Frustrating, time-consuming aftersales experience regarding defective/failing gearbox

On the 22nd of April 2021 at +- 12:30 I took delivery of a 2012 Volvo C30 2.0 Essential Powershift from WeBuyCars' JHB South branch. That same day at +- 18:30 after travelling no more than 35kms the vehicle revealed a defect/failure which resulted in a failure in the gearbox. With the assistance of Mark Roothman, WeBuyCars instructed that the vehicle be towed away the following morning (23rd April 2021) by CTR towing to JAG Auto Tech, as it was serviced there.

Following the requested advice from Mark Roothman, on the 27th of April I launched a complaint on WeBuyCars' website to address this issue. Contact was made by Piehan Pieterse of WeBuyCars on the 29th of April 2021, when he advised me that the vehicle was being taken to All-o-matic gearbox and diff. The vehicle was collected on the 30th of April as confirmed by Jacqui Feio from JAG auto Tech.

On the 4th of May 2021 I was notified by Piehan Pieterse of WeBuyCars that work had started on my vehicle to compile a quote for repairs. The first 2 claims 527682 and 527783 were made on Friday the 7th of May 2021 and I was informed that the assessor would be sent on the following Monday or Tuesday. On Tuesday 11 May 2021 the assessor had been out and we awaited feedback from Innovations. On 12 May 2021, another sms with claim 530263 was received. Up until this point I had still been receiving the minimal amount of information as to what faults existed in the vehicle as little to no information was being volunteered. I was also not informed as to why 3 different claims had been launched, nor what they consisted of. Upon insisting on a technical report as to what exactly was wrong and as to what the claims consisted of, I was only told the following:

‘one is on the normal warranty one is on the power up the warranty. How the workshop explained is that there is communication failure from the gearbox mechatronics’

Work finally commenced on the 17th of May while the amounts were awaiting authorization. The vehicle was finally returned to my possession on the morning of the 27th of May 2021, more than 4 weeks after the failure. Yesterday (6 June 2021) at +-17:45, 10 days after taking delivery of the vehicle the exact same defect/failure presented after a total of only 190kms being driven. The car will pull away normally and upon attempting to gear up, make a slamming noise which results in the tires locking and screeching and the vehicle’s occupants being thrown forward resulting in back and neck pain.

Due to the persistence of the defect/failure and having driven less than 250kms, I am invoking my rights contained in Section 56 (3) of the Consumer Protection Act, No 68 of 2008, and hereby request a refund in full for the deposit and costs which includes the costs I incurred while awaiting the vehicle be repaired for more than 4 weeks, for the vehicle I purchased from WeBuyCars' JHB South branch.

The costs I incurred are as follows: R 40,000.00 Deposit R 1,235.05 First Insurance premium from Outsurance R 1,111.55 Second Insurance premium from Outsurance R 2,159.81 First instalment to Standard Bank R 527.18 Fuel added to vehicle R 796.00 33x Uber trips transport to work while waiting for the vehicle to be repaired. Ranges from R10 – R109 Total: R45,829.59

My reasons for doing so are legitimate and reasonable as the vehicle is unfit for the intended purpose and unsafe to operate even after 3x attempts were made to repair it. I have also lost faith in the vehicle as it has on both occasions put myself and my passengers in dangerous situations resulting directly from the defect/failure. Furthermore, I have been without a proper functioning vehicle for almost 2 months in total now, and do not want to struggle anymore.

I hope that the matter will be resolved swiftly in a civil, professional and calm manner.

Regards Janke Jansen van Rensburg