Imagine saving up until you can pay R93 000 cash for a
2007 Mercedes 220 cdi with a warranty - a car you can safely take your kids to
school in. Five weeks later, the car has to be towed into a workshop where the
repairs caused by latent defects come to R31 000.
The guys who sold you the dud say it's not their
problem "because you paid cash". The ombudsman can't help because the
dealer won't respond to his letters. You can't pay the workshop the R31 000 so
you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
BUT the dealer will buy the now fully repaired car back from you for R60
000. You are so desperate, you accept. In short, all that's left of your
original R93 000 is R29000 and you don't have a car to take the kids to school
in.
To rub salt in your wound, that dealer now has a fixed
car he can sell to someone else, probably at more than you originally paid, and
is laughing all the way to the bank.
I kid you not!!!! This is a true story that involves a
used car dealer with branches in all the country's main centres. It even has a
classy website with great references.
It’s what happened to Clive (Not his real name because
I'm scared of the Nigerian heavies that guard the showroom.) Notably, he's not
the only victim, many others have listed similar complaints about the national
company on https://www.hellopeter.com.
It could have
been you or me.
In a nutshell
Clive bought the car in October last year for R79 900 cash and paid an
additional
R12 999 for the warranty. Told that he would be responsible for the roadworthy,
he was assured that it had been serviced three weeks earlier.
Within a fortnight, the front window motor had packed in and he decided
to have the vehicle checked for the roadworthy while it was being fixed. Under that bonnet lurked the beginnings of
his nightmare:
1.
A bubble in a front tyre.
2.
The tensioner belts were loose.
3.
No front mud flaps so wiring was getting wet in the
rain
4.
The engine cover was lifted to reveal a huge carbon
build up and the number 1 injector was blowing back - a major threat to the
cylinder head.
If, like me, you haven't a clue what all
this means. Noel de Robillard, the Motor Traders Organisation marketing manager
says "It's ser-yi-as." And
here's the scary part - the workshop manager told Clive that his Merc had had
these problems for a long time. They would have been picked up IF the car had
been serviced and the used car dealer would certainly have known about them.
Clive approached the folk who had sold him
the car. That's when he was told that, because he had paid cash for the car, it
wasn't their problem! A few
weeks later, the car finally broke down and had to be towed to the workshop.
After the ombudsman gave up, Clive approached Noel at the MTO, who
advised him to take his complaint to the CCA where it now sits.
Hello hellopeter
As I scrolled
through the many similar tales of woe on www.hellopeter.com (about the same
dealer) it struck me that it's a good place to start BEFORE buying a car from
any dealership. Admittedly, not something I've ever thought of doing until
tracking Clive's story. His dealer's website would have impressed and reassured
me. I'd give you the company's name but, besides the heavies, our libel laws
won't allow it until and unless the crooks are found guilty in court.
SA Consumer Complaints
Duón
Odendaal is involved in alternative dispute resolution, conflict management and
negotiations for the past twenty years and founded SA Consumer Complaints. She advises: If
you hear or see any of the following clauses in your document, please do not
continue with the transaction as you are surely going to regret that you ever
entered into it.
- The vehicle is
sold “voetstoots”
- You buy it as it
is.
- I will give you R
3000-00 discount if you do the roadworthy and registration
- This vehicle is a
code 3 but it is in a pristine condition.
- Our vehicles are
guaranteed for thirty days.
She adds, "When signing a document with
any of the above clauses you will struggle to prove that you are
entitled to the protection of the Act, rather be safe than sorry and shop
around for a better transaction."
Know
your rights
Duón spells out your rights in terms of the Consumer
Protection Act:
1. Pre-Authorisation of repair or maintenance
service
You
take your vehicle to the dealer for an oil change, when collecting the vehicle,
they inform you that they changed your brake pads and discs and you must pay an
additional cost of the work done.
The
Act is clear, service providers must not charge for goods unless the provider
has given an estimate and the consumer agreed to it. The consumer may refuse to
pay for unapproved work done.
2. Return of parts and material
Your
car is out of warranty and you take it for a service, you accept the quote and
you doubt if all the parts was replaced as specified on the quotation.
The
Act states that the supplier must keep all your parts in a reasonably clean
container and they must return it to you, unless it is a warranty or insurance
claim.
3. Right to demand quality service.
The
supplier services your car and on your arrival, tells you the work will take an
extra two days. They should have informed you timely of any delays in the
execution of the service.
Or, your
vehicle is returned with oily fingerprints and there is a scratch on the
fender, caused by the mechanic’s tools. The dealership must remedy the damages
or refund you a fair portion of the price paid.
4. Right to safe and good quality goods
Supplied goods must be able do what they are designed
for
- Be of good quality and
free of defects and in working order
- Be durable and useable
for a reasonable time
- Comply with the
applicable standards or public regulations
It
is irrelevant whether the defect was obvious or hidden or whether the consumer
should have detected it before delivery.
Goods bought at an auction are excluded.
5. Implied warranty of quality
Every
product must carry a warranty of at least six months and can be returned by the
consumer if it does not comply. This must happen within six months, without paying
a penalty fee and at the risk of the supplier
The
consumer can decide on repair, replacement or a refund the product.
6. Warranty on repaired goods.
A
service provider must guarantee reconditioned or new parts installed during any
repair or maintenance work for three months.
7. Liability for damages
Consumers
can claim for liability in the following instances:
·
In case of death.
- Injury or illness of any
person.
- Loss of or physical
damage to movable or immovable property.
- Damage or harm, caused
by not receiving enough instructions or warnings.
It's a tough world
The more I delve
into the motoring world, the more I appreciate the various associations that
try to set standards for their sectors. It's not fair on the good guys when the
baddies affect consumer confidence.
A different kind of tune
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