Nightmare Used Car Purchase Experience

Having searched for months to find a affordable Convertible BMW for my wife, I thought that I had found a good value and reliable buy at J Johnston Car Sales. The purchase was out of my home region so I had to arrange train transport from Johannesburg to Cape Town. On the second day that my wife drove the car, the Alternator Belt broke and I had to spend R13 000 to replace the belt and to run the necessary tests to ensure that there was no consequential damage . I was offered less than R3 000 as compensation. A few weeks later and still having used the car for less than 1000 kms from purchase, the car stuck in 1st gear and it was back to the workshop. Whilst I realise that the car was a used car and came with a limited warranty, my complaints are the following:

1) In spite of this ********** and costly experience , never once did the dealer principle bother to phone me. 2) The salesman, Noah told me during the purchase negotiations that the car would be serviced before I collected it. This so called service was just a routine service in July and had nothing to do with a pre-delivery service and quality check 3) When collecting the car, I pointed out that the cubby hole would not open. Noah promised to pick up those costs. The locking mechanism was broken and had to be replaced at R2000. Their offer was less than R500 for a basic new key supply which would not have worked as the lock had to be replaced. 4) The BMW dealership that carried out the repairs pointed out that the tire tread on the car was less than that specified to be legal . The dealership produced a roadworthy certificate. I wonder how that was achieved with tyres so badly worn. 5) In spite of charging me almost R4000 for "on the road costs" , the car was handed over with temporary registration and old registration plates. Although I was reimbursed , I had to do all the work and payments up front. 6) The salesman , when asked about previous ownership, told me that the car had been used by the owner's son for the last couple of months before it was put on the sales floor so it is unlikely that the dealership did not know of the maintenance issues with this car.

Fortunately, I have now traded in the car but at a huge financial loss and after much aggravation and stress.

I caution all potential buyers of used cars to avoid this dealership.

Sid Beeton