Spotless workshop, terrible service

I took my Chery QQ to have a water leak seen to in June 2021, and white smoke which came from the exhaust. I specified that I needed a quote first before they started working on my car. They apparently looked at it at their premises and I was told there was damage to the head gasket and that it was not worth fixing. Then they said they will have to send my car to Wynberg for a quote. I stressed to Ranjeev that I needed a quote for the transportation of my car to Wynberg. In spite of me phoning him on a weekly basis for almost 3 weeks, I got no feedback on my request for the transportation quote.

Having heard nothing from anybody at Estate Panelbeaters, I phoned to inform them that I will be collecting my car. I was told that my car was in Wynberg being repaired. This was done without my permission. I asked Ranjeev who gave permission for my car to go to Wynberg to be repaired, and he told me the decision was made by the owner of the company.

When I finally got my car back on 27 July 2021, the bill came to R3 150.00. When I spoke to Preston (who is the New Business Development consultant at the company) about the bad service and my car being repaired without my permission, he got approval to reduce the amount with R1 150.00 to apologise for the bad service. He assured me that he is working on improving the company's customer service and that I shouldn't deal with anyone else except him. Also, Preston wanted me to remind my friend to bring her BMW M Coupe that was in an accident, to be repaired by them.

I drove my car home and as I stopped, water just poured out again from somewhere and the water in the water bottle was boiling. I phoned Preston straight away and he said they will come and see me the following day at my premises. Ranjeev and Preston arrived and I was told that there were two other problems that they now identified (these leaks were not there when I initially took my car in) but Preston said he will go back to the workshop and speak to the mechanic and will phone me back the next day. (I have a witness to this conversation). I never got that call and the leaks on my vehicle were still not resolved.

On 29 July I sent Ranjeev pictures of my car's engine showing that a part of the airflow box was missing. My car went in with this part intact. He said that he knows that the part was there when my car arrivied at their premises, but that they will replace it soonest. Today, 8 September 2021, I am still waiting for any communication from anyone at Estate Panelbeaters.

I will definitely not recommend Estate Panelbeaters to anyone. Bad service and extremely unreliable. Working on BMWs, Audis, Mercedes Benz’s and all kinds of expensive cars, they can't fix a water leak on a Chery QQ? I wouldn't trust them with any car, cheap or expensive. Needless to say, my friend will most certainly not take her collector’s item BMW Coupe to them for repairs.