumer@sowetan.co.za
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