Honda Centurion offers Aftermarket Parts on Brand New Car Purchases

In 2015, my wife bought a brand new Honda jazz from Honda Centurion. At the time of purchase, fog lights were fitted and according to Honda Centurion, my wife agreed that an aftermarket product would be fitted.

In 2016, the one headlight started to give problems. My wife took the car to Honda Tygerberg in Cape Town, because we moved from Centurion to Cape Town in October 2016.

Honda Cape Town discovered that the reason for the headlight not working properly was because of the aftermarket product that was incorrectly wired and that the relay for the product was not fitted.

We corresponded with Honda Centurion and with Honda South Africa, requesting that the Centurion dealership fit the bill for R2, 536.61.

Honda Centurion refused to get the fog lights fixed at their expense, because according to them, my wife signed for an aftermarket product and that the warranty on the product has expired.

Honda SA said that they cannot assist with the repair cost because the parts fitted was not authorized by them.

I have presented the following reasons to both Honda SA and Centurion as to why the dealership should fit the bill.

A. Please note that Honda did not: - Provide us with any proof of a signed agreement. - Provide any proof that the agreement was fully explained to my wife at the time of service.

B. Honda did not answer the following questions: - Why an authorized Honda dealership offered a client to fit aftermarket parts? - Is this standard practice for Honda dealerships on new car purchases?? - What are Honda's policy on faulty wiring and parts not fitted at the time of purchase??

C. Honda has no integrity and is not taking any responsibility for: - Faulty wiring at the time of purchase and - Missing parts (no relay) that was not fitted at the time of purchase.

D. Honda has no regard for the Consumer Protection Act: The consumer act protects the client against false, misleading or deceptive representations. - The client assumed, at the time of purchase, that the product was fitted correctly, that the wiring was done properly and that every necessary part was fitted. - In this case, it was not done. The client has the right to fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions. - To hold the client responsible for faulty wiring and for parts that were not fitted, at the time of purchase, is unfair, unreasonable and unjust contract terms. The client has the right to fair value, good quality, and safety. - The client, at the time of purchase, did not receive quality service from Honda Centurion because the wiring was faulty and key parts were not fitted. - The picture received from Honda Cape Town, clearly show loose wiring and that in itself could have led to serious safety issues (car catching fire and the death of passengers). The client has the right to the supplier’s accountability. - Honda Centurion did not provide the client with a signed certificate of work completed, at the time of purchase.

How the parts were fitted (the faulty wiring) and parts that were not fitted (the absence of a relay), at the time of purchase, needs to be accounted for.

It is very sad that a big, reputable company like Honda is not willing at all to fix the wiring and fit the relay for a mere R2, 536.61.

Honda Motor Southern Africa Promise “Maintaining a global viewpoint, we are dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality, yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction”. Link: https://www.honda.co.za/en/about.

Based on the above promise from Honda and my wife's experience, it is clear that the Honda brand is not keeping this promise.

If one of their dealerships can offer a client to fit aftermarket products on a brand new purchase, without the authorization of Honda SA, then the integrity and promise of the brand is highly questionable.

Yours truly, Mr. Rumacques Brown