Lengthy delay and bad communications

McCarthy Renault Pietermaritzburg

On 18 Dec 2023 when we experienced problems with changing gears and grinding and went immediately to McCarthy Renault in Pietermaritzburg. We were told the clutch and maybe Intercooler were problems and that parts might not be available until the new year, and so the car was booked in for repair on 8 Jan 2024. We hoped to claim on an extended warranty and McCarthy Renault said they would handle this.

On 12 Jan, I asked about progress and found that the clutch still had not been dismantled. The claim was submitted on 12 Jan. On 16 Jan, when I had received no notification of any progress, I asked if it would help if I phoned AA warranties, was told yes, and so I phoned AA Warranties. They claimed they were still awaiting a photo from McCarthy Renault, who said the fault lay with AA warranties. We received a negative response answer from AA warranties on 16 Jan, now 8 working days after the vehicle went in. It took and additional 8 working days, for the vehicle to be ready for collection on 25 Jan, a total of 16 working days after first delivery to McCarthy Renault. Collection was not trivial, we live Underberg 130km away.

McCarthy Renault should explain why it took 38 calendar days to repair this vehicle., with part availability being a huge problem. Whilst there may be factory shutdown at this time of year, parts should be stockpiled because vehicles break down regardless of time of year.

Communications with McCarthy Renault Pietermaritzburg were very frustrating. During my frequent phone calls to McCarthy Renault, my calls were dropped an estimated 15-20 times. One occasion the call was dropped 4 times, and two other occasions the call was dropped 3 times. Given the delays in the repair process described above, these dropped calls sent a message that customers do not really count. The service consultant promised to return calls on numerous occasions, and only did so occasionally. He used an excuse on 2 or 3 occasions that he could not get through; not a problem I experience usually, but he never left a message either.

We did not have use of our vehicle and were compromised for 38 days, and were left with a very strong feeling that there was no urgency to sort out the repair.