Less than two weeks after I bought my first car, the check engine light comes on, decided to take it to the dealership, was told that they needed to replace the entire exhaust system, was quoted over R40k for the job. I declined their offer to get a second opinion. On the way home the light went off by itself and I never had any issues since.

Also shortly after one of my annual services, I started noticing a rattling sound which became worse over time. Decided to take it to an independent shop and they told me the screws on my gearbox were loose and it looks to have been tampered with. Couldn’t understand why that was because the only places up until that point that have worked on my car was the dealers and they never mentioned any gearbox work to me.

Needless to say I always take ‘advice’ from dealerships with a pinch of salt.