A Kuils River man says he has been scammed by a car dealership who sold him a damaged vehicle and now he wants his money back.
Suleiman Cassiem says he bought the blue 2018 VW Polo for R266 000 last December from N1 Auto Pedigree but after an accident in July, he discovered some information that was not divulged by the dealership.
“I drove into somebody in Delft in July and I took it to a panel beater in Strand to fix the damage to the front,” he says.
“While it was at the panel beaters, they informed me that the bolts and the colour work inside the car did not match, which means that it was in an accident before and was replaced by cheaper parts.”
The 34-year-old added he was shocked by this information and immediately called the dealership.
“I got a call from the branch manager (Robert Hector) to say that the car was not in an accident but that the doors were replaced previously and the reason for the different colour work was because the doors were a different colour.
“I asked why did the dealership not disclose this, he said that the salesperson simply did not know, which I knew could not be true because surely there is a detailed history for each car they have on the floor?
“I also knew that the branch manager was just making excuses and that he was not telling the truth because the panel beater said other parts of the car have been replaced and not just the doors.
“I asked for something to be done about this but nothing has happened.”
Suleiman says since then, he has been in constant communication with the dealership as well as the vehicle ombudsman, who told him that they could not assist as the dealership did not fall under their jurisdiction.
“I paid seven months (of instalments) already on this car so I want some sort of fair compensation because I feel scammed.
“When I told the branch manager this, he said I cannot get any money back because I have not lost any costs but how can he say that?”
When Daily Voice asked Hector about the situation, he referred our questions to the ombudsman, who had not replied to queries by yesterday.