KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Dodgy car dealers beware

It’s good news for used-car buyer and bad news for dodgy car dealers in South Africa. A recent ruling in the Gauteng Regional Court has bolstered the rights of consumers, reports Business Tech. The court ruling penalised a dodgy car dealer for selling a vehicle without disclosing its crash-damaged history to the buyer.

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The ruling relates to a used car that was purchased online but had a damaged chassis that had been shoddily repaired. This was in spite of the buyer being presented with a multi-point-check report that said the vehicle was mechanically sound.

DODGY CAR DEALERS: YOU HAVE RECOURSE

After complaining to the dealer and receiving no resolution, the buyer took the matter up with the Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa. Follow the guidelines HERE if you wish to lodge a complaint yourself.

The complaint ended up in court, after the buyer provided an assessment from an independent specialist. The South African Motor Body Repairers Association (SAMBRA) found 20 defects on the supposedly ‘mechanically sound’ vehicle.

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SAMBRA’s inspection was presented in court and revealed that the vehicle in question was involved in a major accident and written-off. These defects would not have been visible to the naked eye. After being stored in a salvage yard, the written-off car was sold at auction, poorly repaired and put back onto the market.

USED-CAR BUYING: DO YOUR HOMEWORK

The used car dealer argued that he was unaware the car was previously written off. However, the Gauteng Regional Court ruled that the dealer should have done his due diligence and known everything about the car. As the consumer has the right to be informed of the complete history of the vehicle before buying, the dodgy dealer was ordered to refund the buyer the value of the car plus interest.

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SAMBRA welcomed the ruling, saying it has been lobbying groups like the South African Insurance Association (SAIA) to publish a vehicle salvage database (VSD) to inform prospective buyers.

WHEN IS A CAR WRITTEN OFF?

A car is written off by an insurer when the cost to restore the vehicle exceeds a certain percentage of the value and is therefore deemed uneconomical to repair. When this happens, the vehicle should be re-coded on the National Traffic Information System (NATIS) as a Code 3 vehicle, which will inform any prospective buyers of the damaged/salvaged state.

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BEWARE OF AUCTIONS

Code 3 vehicles, whether declared or not, are typically sold off at auctions where they are then bought and repaired, often sub standardly, by unscrupulous repairers, before being sold on by dodgy dealers.

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As much as the consumer has rights, it is also the responsibility of the buyer to protect themselves. Do as much research as possible before purchasing a used car. The simple fact is, if the deal looks too good to be true, that’s probably because it is.

SAIA has assured that a vehicle salvage database of Code 3s will be published before the end of 2023. This will hopefully go some way to prevent situations such as the recent Gauteng Regional Court ruling.

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