Ford Fiesta

From: Craig Hanslo <***> Date: 01 February 2022 at 22:08:44 SAST To: *** Subject: Disappointing Ford Fiesta Fiasco

Dear Sirs So I have always believed that you get two types of unhappy clients. 1. The one that complains to anyone and everyone that will listen and 2 one that will never come back. Whichever way it’s bad. Very bad, ruined company bad. Your size and absolute domination of the second hand vehicle market is unfortunately making you unfriendly, unapologetic, unapproachable and unfair. For the little guy we will loose in every way because of your financial power and undoubtedly skilled set of lawyers that will favour your company at any cost. Hopefully my email will resonate with management and you never know, someone might actually care, so here goes nothing with my story. I bought a Ford Fiesta 2007 model after being in a predicament where i needed a car the same day. Unfortunately the one I had my heart on was in un-drivable mechanical condition so had to choose something else in my price range that day. The following was listed on the dekra report: Taillight creaked Seat front defective Parcel tray missing Windscreen chipped Gearbox oil leak Both headlights faded. Tanking the car for a test drive with 5 Kms left on the estimate could not really take for a good drive so after 2 kms and a max speed of 60kms per hour got back to the warehouse and bought the car. Noted on the sale doc was Aircon that was not working. Paid cash (eft) and left. That’s when he first problems started. I went the same day to PG auto glass as the drivers window was making a weird noise when you tried to close it. Also to get the windscreen chips repaired. PG did an assessment on the driver side window and discovered the window clips that holds the glass firmly in place is broken. Also advised that the main electric window switch does not open the passenger window. Parts are not available at PG, and I am yet to find replacements that will not cost an arm and a leg. Their window chip machine was in for repairs and just for the assessment was R450.00 It was late so I went home. I was planning a trip the next day witch was a Friday and decided to take the car to Aircon repair shop independent car radio and Aircon in centurion to regas the air conditioner. I booked the car at 12h00 and was expecting it back around 15h00 just in time for my trip. I got a call from the manager and asked that I come and see his as soon as possible. I got to shop around 15h00 and he advised that the vehicles cooling fan was completely missing and he could not perform anymore tests on vehicle. I was shocked but now under time pressure to leave for my trip at 17h00 and asked what needed to be done. He referred me to formax in PTA to get a new one. I got a friend to rush me there in peak traffic to luckily got a replacement at R1500.00 and got back to Indie shop for them to fit just before 17h00. R3400.00 later to fit fan with lots of mcguyvering as clips were broken that held the fan in place and then quick regas. I also managed to find a slightly damaged parcel tray from an accident vehicle at formax for R950.00 My trip was a tight squeeze, I was late, it was dark and lights were not very good as per dekra report they were faded. So I drove to my destination at 80kms an hour on the highway. I left my destination early Sunday afternoon and it was a clear day and decided to bring vehicle up to speed and check for general handling capabilities. The car was fine(ish) at 110kms ph but anything over that it felt like my fillings we going to rattle out. So back to 100 which was decidedly better and I got home safely, but disappointed at the poor quality of the vehicle condition. The Monday I was off from work as I had some leave due to me and I took the vehicle into my trusty Dunlop dealer in Midrand for a check up to see what’s up. Report from Dunlop: Left from tyre bubbled Front shocks worn beyond safe driving Front disks worn Front brakes worn Tie rod ends worn Gearbox mounting broken in half Gearbox leak (noted on dekra) Water washer bottle cap missing Driver seat handle broken (noted on dekra) Passenger seat handle broken Interior lighter wiring loose Left front wheel balancing fair Right front wheel mag buckled Right rear mag wheel buckled left rear mag wheel buckled Clutch making a noise when shifting gear No jack No wheel spanner Incorrect sized spare wheel Radio on off knob broken Strange holes in both left from and right front carpets - looked like someone cut with Stanley knife Radio surround peeling Cannot accommodate rear passengers Ok so the entire car was not checked 100% so then decided to repair as much as I could To get the vehicle in a safer driving condition. Parts was over R6000 for new shocks, brakes disks, ties rods, wheel spanner, jack gearbox mounting and wheel balancing. The labour was an additional R2500. There is still quite a list left to do. Then in December the aircon was not working again and took into aircon shop to check only to find out that the main pipe was leaking and as they were closing for holidays so took it back in Jan for pipe replacement at 1450.00 plus another R650 for gas. So my car is insured for R51000.00 and it’s the amount it was sold for. One would expect that at full retail selling price the car should be in near excellent condition for its age with no major repairs needed. I guestamate that I would need to spend another R15000 to R20000 on repairs or replacement of the OEM mags to sort out the buckled wheels and damaged tyre, gearbox leak repairs is yet unknown, it would need a major service and cam belt replacement and finally clutch replacement. That’s all that I would need to do immediately when I have some money just to keep the car going. Because I bought cash and your terms and conditions on the iPad (which I still don’t have a copy off)that was signed I don’t even know what my rights are. Hopefully one of your managers/ supervisors/ customer care agents/ directors will respond? Who knows. Facebook, twitter and instagram will be quite interesting to see what others will have to say if I share my story on these social media platforms. All I can say is I paid full retail + roadworthy licensing and registration of R2000 in total for a car that was really only worth less than 25k in reality with all the repairs that was needed and defiantly not mentioned on dekra report. I still think that having an in house dekra branch is a recipe for bias ************ **** reports. Sad to think that I am not the only client that was duped in this way - people talk- and you will never see again and my story will reach all ends of the globe. So enjoy your day and think that many people save up money for years and years to be able to buy a car cash. It could be your mom, dad, cousin, uncle, son, daughter or even yourself etc. Craig Hanslo