Apollo panel beaters - 435i

Apollo panel Beaters George. Seriously the worst panel beaters out and I’m dumbfounded how they can have BMW or any other accreditation for that matter! Car was delivered to them on 14 June 2021 for suspension, tyre and rim repairs. Since then, it’s been phone call after phone call of promises. The past few calls, I’ve had to chase after them. The issue… they say that the rims ordered don’t match the colour on the vehicle. Fair enough, I bought the vehicle 1st second hand through BMW and don’t know what the previous owner had done to the rims - apparently a “diamond cut” colour was added. So, the rims are ordered and returned, ordered and returned etc etc etc. Eventually, after what I believe was the 4th set, Apollo said the “diamond cut” word. In the meantime, I had spoken to them, trying to understand the process of ordering and returning the rims after so many times, I instructed them to order an extra 2 rims so that there was a full matched set. They told me that my insurance would not pay for this and it cannot be done - without phoning my broker, they made that call all on their own, even after my instructions to order the extra rims.

Now we get to the rims being delivered and the car being delivered to BMW for the re-Instatement of the motor plan. When I arrived at BMW George on 5 August 2021, the very friendly workshop staff member informed me that the car was not yet delivered. He then phoned Apollo panel beaters and they said that they would send the car within the hour. When I queried the quality and efficiency of Apollo panel beaters with him, He said that they are not the best panel beater in George, there are much better than them and didn’t know how they were still accredited due to a dip in their service.

This leads me to the conclusion… I informed Apollo panel beaters that I would be down in George from Bloemfontein from the 1st to 5th August 2021 and had to travel to Clan William from George on the 6th August 2021. On Monday the 2nd, I went to Apollo panel beaters personally and asked if the car would be ready for my trip on the 6th. They told me that the rims were still not there and that they could send them to Port Elizabeth to get the “diamond cut” work done. I asked that they rather get the car on its wheels and get it to BMW for the final alignment as this cannot be done at Apollo. I again reminded them of my travel plans for the following week. On the 4th, Apollo panel beaters phoned again and said that there was a colour difference on the 2 rims. My insurance broker called me and I said I would refer this problem to the dealer where I purchased the car, even if there was a slight colour difference, just please get my car back to me!

Result - I’m now stranded, without a car and Apollo just does not want to accept any responsibility in this issue. So, I had a heated conversation with them and when I said I’m going to take the matter further via the insurance ombudsman and a lawyer and said, “iemand gaan k@k”, the person from Apollo panel beaters put the phone down in my ear.

Who is accountable? Not BMW, not my insurance! All these two have done is assist me and try to sort out the poor service and lame excuses from Apollo panel beaters George. My insurance has now sent me a mail to lay an official complaint against Apollo panel beaters George, which I will do. I question how a company like this can be listed with any insurance house in South Africa. Apollo panel beaters is the worst kind of bad. As the Afrikaans word says - sleg!