Defective "unecomical" Financed Vehicles from Fouche Motors Vereeniging

I purchased a 2022 Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TSI Comfortline DSG at Fouche Motors Vereeniging, through MFC Vehicle Financing on Thursday the 17th of August 2023.

I've been unfortunately met with a plethora of issues pertaining to the car that are a result of the deception of the dealership.

When I left the dealership on Thursday (17 Aug 2023), The Sales Person whom had managed my vehicle deal requested that I bring the car back so that it would be taken to VW for a full check. He had highlighted a Starter issue with the vehicle that would be resolved in the following week after I would have returned the vehicle. I noted this and agreed to bring it back.

However, on Sunday the 20th of August 2023 (Three days from purchase date) the engine light of the car went on. I flagged this issue with the dealership and I went on to pick up other issues. The car had a strange sound when it was started. The car had a loud noise mimicking that of a diesel powered car, whenever it was started. This loud sound was accompanied by a vibration to the whole vehicle. Above this, the brakes of the car were faulty. You needed to exert more pressure to get the car to come to a halt and they had a strange sound.

I also noted an irregular sound when one opened the rear left door of the car. When you open the door with the front passenger door closed, the door makes this irregular sound. The rep from Fouche had mentioned that the car had previously been in a "minor" accident where just the front bumper was affected.

The issue of the door, brakes and engine light to me seem to highlight and suggest an issue beyond the "minor accident" as the Fouche rep had suggested and captured. I requested for a Dekra report from The finance representative I was in contact with. He assured me that he would relay the message to the Sales Rep I have been in contact with. It has been a back and forth, only for me to receive the non-technical Dekra report on the 19th of September 2023.

On Wednesday the 23rd of August 2023 (6 days after purchase), the vehicle was taken to the Constantia Kloof VW branch where a diagnosis on the car was done and a report was drawn highlighting a hard start, the engine light, a complete removal of the exhaust braket and replacement, a wheel realignment and brakes replacement that needed to be done.

Before VW Constantia Kloof could proceed with fixing these issues, the Sales Rep from Fouche said no, the car needed to be taken to Vereeniging where they had a VW warehouse/service dealership that they had a partnership with.

I proceeded to take up the Issue with the bank (MFC), where I was told that the bank could not force the dealership to cancel the deal. Even there, I did not get a clear directive.

Following the banks failure to assist me in this case, I wrote to the Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa (MIOSA) where the ruling was in favour of the dealership and I was told that the reward could not be in my favour.

It is worth noting that the vehicle had been with Fouche from the 23rd of August 2023 to 11 October 2023. The only reason I collected the car from the dealership in October was following the MIOSA's ruling. The vehicle is still faulty, the engine light is still on despite the dealership claiming to have fixed all issues.

I have gathered conclusive evidence showing and proving that the car was in a major accident. The car was rebuilt and repainted (not to the original state/colour of the vehicle). The car was sold at an auction and deemed "uneconomical to repair". This was not disclosed at the time of my purchase. This vehicle was overpriced and sold to me for R436 000.00 (Four hundred and thirty-six thousand).

I am disappointed at Fouche Motors Vereeniging, MFC and the MIOSA for the manner in which my case is being handled. I do not recommend doing any business with Fouche Motors Vereeniging, MFC or MIOSA.