Waste of time ********* dealer

Absolutely disgusting experience at Hyundai East Rand and I'm writing this so other people don't waste their time and petrol like I did.

I saw a vehicle advertised on their site for R499k, 50,000km on the clock. Before I even thought about driving out there I phoned ahead specifically to confirm it was still available, because I know dealerships pull this stunt and I wanted to avoid exactly what ended up happening anyway. I spoke to a salesman, Brandon Pereira. He tells me the exact unit I called about has literally just been sold, but not to worry, he's got "a few similar units" in stock, same mileage range, same price. I asked him directly, more than once, if he was sure, because I wasn't driving 45 minutes for nothing. He was confident. He said he had them.

So I drove 45 minutes out there. Took time out of my day, used my fuel, rearranged my afternoon around this. Brandon goes off to the yard to fetch this "similar" vehicle he swore he had. He comes back with a car sitting on 220,000km. Not 50,000. Not close to 50,000. Four times the mileage he described to me less than an hour earlier.

When I called him out on it, instead of a straight answer or an apology, I got attitude. He tried to argue with me that this car is a "hot seller," like that has anything to do with what he told me on the phone. Forty minutes before that he was telling me he had multiple similar units on the lot. Now suddenly the story changes and he's trying to talk me into a completely different vehicle like I wouldn't notice the 170,000km difference.

This isn't a mistake, this is a tactic. They know exactly what they're doing. Advertise a vehicle that's already gone, confirm it's "available" when it isn't, then get you in the door and switch you onto whatever they actually have sitting on the floor. Classic bait and switch, ambush marketing, whatever you want to call it. It's dishonest and it's a complete disregard for people's time. I live close by, but somebody could have driven from Pretoria or further for this same lie.

Zero accountability from the salesman when confronted. No "sorry for the confusion," no attempt to make it right, just excuses and pushback. If you don't have the stock, say so on the phone and save people the trip. Don't lie to get bums in seats and then act indignant when the customer isn't happy about being misled.

I will be taking this further with both Hyundai SA and Motus head office, because this kind of conduct shouldn't just get buried in a bad Google review, it needs to be flagged to the people who actually franchise this dealership. Avoid this branch. Confirm everything in writing before you go, because their word on the phone means nothing.