Volkswagen & McCarthy Westgate sold me a Repaired Car without disclosing it to me as Brand New

Factual Details below

1. We bought a new VW Polo 1.0 TSi from McCarthy, Roodepoort in May 2018 straight off the showroom floor;

2. Unbeknown to us this brand new vehicle was damaged whilst off-loaded and subsequently repaired by a panel beater in Randburg;

3. These repairs were authorized by VWSA Head Office through their insurers;

4. This repaired vehicle was placed on the showroom floor and sold to us as a new vehicle and neither the fact that it was damaged or repaired was disclosed to us by the Dealer McCarthy Roodepoort;

5. Upon taking the vehicle for its first service to another VW Dealer we were shocked and surprised to be informed by the service advisor that our new vehicle was in an accident and not only repaired, but badly so;

6. We immediately contacted VWSA who denied any knowledge despite us giving them the VIN number of the vehicle and we were simply referred back to the Dealer McCarthy, Roodepoort;

7. McCarthy Roodepoort denied any damage to the vehicle or knowledge thereof;

8. I was forced to take the vehicle to DEKRA (AA) for a complete report and all the badly repaired accident damage was highlighted in the report;

9. I went back to the Dealer, McCarthy Roodepoort with the report and still they were not accepting any liability;

10. I then also approached the Motor Industry Ombudsman (MIOSA) for assistance;

11. After months of been given the “run-around” by McCarthy Roodepoort, they finally conceded that the vehicle was damaged prior to us buying it and they offered to replace it;

12. By this time I was so frustrated and upset with the treatment I have received that the only thing I wanted was the cancellation of this sale agreement and for my money to be returned to me and this badly repaired vehicle to the Dealer;

13. Wesbank, the financing institution then agreed in principle on the provisos that the Dealer, McCarthy Roodepoort agreed, as well as us paying for the usage of the vehicle for the period;

14. I took out a loan to pay for the usage and returned the vehicle to McCarthy Roodepoort as instructed by them;

15. I cancelled the insurance, Tracker and awaited instructions to pay for the usage;

16. In the meantime MIOSA ruled that the offer by the Dealer, McCarthy Roodepoort of a replacement vehicle is correct under the circumstances but that I cannot get a refund;

17. Then, to our utmost surprise we received a number of letters from McCarthy Roodepoort’s attorney wherein we were informed that:

a. we have just abandoned the vehicle at the Dealership and they will inform Wesbank accordingly. In addition, they do not agree to the cancellation of the sale agreement;

b. the offer of a replacement vehicle was withdrawn;

c. they will only repair the vehicle now with original VW parts;

d. we were in no uncertain terms told that they will take legal steps against us for posting anything on social media.

18. At this stage were approached and assisted by an attorney on a pro bono (free of charge) basis to try and resolve this matter;

19. Our attorney wrote a comprehensive letter with all documentation etc. to VWSA Head Office in Port Elizabeth and asked them for their intervention in the matter;

20. After waiting for months for a reply VWSA finally rep**** and said that they will not take any responsibility for this matter and that:

a. their legal obligations is limited to the 3 year / 120 000 km warranty and 3 year / 45 000 km Service Plan;

b. they were not a party to the sale transaction and they cannot (will not) prescribe to their dealer McCarthy Roodepoort;

c. we were referred back to McCarthy Roodepoort and VWSA washed their hands off this matter.

21. After a number of letters to and fro between our attorney and theirs, and even a round table meeting our options are now:

a. either we trade the car in on another vehicle which will mean that McCarthy are willing to pay the bank R230 000.00 for our vehicle and we must have the remainder R120 000.00 in cash for them to obtain the NATIS documents from the bank. Not an option at all as we will lose too much.

b. or we take our car to McCarthy Roodepoort before 31 October 2019 for it to be repaired otherwise this offer is also withdrawn;

c. we made a request that they at least consider reimbursing us for all our expenses such as the AA report etc. but this was also rejected stating that “we acted to our own detriment and are the author of our own damages and/or losses”;

This is now where we are almost 18 months later battered and bruised and still with a car that was damaged prior to us purchasing it as a new car. And unless we submit to McCarthy’s demands to simply repair it, that is what it would remain.

We now have to make a decision whether to walk away from this, or do we approach the Courts for assistance. Our attorney has done what he could to try and resolve it and obviously has to reconsider should this turn into a legal battle with these giants and their deep pockets.