Months of struggle
We bought a Ford Ranger from VX Auto Klerksdorp, and got it the 23rd of August 2022. The 4th of September we went to a wedding, and on our way back home got pulled over in Johannesburg. There weren't number plates on the bakkie yet, but that was not the real problem. Turns out, the date that the permit was stamped, and the date it was issued, had a 3 month difference. It took a lot of sweet talk and almost begging, because we just bought the vehicle, and we didn't know. They almost took the bakkie, which would have left us stranded in Johannesburg with 2 small kids, no family or car to help us out.
On the 11th of September the bakkie took a stand still on the side of the road, with smoke coming out of the engin. They made plans to come and get the vehicle, but did not bring us a vehicle to replace it with. The Ford was our only way to get around. I had to borrow my parents car, which was bad, because we especially bought the bakkie for the dirt road. We live on a farm outside of town.
Weeks later. They still didn't bring us something to drive. I have two small kids, my husband works on another farm, my parents need their car, which I've told them. It's a real struggle. Eventually they wanted to send us a car. Which we had to decline because it rained a lot here, and a small car won't be able to handle the wet clay road.
On the 6th of October, they brought back the Ford, and promised that it was 100%. The engin of the Ford basically melted, and instead of replacing the engine they just took it to get fixed. We did ask them to please replace all the injectors just to be safe. They tested it, but never replaced it.
After almost a month without a car from them, and all the struggle, they gave us the vehicle back, almost empty. They did promise to pay us back if we filled the car, but never did.
So we got the vehicle back, and the trip meter doesn't work. Okay. We used the car 2 or 3 times, and some lights started going on on the dash, which follows with the vehicle losing power.
On the 18th we took the vehicle to people on Bloemfontein to just see what the problem is. Turns out it was the injectors. So from the 18th we are yet again without a vehicle, and yet again no vehicle to replace the Ford.
They decided they "didn't want to lose us as clients" so they wanted to turn the deal around and replace the Ford with a Hilux. We couldn't accept, because it's not what we paid for. And the Hilux is much older and has more kilometers on the clock than the Ford.
The came on the 29th of October to get the vehicle in Bloemfontein. It was recommended by the company in Bloemfontein that vehicle should not drive to far in its condition, but they drove the vehicle back to Klerksdorp.
This time, they brought us a vehicle, and after all the struggle, and the long time with nothing to drive, yet again left us with an almost empty vehicle. I did ask if they could at least fill the tank. But I was told, that they were going to fill the Ford when they bring it back. So no then. They didn't fill the replacement vehicle for us. My parents had to fill the vehicle for us, and brought it to the farm to get their car. They needed to fill it, because there wasn't enough left for me to get back to town if I needed to.
The replacement vehicle (Mahindra) had a hole in the roof where the antenna is supposed to be. It rains a lot on the farm, and now we had to make plans to not get water inside the vehicle.
Me and my Fiancé are still young and I suppose a little dumb when it comes to all this, but they constantly used it to their advantage. My fiancé has a lot of patience, but I couldn't take it anymore to be treated that way. It was a constant hassle to borrow my parents car and leave them without a vehicle. They never gave us a full tank, to show they were sorry for all the trouble.
We don't really know what they are going to do with the Ford now. Replace the whole engine, or try to save money and try fixing it. But we are still hoping for the best. We are happy with the Ford and would love it back, but we don't know if we can trust that they will actually fix it the right way. Just hoping for the best at this point.
I want them to read this, and imagine it was their wife or daughter struggling with a company like this. Would they have kept quiet for as long as we have? Would they have done the same as I am doing now?