Buyers Beware

Hi Guys

Not going to be long, just briefly - bought a vehicle (2009 BMW 320i) from Autohaus Angel (Bellville) 25 June 2016, mentioned 3 issues on the vehicle: 1 - Oil leaks at the gaskets 2 - Noise on the wheel (front right - assumption bearing) 3 - Constant smoke coming from the exhaust. They indicated that they will attend to it, which they did not. A couple days later (went on a trip from Cape Town to Durban). En-route discovered that the vehicle is using water and oil. But could top it up all the time when needed. Luckily, noting major occurred and we could return home (praying that the car will not break down along the way). In mid July 2016 the radiator broke and my wife and I replaced it (I notified them as soon as we returned from holiday).

Emails went back and forth about the the refund of the radiator and issues with the vehicle, it even went as far as speaking to the owner and he indicated that he will look into it. To which he rep**** with: I have traveled 6000 kilometers and cannot claim a refund, and that is where I decided enough is enough and will take it further (legal advice).

Here comes the interesting bits: No matter where you buy a vehicle from, always do the following:

1. Put everything in writing because if the deal goes sour, do you have a leg to stand on. 2. You have a 7 day period (when you took receipt of vehicle)to return the vehicle if not happy with the product, no matter what the deal will be cancelled. 3. DO NOT, let them make verbal promises - get it in writing. 4. Whatever you discussed verbally always send an email starting with: As per our conversation........................ 5. The 1 month 1000 kilometer warantee is a load of Poo, consumers actually have 6 months to stipulate faults on a vehicle purchased. If found that the item were faulty must the dealer either Repair, Replace or Refund (if replaced by owner or title holder).

WHERE TO GO TO: The vehicle ombudsman is your first point of call, when in a difficult scenario. He would basically try to resolve the dispute between client and dealership. If this fails, would your next step be to go to the Consumer Protector and this is where the consumer protector can hustle the dealership to make good. If all else fails is would the last resort be to seek legal advice.

Lastly, if something seems to good to be true - then it probably is. When buying a second hand vehicle are there 2 important things to do:

1. Whatever issues identified on the vehicle, must be fixed before taking receipt of the vehicle. (while the vehicle is still at the dealership has the consumer/client the upper hand with getting the parts replaced). The moment you take receipt of the vehicle will it be difficult to get the issues sorted on the vehicle. 2. When you have the vehicle, take it for an AA test immediately to properly identify ant issues that you cannot pinpoint.

Cheers guyz