My worst experience with Kia Motors South Africa

Hello Peter, please advise I am in a predicament.

I purchased a pre-owned motor vehicle from a Kia dealership on 30 August 2025

Prior to purchasing the vehicle, I made reasonable enquiries regarding the condition and reliability of the vehicle. I was assured by the dealership and sales representative that the vehicle was in good condition. My brothers also test-drove the vehicle before purchase and no immediate concerns were identified during the test drive.

During the signing process, I noticed that the mileage reflected on one of the documents differed from the mileage displayed on the vehicle. I immediately raised this concern with the salesperson and attempted to correct the discrepancy before signing.

After taking delivery of the vehicle, the vehicle broke down approximately three hours later on the same day. The breakdown occurred in an unsafe area, forcing me to arrange for the vehicle to be towed to my residence at my own expense.

I immediately contacted the salesperson and informed him of the breakdown. As the dealership had already closed, I then sent a formal email to the dealership expressing my dissatisfaction and requesting cancellation of the transaction, including a refund of my deposit, as the vehicle had failed almost immediately after delivery.

On the following Monday, the dealership collected the vehicle for diagnostic purposes. However, despite my immediate request for cancellation and refund, the dealership did not meaningfully address my concerns or entertain my request.

Due to the dealership’s lack of cooperation, I escalated the matter to the Motor Industry Ombudsman. The Ombudsman requested the dealership to respond within the prescribed period, but the dealership failed to respond.

The matter was then escalated to the National Consumer Commission, which subsequently referred the matter to the Western Cape Consumer Protector office for mediation.

During the mediation process, the dealership alleged that the issue constituted normal wear and tear. However, I maintain that a vehicle breaking down within approximately three hours of delivery strongly indicates that the vehicle was not of good quality or reasonably fit for purpose at the time of sale.

During the proceedings, the dealership also submitted diagnostic documentation with inconsistencies relating to dates and mileage readings. One diagnostic report reflected a date of 3 September 2025 while another reflected 4 September 2025 with differing mileage information. These inconsistencies raised concerns regarding the accuracy and reliability of the dealership’s records.

The mediation process did not result in resolution. I felt pressured to simply accept the repaired vehicle despite my original rejection of the vehicle immediately after breakdown.

I was later requested to provide an independent diagnostic report confirming the defect. However, by that stage:

1. the vehicle had already been repaired; and 2. the vehicle remained in the possession of the dealership.

This made it practically impossible for me to obtain an independent report accurately reflecting the original defect condition that existed at the time of breakdown.

I further requested that arrangements be made to allow independent inspection of the vehicle while preserving my rights, but I was informed that such assistance could not be provided.

I respectfully submit that:

* the defect manifested almost immediately after delivery; * I rejected the vehicle without unreasonable delay; * the dealership retained possession and control of the vehicle; * the vehicle was repaired before I could obtain independent inspection; * and I should therefore not be unfairly prejudiced by the absence of a later independent diagnostic report.

I request that the matter be considered fairly in light of the timeline of events, the immediate failure of the vehicle after delivery, and the practical difficulties created by the dealership’s possession and repair of the vehicle. Thereafter, the Consumer Protector Office sent me an email with attachments stating that, according to their investigation, they had discovered that the dealer was in the process of deregistering. However, it was unclear to me whether this referred to a specific branch of the dealership or the dealership entity as a whole.

I was further advised that, should the dealer indeed be deregistering, I would need to obtain the dealer’s new address details. In addition, I was provided with an affidavit to complete, confirming that I would be represented solely by the Consumer Protector Office and that I would not appoint any legal representative in this matter.

I duly completed and submitted the affidavit to the Consumer Protector Office. I also contacted the dealer both telephonically and via email to confirm whether they were in fact deregistering and to request confirmation of their address details.

The dealer responded by stating that they were not aware of any deregistration process and confirmed that their address remained unchanged. They provided their address details via email, which I subsequently forwarded to the Consumer Protector Office. This correspondence was sent on 12 and 13 April 2026.

Since then, I have made numerous attempts to follow up with the Consumer Protector Office regarding the status of the matter and the Tribunal process. Unfortunately, I have not received any response to my emails or follow-up requests.

I subsequently contacted the Consumer Protector Office telephonically once again. The receptionist I spoke with confirmed that the matter was with the Tribunal and informed me that the only available means of communication was through email correspondence. He further indicated that he would note on their system that I required feedback and that I should be contacted accordingly.

Despite this assurance, no communication was received. The same receptionist contacted me again the following day to enquire whether I had since been contacted, and I informed him that I had not received any response. He advised that, after making enquiries himself, he was again only provided with the Tribunal email address and informed that no direct telephonic communication with the Tribunal was possible.

I explained to him that I had already been repeatedly sending emails to the same address without receiving any response. Nevertheless, I was advised to continue emailing the Tribunal, which I did. To date, however, I still have not received any response or update regarding the matter.

At this stage, I am uncertain as to how to proceed further, as the Consumer Protector Office is not responding to my emails, my calls are not being answered, and the direct contact person I had previously communicated with is no longer responding to my calls. The only available method of communication remains email correspondence, to which I have received no replies.

As a result, I am left confused and without clarity regarding the current status of my matter or the appropriate next steps.