After much deliberation, I have finally decided to tell my story in the hopes that it might have some impact on what is going on in South Africa.
As way of background, I enjoy overlanding in Southern Africa. My current vehicle before the grenadier was a 2005 TD5. I have followed the Grenadier story from the very beginning, and simply knew that it was exactly the car of my dreams.
In June 2024 I purchased a MY23 demo trialmaster from SMG Umhlanga (SMG group in Umhlanga/Durban and Cape Town, and SMH group in Johannesburg are the original and only retail outlets for the Grenadier in South Africa). I live near Cape Town and wasn't able to inspect the car myself, but was reassured that everything was in order. The car was a year old with 14500km. I needed a tow hitch to be added and was reassured this would be done. The car was transported (a debacle in itself) to the SMG dealer in Cape Town for me to pick up.
At pickup the following issues became apparent:
- The car had not been serviced.
- There was no spare key.
- No tow hitch had been installed.
- None of the "known" warranty issues had been addressed such as sticky door handles, water between the door seals, electronic glitches etc.
- There had been damage to the front passenger side fender which had been repaired but not disclosed.
- No keys for the central lock box.
After much frustration, SMG Cape Town agreed to service the vehicle and installed the tow hitch. The warranty issues I mentioned did not bother me at all, but clearly not having a spare key was serious. After more frustration SMG ordered a spare key. This is in late June 2024.
Over the next few months I had the warranty issues sorted by SMG Cape Town whose workshop consisted of a single lift (that was too low to accept any vehicle with a roof rack). Getting a booking and intelligent feedback was trying at best. Nonetheless, these issues were sorted.
After 6 months of incredible frustration and a near complete lack of feedback, my spare key arrived, only for me to discover that the key blade was not correct for my vehicle. (I am intentionally keeping my emotions in check as I write this and not inserting appropriate expletives all over the place.) No explanation from anyone at SMG nor Ineos South Africa as to why and how this occurred.
At this point, I had also learned a ton from this forum, for which I am most grateful. I was aware of issues such as leaky differentials, battery SOC issues, loose Bowden cables and dislodged front bumper air intake (thank you logsplitter), transfer case lockup because of a dislodged 3mm locking pin etc. My vehicle had already had the front diff seal replaced, and I couldn't really believe that the other issues could not have been addressed if present on my car. Fortunately I went and looked. Well, the Bowden cable was loose and rubbing on the propshaft and my passenger bumper air intake was completely loose. My battery SOC also seemed faulty with the charge amperage never really going above 1-3 amps even when SOC was low (in the 60's).
Back to SMG we go. Again getting a booking etc was almost hopeless. Finally got it in early March assuming they would have the foresight to order parts in advance....
I had a trip coming up (late April/May this year) that I needed my vehicle for. After 6 weeks my vehicle was not ready. Surprise, they were now sourcing parts from other vehicles in their fleet.....
Since my vehicle was still at SMG, I was given an "expedition ready" trialmaster for use on my trip by Ineos. Great, thank you. Getting into the Richtersveld, I noted that the transfer case lever wouldn't budge. No shit. The locking pin was missing. Bravo Ineos.
On return, I picked up my car in early May. All the issues had been sorted. And I finally had a spare key after they replaced the entire lockset. Hooray!!
But the first time I drove the car, I noticed a new vibration from the front when going above 80km/h. Subtle, but definite - my daughter even commented on it.
A few days later, back to SMG we go. Travelling on the N2 highway into Cape Town during morning rush hour traffic the car cuts out completely. Dead. Nothing. I manage to roll to the side. Car won't restart, so I wait 5 minutes and try again. This time it started and ran fine thereafter.
At this point I had completely lost faith in Ineos and SMG, and with my spirit broken, I forced SMG under threat of legal action to take the vehicle back. They refused to buy it back, so I traded it in and bought the cheapest car on their floor.
Another important story goes on in the background.
Auto Excellence (https://www.autoexcellence.co.za/), is an independent off road vehicle specialist with branches in Johannesburg, and in Stellenbosch. I have had 3 land rovers (two disco's and my TD5 defender) serviced and maintained by them for many years. The first time I walked into their workshop I felt welcome and included. They are simply the pinnacle of passion and enthusiasm when it comes to off road vehicles. Do yourself a favour and read some of their google reviews. It goes without saying that they LOVE the Grenadier and everything it represents and want to be part of the story in South Africa. In the early part of 2024, SMG in fact drove many customers' vehicles to Auto Excellence to be serviced and returned to SMG, simply because SMG were disorganised and frankly incompetent. They have sold new Grenadiers on behalf of SMG, and also resold many vehicles on consignment from their existing customers (who refuse to deal with SMG).
