Evolutions Motors & Solo Motors - Cancellation of deal denied even though problems started from day one!

I don’t even know where to begin, just completely poor service received from both dealerships, with my request to cancel being denied and I was still well within my rights to get it cancelled, the bank confirmed that they could cancel the deal but the dealership refused.

I purchased a 2010 Mini Cooper S black from Evolution Motors in Goodwood however I signed the deal at Solo Motors on 30th August 2018. The vehicle is on my name however my fiancé is the regular driver.

Issues on the 2010 Mini Cooper was mentioned to the dealership on the first few days after taking delivery of the vehicle, I have emails backing myself up as well as whatsapp messages with the salesman that assisted me. (Nizar)

The first batch of problems was that the clutch had a major shudder, the back brake light was not fully operational and there were 3 or 4 different notifications popping up on the dashboard for various reasons (I discovered this by checking on Google, tyres to be checked and problem with lights, there was one other but I can’t recall what it was).

Upon returning the car to the dealership my fiancé was advised there was no problem with the clutch, it’s a sports clutch and it has to adjust to his style of driving (this is not his 1st sports car), the back light was "fixed" as well, the notifications that was popping up Nizar advised us that you need to reset the counter on the dash so the "timer" starts afresh and will bring to you attention any new problems.

A few days later, I emailed Nizar with the below complaints as the problems had not subsided:

The shuddering clutch The brake light on the left was out again Notifications still appearing on the dashboard Brakes are fading There is all sorts of sounds coming from the vehicle, wheel bearings appear to be a problem The headlights started flickering wasn't staying on, making them un-useable.

There was a whole bunch of backwards and forwards between myself and the dealership, the car then got booked and assessed on the 17th we received no feedback whatsoever and any feedback we did get was because I was inquiring.

The clutch was indeed faulty and they ordered one from BMW and was fitted the 27th of September during this time we were not offered a courtesy vehicle at all when I asked I was told that is a service they don't offer, this was a major inconvenience as I’m sure anyone can imagine, my fiancé has his own business and we were forced to make use of one vehicle.

Our biggest concern and the main reason for wanting to cancel the deal this early on was for the mere fact that I signed paperwork to say the car was inspected and checked and instead after taking delivery we just had so many issues and as the days went by the issues became more. I am just concerned that we traded in a perfectly good vehicle for one with this many issues after signing the deal, I feared that I am going to be left with a vehicle that I am constantly going to be taking back to the dealership to address issues that shouldn't even be there.

The vehicle was collected from the dealership on Friday the 28-09-2018 and there was 2 different sounds picked up, we made the salesman and the mechanic aware of this. Since then nothing has been done, and I have complained several times the same problem still persists.

My initial thinking was cancel the deal before it is too late and I'm stuck. I made contact with Solo Motors as I signed the deal there and was getting absolutely no response from Evolution Motors, I spoke to Bruce who said that I was not able to cancel and that I could even go to the Ombudsman if I wanted to but I have no leg to stand on and that even if I go that route it will take 6 months before I hear anything back. I then contacted Absa bank about this on that Friday they told me that I am able to cancel the deal as 30 days had no passed since signing for it, they did however confirm that it has to be done by the dealer and the dealership must send the bank the money back for the finance paid out to them, I decided to go into the bank the following day and yet again I was advised the same thing. The gentleman I spoke to at the call centre was very helpful and he put me in touch with Absa Business Development Officer David Vlok who was gave me a lot of helpful information and it was a pleasure to deal with him.

I was advised that even though I have been having all these problems the Banks contract terms and conditions paragraph 4 refer to any defects with the goods is between myself and the supplier (dealer). David advised me that he was going to see the dealership to get them to look into my complaint he was true to his work and which they did. After the vehicle was assessed but we were still playing cat and mouse and the issues were not being resolved, I complained again that the issues were not resolved, the dealership made it seem like I was making these faults up to discredit me. David advised me that the ruling is Repair, Replace then Refund. Therefore any issues I have I need to bring to the dealers attention. Which I have continued to do.

My complaint was then handed to Mike Turner, I am unsure of his title at solo motors, he seemed to agree with me regarding the poor service previously received from Evolution Motors and said that he didn’t have to help but he was going to do me that favour by assisting me to make things right.

We made arrangement to bring the vehicle in and to get a courtesy vehicle in this time, all the faults were emailed the dealership and my fiancé also took the vehicle in and I met him there, we both drove with the mechanic and identified the issues. A few days later we were asked to come and collect the vehicle as everything was fine however it was not. Mike told me what he wanted me to know in terms of the faults that I mentioned but when questioning him on other faults mentioned only then he did admit that the problem was sorted but he never came straight out and told me that there was an issue and it was fixed, making my fiancé and myself look like *****. Mike then asked that we return the vehicle in a few days said to please contact him as a reminder, he said he will have the car taken to an exhaust workshop I believe as he thought he sound the car made stemmed from the exhaust, he asked me to contact him in November which I did he then said he needs to still make a booking and they are quite busy if we can bear with him which we did the following week when I enquired he told me that he was getting another mini cooper S in and wanted to check it out so that he had something to compare our vehicle to.

I have not heard anything back from Evolution Motors or Solo Motors, Mike has not attempted to make any further contact with me via phone, email, whatsapp or text message, we are completely in the dark and the problems are there and not getting any better. We pay a lot of money for a vehicle that is not pleasant to drive.

I emailed the Solo Motors last Friday the 23rd and I am still waiting on anyone’s response, any kind of help but nothing.

I am still wanting to cancel this deal, both myself and my fiancé are really unhappy and this car has been anything but a joyful ride.

I am considering taking this to the ombudsman however after doing some research the process on their side I need to request that the dealership arrange that the manufacturer's representative review my current complaint so that I can take this one step further as I seem to be getting nowhere.

I have many emails to back up all my claims above, I just don’t understand why the dealership would not allow me to cancel the deal given the faults experienced from the get go. I have not put down every single nitty gritty comment and remark made but if you need emails as proof I have them with all faults listed.

Please help, I just want to be able to continue happily with a vehicle that meets the standards for the amount of money we are paying.

Regards Samantha