Cassey auto Ford Springs' salespersons incline to dodge repairs/damages

I responded to an adverti*****t of a Ford Everest that was advertised in AutoTrader and received a call from a salesperson from the dealership. We discussed the vehicle, which was advertised with five stars for all categories, namely Exterior, Interior, Mechanical & Electrical, and Overall and the condition of all categories was stated being "Like new". I knew that they were advertising the vehicle at approximately R14,000 more than its retail price, but I was prepared to pay this because the vehicle had relatively low kilometers and was (apparently) in a "Like new" condition. I specifically asked whether the vehicle had been in an accident, whether it had any dents, scratches, marks, damage, etc. and requested that the salesperson please take photographs of any such aspects and to please send to me. I received photographs of the vehicle, but none indicating any of the items I requested, as mentioned above, and which were discovered later. I then decided to make arrangements to view the vehicle and drove to the dealership. When I inspected the vehicle, I noticed a deep scratch on the body and a paint deformity. The salespersons basically said nothing, and I asked whether they were going to have it repaired. The initial response was that if they were to have it repaired, that the paint colour (Ford's normal white) would not match, etc., etc. upon which I said that I would obtain a quotation from someone who does minor repair works for dealers in used vehicles, which I did. When I showed the quotation to the salespersons, they decided to have it done. Later it was discovered that the film protection of the hatch door's window was separating from the window. Again, the first reaction from the senior salesperson was that they did not know whether the vehicle had film on its windows or not, but after some debate and when I convinced them that the vehicle did in fact have protection film on the windows, they decided to have it replaced. I had to take the vehicle to the premises of their chosen supplier/installer, which I did. (The return distance being approximately 150km). After the Ford checklist had apparently been worked through, I discovered a strange sound when I opened the driver's door. This sound lasted for a few minutes. I made a sound recording and brought it to the attention of the senior salesperson. Again, the first reaction was to try and convince me that it was normal to hear these sounds, since it was from a "recirculation pump". I disagreed to the fact that it could be normal and eventually I spoke to the Workshop Manager. He stated that the part was a faulty one and that it had to be replaced. Again, I had to drive back to the dealership to have the faulty HVAC actuator replaced. (A return trip of approximately 140km, but which I combined with a trip to the service provider who replaced the back window's film and saved approximately 110km). On the day of delivery of the vehicle, the younger salesperson opened the passenger door to show me something when I noticed a damage mark in the leather seat area of the passenger seat, a mark which I had not seen with the first inspection of the vehicle three days before. The salesperson said that he knew of the mark but had not disclosed it to me. This mark could be from a cigarette burn or something that gave the same effect. I discussed this with the senior salesperson who basically ignored the matter. I said that I would obtain a quotation to have it attended to, which I did (from Leather Tec cc), a business that specializes in repairs to leather, etc.). Unfortunately, the leather (type and colour) used by Ford is not available for repairers to be able to purchase. Lether Tec obtained a quotation for the seat cover from a contact that they have at Ford. I forwarded the quotation to the senior salesperson but did not hear anything from him. When I followed up, he said that they would not attend to this matter. He said that I could write a formal letter, which I did, and I addressed it to the Dealer Principal. I discussed all the content in this review in the letter. The Dealer Principal's response was that I could return the vehicle since I was not happy with his decision. Needless to say, this was not what I would want to do. I tried to find out what criteria that they use to have certain defects and damages repaired/replaced and others not, but the criteria were not given. What I could make out is that the Dealer Principal makes a subjective decision. I subsequently contacted the previous owner who stated categorically that there was no mark on that seat when he traded in that vehicle. That implies that the damage could only have occurred whilst the vehicle was at the dealership and most likely after I had seen it the first time (because I did not see this damage whilst inspecting the vehicle). So, with the response from the Dealer Principal, at this point in time the damage on the seat cover is for me to get replaced .... He would rather lose the deal than have the damage repaired/replaced. I had mentioned to the salespersons and the Dealer Principal that I had never, in all my years, experienced this type of attitude and slackness in administration from any dealership and mentioned the ones I referred to, who all gave excellent service to their customers. Potential purchasers of used vehicles should be very wary when dealing with this dealership.