They have been in talks with Ineos SA for the last 18 months with the aim to become an accredited dealer and service center for Ineos. Seems like a slam dunk for Ineos SA - remember the part of their sales pitch that the service network would be rapidly expanded?? But for some reason (SMG is clearly against this) this has never been achieved. At a recent meeting between Ineos SA and Auto Excellence, Ineos continued to refuse to allow Auto Excellence the ability to do warranty work and would need to go through SMG (if Auto Excellence sells a vehicle to one of their clients they understandably need to be able to provide warranty backup). Understandably Auto Excellence decided to withdraw completely from any further involvement with Ineos. What a loss for the offroad community. Many potential buyers only want to deal with Auto Excellence.
Another mysterious story going on in the background.
I have kept my eye on the Grenadiers available for purchase in South Africa (Autotrader) for a long time. In the past few weeks, 3 new vehicles have been listed for sale by independent dealers (not BMW) at very low prices (R1299000) as 2025 registered cars, all with very low mileage, but none with a factory warranty. I contacted one of the dealers who had two beautiful, highly specced vehicles for sale and they told me that the cars had been purchased directly from SMG, with the knowledge that no factory warranty could be offered. They thought that they were MY24 vehicles, but when I asked for the VIN numbers, they were in fact MY23 builds. One of these was vehicle number 67 for the year.
I have subsequently learned that apparently 30 (or close to that number) prototype (PT03) Grenadiers, that were originally destined for the initial launch in Australia but somehow found their way to South Africa (and were never intended for sale to the public in South Africa), were sold by Ineos to SMG (for R550000 each apparently). It looks like SMG then sold some of these off to unwitting dealers around the country. Fishy??
All of this is terribly sad. The Grenadier is an exceptional vehicle, but the support is dismal, and certainly in my case has completely failed me. I would buy another, but not until there are changes to the status quo. I think Ineos is in trouble in South Africa.
It would be very interesting to hear of the experience of other fellow South Africans.....
As way of background, I enjoy overlanding in Southern Africa. My current vehicle before the grenadier was a 2005 TD5. I have followed the Grenadier story from the very beginning, and simply knew that it was exactly the car of my dreams.
In June 2024 I purchased a MY23 demo trialmaster from SMG Umhlanga (SMG group in Umhlanga/Durban and Cape Town, and SMH group in Johannesburg are the original and only retail outlets for the Grenadier in South Africa). I live near Cape Town and wasn't able to inspect the car myself, but was reassured that everything was in order. The car was a year old with 14500km. I needed a tow hitch to be added and was reassured this would be done. The car was transported (a debacle in itself) to the SMG dealer in Cape Town for me to pick up.
At pickup the following issues became apparent:
- The car had not been serviced.
- There was no spare key.
- No tow hitch had been installed.
- None of the "known" warranty issues had been addressed such as sticky door handles, water between the door seals, electronic glitches etc.
- There had been damage to the front passenger side fender which had been repaired but not disclosed.
- No keys for the central lock box.
After much frustration, SMG Cape Town agreed to service the vehicle and installed the tow hitch. The warranty issues I mentioned did not bother me at all, but clearly not having a spare key was serious. After more frustration SMG ordered a spare key. This is in late June 2024.
Over the next few months I had the warranty issues sorted by SMG Cape Town whose workshop consisted of a single lift (that was too low to accept any vehicle with a roof rack). Getting a booking and intelligent feedback was trying at best. Nonetheless, these issues were sorted.
After 6 months of incredible frustration and a near complete lack of feedback, my spare key arrived, only for me to discover that the key blade was not correct for my vehicle. (I am intentionally keeping my emotions in check as I write this and not inserting appropriate expletives all over the place.) No explanation from anyone at SMG nor Ineos South Africa as to why and how this occurred.
At this point, I had also learned a ton from this forum, for which I am most grateful. I was aware of issues such as leaky differentials, battery SOC issues, loose Bowden cables and dislodged front bumper air intake (thank you logsplitter), transfer case lockup because of a dislodged 3mm locking pin etc. My vehicle had already had the front diff seal replaced, and I couldn't really believe that the other issues could not have been addressed if present on my car. Fortunately I went and looked. Well, the Bowden cable was loose and rubbing on the propshaft and my passenger bumper air intake was completely loose. My battery SOC also seemed faulty with the charge amperage never really going above 1-3 amps even when SOC was low (in the 60's).
