DO NOT BUY A SECOND HAND CAR FROM THEM !!!!! ****MERS AND ****S!!!

I should have done my research on Hello Peter before buying a 2021 Range Rover L405 50th Anniversary Autobiography in August/September 2024. When I arrived after driving from Durban to Johannesburg to trade in my Lexus LX 450, the salesperson, Michael, greeted me with a lack of professionalism and made me wait 15 minutes before assisting me. I assumed I was purchasing from a reputable dealer, especially since the vehicle has a maintenance plan until 2026. Unfortunately, I didn’t inspect the vehicle as thoroughly as I should have, and that was my oversight. Right away, I noticed that the rear center armrest didn’t unfold automatically. It went back to the workshop, where it was supposedly reprogrammed for the second time and worked fine afterward. I also saw a TMS warning on the spare wheel. I was told there wasn’t time to fix it and that I’d need to get it done in Umhlanga Rocks, with the dealership agreeing to cover the cost. Additionally, the service book and owner’s manual were missing. Michael, the salesperson, promised to send them to me by post, but I felt uneasy and asked for an owner’s manual from another car on the lot, which William, the sales manager, provided.

On my drive back to Durban, I noticed the vehicle pulling to one side and a shuddering from the front suspension at around 110 km/h, indicating an issue with wheel balancing. When I took the car to a tire shop in Ballito, I was shocked to discover that the spare tire had a significant bulge in the sidewall and that the front and rear tires were of different brands, with two tires damaged as well.

I had booked a trip to Kruger Park with my kids, needing the extra space since my second vehicle couldn’t accommodate us. I ended up purchasing four new tires and contacted William right away. He instructed me to send him a report and proof of payment, and I received a refund of R20,000 for three of the tires (almost R7,000 each, meaning i am 7k out of pocket). in addition to this, the car was wrapped with VPS in DBN and they found that the boot spoiler was completely loose (bolt missing), which bolts were send from Waterford within a week (yippee). During our planned trip, I encountered even more issues, including the app and wireless hotspot failing completely due to a system malfunction, which persists to this day (October 29, 2024). The vehicle has now been in the workshop for nine days in Umhlanga Rocks with the following list of faults: Problems identified within the 1st week of purchasing the vehicle 1. Rear right airbag clip falling out several times (pushed back by myself) 2. Driver seat mechanism not responsive (intermittent) 3. Rear right seat mechanism not responsive (intermittent) 4. Driver side windscreen seal exposed (inside) 5. Middle rear arm rest doesn’t clip in properly (intermittent) 6. Middle rear arm rest doesn’t function at all (intermittent) 7. Rear aircon not responsive when controlled from rear (intermittent) 8. Car wifi connection (sd card) not reading. Presume faulty sd reader? 9. Boot mechanism not responding, especially bottom part, mainly when used via remote 10. Plastic clip missing in engine compartment (to hold plastic cover) 11. Spare tyre tms faulty 12. Right hand side clip broken on boot cover (can this be replaced or does a new cover have to be purchased?) 13. Plastic cover and wire hanging loose under front passenger seat 14. Right rear window doesn’t close when clicking button, but you have to hold the button up to close 15. Range rover software apparently was off line to load on phone and car 16. Rattling coming from rear boot and upon investigation I found the jack etc. to be loose. Please fasten as supposed to be 17. Rattling coming from either back seat or boot cover rubbing against back seats? 18. Memory button not working on drivers seat (intermittent) 19. Memory button not working on right rear seat (intermittent) 20. Bad knock which seems to come from the side steps, as it has become better after disabling automatic site steps (but noise is still there on occasion) 21. Drivers side massage function stopped working after a while on the 13th- present in addition to this, the car was wrapped with VPS in DBN and they found that the boot spoiler was completely loose (bolt missing) Land Rover Umhlanga is just as shocked as I am that I was sold the vehicle in this condition. According to the Consumer Protection Act, Land Rover is obligated to address the reported issues as soon as possible. Where is your promised 165-point inspection, Land Rover?

William, the smooth talker, has been hard to reach, only answering my call today to address the Land Rover app issue—without success. Now, I find myself with a R3 million car that’s been in the workshop for nine days, with at least another week ahead as some complaints need to be sent to others for resolution. I’m facing an additional R33,000 in expenses, which Land Rover Waterford has yet to take responsibility for. It seems we may need to consider legal action, possibly involving the ombudsman. This is my third Range Rover, and I can’t believe I made such a huge mistake again! Did I mention that the vehicle wasn’t cleaned on the inside either? There are chips between the rear seat belts! William hasn’t responded to my email sent yesterday, and I doubt he ever will. However, I’ve made sure to document everything with recordings, photographs, e-mails and WhatsApp messages in addition to recorder phone calls.