Misrepresentation by Alfa Romeo - Arnold Chatz Cars Hyde Park

To whom it may concern

In: Complaint about misrepresentation by Arnold Chatz Cars (Pre-owned)

I purchased a 2013 model Alfa Romeo Guilietta Distinctive 1.4 Twinair Turbo from Arnold Chatz Cars in September 2016 (at that stage located on Jan Smuts Road Hyde Park. The dealership has subsequently moved across the road). The car was purchased from a saleslady named Chantal. The vehicle's initial service plan with Alfa Romeo had just expired and we enquired about extending it. Hensel Latchman, the manager with whom we negotiated explained that this was not possible but that he could offer us an extended warranty. I agreed to this. It was verbally agreed by Hensel Latchman and myself, that I would recieve an extended warranty plan (worth between R8000 to R12000) in lieu of the discount that I requested. Hensel explained that the extended warranty was only valid if the vehicle is taken to an RMI approved service provider or a bona fide Alfa Romeo dealership. I agreed to the offer of an extended warranty in lieu of a discount and the deal was subsequently concluded with Wesbank Finance. I recieved the Wesbank i-contract from Natasha Thorpeman shortly after the deal was concluded. No further documentation was sent to me and I remained under the impression that my vehicle's extended warranty plan was held was held by Alfa Romeo. An impression that was further cemented when the boost pipe burnt out in November 2016 and the vehicle was repaired by Alfa Romeo without me incurring any costs. On 24th May 2018 - I contact the Arnold Chatz dealership of Alfa Romeo again because the boost pipe they fixed appeared to be faulty. I wanted the details of my warranty so that I could check whether this could be claimed under the warranty.

I spoke to Fiona at the dealership finance department and she checked and told me that no warranty was loaded under my name or the vehicle registration. I was understandably upset. I then called Hensel who proceeded to fob me off with the excuse that they cannot find my file (a result of the dealership's relocation across the road) until this past week. He also indicate that the said file would have notes regarding the extended warranty. He claimed not to remember anything of the discussion and insisted that there was no extended warranty loaded. He then said they were looking for the file but that the relocation had resulted in files being put into the storage facility and that it was very difficult to access them.

I then gave him a day to find the said file and he had still not accessed it so it continued with me calling everyday until 2 June 2018 when he eventually returned my call and said that there is no extended warranty. but that he is prepared to "help" me with the following arrangement. I should bring the vehicle in and pay R1050-00 towards the part (The boost pipe component costs R1711,57 excluding VAT) and the labour would be free.

He also mentioned that there is no warranty loaded and that he in fact , will pay for these repairs out of a "Used Car Aftersales" fund which is what he used the previous time the vehicle went it (November 2016) but that this is the last time he will do so.

I wish to reiterate that i did not ask him for a favour. I wished to exercise the extended warranty which I had purchased. I bought the vehicle under the impression that it had an extended warranty when in fact, no such arrangement existed because of Hensel or the saleslady's oversight.

What happened was that I was actually sold the vehicle under the false pretext that it had an extended warranty when in fact this was not the case as I recently discovered. I just paid more than i would have paid - all for nothing as i was led to believe that the extended warranty would be given in lieu of the discount that I requested.

To this end - this particular vehicle has been beset with problems from the beginning.

The stop-start functionality has never worked and is problematic to this very day. It only works intermittently and erratically. The car has a rattle in the dash that has never been repaired. The sensor in the passenger seat also functions erratically and the air bag does not work as a result. The clutch failed shortly after the vehicle was purchased. When i addressed this with Arnold Chatz Cars - Alfa Romeo Hyde Park - Bradley Scorer, the son of the Dealer Principal treated me extremely badly over a telephonic conversation and refused to assume any responsibility for issue saying that (I quote), "clutch failure could occur after 500km". I then repaired this at my own cost as I did not have the time to pursue the issue.

The single instance where repairs were effected was in November 2016 when the vehicle's boost pipe burnt out and the Arnold Chatz Cars - Alfa Romeo workshop repaired the boost functionality and replaced the pipe. I was not charged for this and thus it could be be reasonably assumed that this was covered by the extended warranty. According to Hensel - this is not the case and he paid for these repairs out of his "Used Car" after-sales fund. This was confirmed by Darian at the workshop.

Why would Hensel elect to do this? The only conclusion that i can come to - is that he was aware that I was sold a problematic vehicle and that the extended warranty was not loaded. Having made a maximum profit - it was the only way he could make amends. As he mentioned - he did not expect me to come back. The misrepresentation and ensuing lack of accountability is shocking.

I have had no respect nor any service delivery from Arnold Chatz Cars - Alfa Romeo . When they were trying to sell the vehicle - i received calls every day but when the vehicle was actually sold and the problems ensued - the client communication has been extremely poor and when i do call - I am made to feel as if I am a ***** when I am, in fact actually a victim of their misrepresentation. If and when I change this vehicle - I do not foresee dealing with this particular dealership again. I will take my business elsewhere as it is behaviour like this that leads to a loss of confidence in the entire brand.

I require that the extended warranty be loaded with immediate effect and that Arnold Chatz Cars - Alfa Romeo assumes responsibility for their error and the misrepresentation made to me upon purchase of the vehicle.

All enquiries in this regard may be directed to myself.

Kind regards,

Adeela