Back to SMG we go. Again getting a booking etc was almost hopeless. Finally got it in early March assuming they would have the foresight to order parts in advance....
I had a trip coming up (late April/May this year) that I needed my vehicle for. After 6 weeks my vehicle was not ready. Surprise, they were now sourcing parts from other vehicles in their fleet.....
Since my vehicle was still at SMG, I was given an "expedition ready" trialmaster for use on my trip by Ineos. Great, thank you. Getting into the Richtersveld, I noted that the transfer case lever wouldn't budge. No shit. The locking pin was missing. Bravo Ineos.
On return, I picked up my car in early May. All the issues had been sorted. And I finally had a spare key after they replaced the entire lockset. Hooray!!
But the first time I drove the car, I noticed a new vibration from the front when going above 80km/h. Subtle, but definite - my daughter even commented on it.
A few days later, back to SMG we go. Travelling on the N2 highway into Cape Town during morning rush hour traffic the car cuts out completely. Dead. Nothing. I manage to roll to the side. Car won't restart, so I wait 5 minutes and try again. This time it started and ran fine thereafter.
At this point I had completely lost faith in Ineos and SMG, and with my spirit broken, I forced SMG under threat of legal action to take the vehicle back. They refused to buy it back, so I traded it in and bought the cheapest car on their floor.
Another important story goes on in the background.
Auto Excellence (https://www.autoexcellence.co.za/), is an independent off road vehicle specialist with branches in Johannesburg, and in Stellenbosch. I have had 3 land rovers (two disco's and my TD5 defender) serviced and maintained by them for many years. The first time I walked into their workshop I felt welcome and included. They are simply the pinnacle of passion and enthusiasm when it comes to off road vehicles. Do yourself a favour and read some of their google reviews. It goes without saying that they LOVE the Grenadier and everything it represents and want to be part of the story in South Africa. In the early part of 2024, SMG in fact drove many customers' vehicles to Auto Excellence to be serviced and returned to SMG, simply because SMG were disorganised and frankly incompetent. They have sold new Grenadiers on behalf of SMG, and also resold many vehicles on consignment from their existing customers (who refuse to deal with SMG).
They have been in talks with Ineos SA for the last 18 months with the aim to become an accredited dealer and service center for Ineos. Seems like a slam dunk for Ineos SA - remember the part of their sales pitch that the service network would be rapidly expanded?? But for some reason (SMG is clearly against this) this has never been achieved. At a recent meeting between Ineos SA and Auto Excellence, Ineos continued to refuse to allow Auto Excellence the ability to do warranty work and would need to go through SMG (if Auto Excellence sells a vehicle to one of their clients they understandably need to be able to provide warranty backup). Understandably Auto Excellence decided to withdraw completely from any further involvement with Ineos. What a loss for the offroad community. Many potential buyers only want to deal with Auto Excellence.
Another mysterious story going on in the background.
I have kept my eye on the Grenadiers available for purchase in South Africa (Autotrader) for a long time. In the past few weeks, 3 new vehicles have been listed for sale by independent dealers (not BMW) at very low prices (R1299000) as 2025 registered cars, all with very low mileage, but none with a factory warranty. I contacted one of the dealers who had two beautiful, highly specced vehicles for sale and they told me that the cars had been purchased directly from SMG, with the knowledge that no factory warranty could be offered. They thought that they were MY24 vehicles, but when I asked for the VIN numbers, they were in fact MY23 builds. One of these was vehicle number 67 for the year.
I have subsequently learned that apparently 30 (or close to that number) prototype (PT03) Grenadiers, that were originally destined for the initial launch in Australia but somehow found their way to South Africa (and were never intended for sale to the public in South Africa), were sold by Ineos to SMG (for R550000 each apparently). It looks like SMG then sold some of these off to unwitting dealers around the country. Fishy??
All of this is terribly sad. The Grenadier is an exceptional vehicle, but the support is dismal, and certainly in my case has completely failed me. I would buy another, but not until there are changes to the status quo. I think Ineos is in trouble in South Africa.
It would be very interesting to hear of the experience of other fellow South Africans.....
