Selling car without certificate of roadworthiness

I bought my car in Nov 2014, there was a delay in receiving it as the COR needed to be done. I presumed COR was done when I collected the vehicle. A month later I emailed asking if the change of ownership was completed with no response. 2 months after purchasing, I got a fine by the traffic police for driving a car without COR! Imperial claim it was roadworthy but due to some delay it expired before licencing was complete. For the last 2 months I have been fighting with them to collect the vehicle to get COR. It has been a mission because I have moved to Durban, I had to harass them to get feedback or answers. Eventually they organised with Hyundai to collect and do COR but by now my brake pads are going, I know this has to be fixed before it will pass but they refuse to cover it. I decided to pay for it myself as I want this over with. During the service they found R1900 worth of repairs before it will pass. It then failed COR and there will be further repairs and costs. The people who serviced it agree it is not 4 months worth of deterioration. I am waiting for final costs but Imperial should pay! What would have happened if I hadn't got pulled over? Would they have told me?