AWFUL EXPERIENCE WITH MOTUS NISSAN TYGERVALLEY

In March of 2024, I needed a car after a hit and run on 23 February rendered my trusty 2009 Chevrolet Aveo unsalvageable. I, after having driven a Kwid provided to me by my insurer, liked the vehicle and started enquiring at two dealerships about possibly buying one. Boy, have I lived to regret that decision!

I ended up visiting Motus Nissan Tygervalley where I met with what I thought was just a friendly, helpful sales representative. I told her about my reservations about the Kwid due to its size. You see, the Aveo was reliable but Cape Town winters and flooded roads really tested it. I wanted something with bigger ground clearance. So she showed me to a vehicle that had come into their dealership the day before. Enter the piece of **** 2024 Kiger Energy 1.0 Zen I ended up buying.

While it cleared flooded roads with ease, it could not clear a start-up without difficulty. In June 2024, this car would shake violently upon a cold start. The first time I heard it, I switched it off as I was scared it was going to fall apart. Right before I did that the engine light illuminated. I ended up taking it to a Renault service centre closer to my home. I was given the nonsensical reason of low fuel levels causing a misfire. There was only problem with that explanation - I had never driven the vehicle while low on fuel. Anyways, I left as I had to prepare for night shift a couple of hours later and I genuinely thought it was just a mishap, a one-off. If only I knew! This would happen three more times. The third incident at the end of July 2024 prompted me to contact the sales rep who sold me the vehicle at Motus Nissan Tygervalley. By now, a nagging suspicion was starting to formulate in my head about what I actually bought. A misfire due to faulty spark plugs were diagnosed, yet again (it was the diagnosis the second time as well). The car spent a couple of days with them. All the spark plugs were replaced and two technicians at the Motus Tygervalley spoke to me and my stepfather like we were complete idiots when we collected the vehicle. You see, we weren't buying the spark plug reason at this point but we left the dealership, wearily accepting what we were told. I mean, they know better, right? Else they wouldn't be appointed as technicians? I was tempted to ask for a six month supply of spark plugs and a manual on how to replace them. Just so I could save myself a couple of trips. We were somewhat soothed and swayed by the dealer representative promising that the vehicle would be replaced should it act up again. She proposed a trade-in as a solution. Oh, we were gullible. Her words verbatim: "I'll guide you through it step by step, just like I guided you in the purchase of the Kiger". At this point, I should have said: "like you guided me to buying a lemon the first time?" I told her that I no longer wanted the vehicle. This was in the six month period where you can return the vehicle to the dealership if problems developed with the vehicle. Looking back now, I think she was playing for time. Probably prayed for the whole time till September that the Kiger didn't misfire again.

She reiterated the promise of the replacement by way of a trade-in when the car was delivered to my workplace in August. It did just that for a fourth time in early September. I was furious and contacted the dealer rep who had promised me a replacement. She sent me a WhatsApp voice note guiding me through how to go about the trade-in when I got to the dealership (she was off for medical reasons) . She, in all likelihood, knew the resistance I would be met with but, kudos to her, she kept the facade up well. I arranged to speak to the dealer principle. He was very accommodating over the phone and arranged to meet with me. When I got to the dealership, he was unavailable. This made me angry. I acted completely out of character and for the first time, I was super assertive and blunt. They brought in their technical foreman to talk to me and I was assured that they would get to the bottom of the problem. The manager promised he would get personally involved and resolve this issue. The vehicle stayed over for a week and then he tells me he found the problem and it is a faulty fuel injector. Now fuel injectors and spark plugs aren't things you replace everyday. The fact that these parts on the Kiger failed at under 2300 km called the integrity of all the vehicle parts into question. And what damage has driving around, with a faulty fuel injector, for presumably four months at least, done to the other engine parts??? No, I had had enough!

Motus Nissan Tygervalley ignored me when I said, unequivocally, that I didn't want this vehicle back. The manager said, on the day I told him that, that he would get back to me the following day. That day never came. I made it clear that I wanted them to act on the promise of replacement they had made. Their tone in emails now, is almost challenging. They'll now await communication from my legal representative is what they say. The vehicle is currently in my possession and I have come to hate this vehicle as I distrust it. I feel duped, deceived and mistreated. How does one pay for a vehicle that only went three months without issue? How does an honest dealer justify it? How do you do to this to someone with so little regard of the long term effects on that person financially, emotionally, etc? It is disgusting! Sies, Motus Nissan Tygervalley!