Get stuck without your money and a car that doesn't work.

Update to previous. Please see letter sent to Ombudsman. Good day Miosa,

Thank you very much for your assistance. I bought a used car from a dealership called Quality Cheapies at the end of March this year. I paid R37000 cash with the last R5k to be settled over three months with the total cost of the car being R42k.

When purchasing the vehicle the only request I had is that it be reliable and not require any major repairs. They told me the Mercedes A160 auto they had was the most reliable for the money I had. I couldn't afford any more so I took it. They told me the car will need a service after I paid R37k which was disappointing but said that's why they took the price down from R47k to R42k. Which I was happy with the discount at the time as any saving would help.

I live and work as a sales rep in the Lowveld area of Mpumalanga. I had been scouring the internet for weeks looking for a new car after my previous one was written off after an accident. I found Quality Cheapies online and they seemed to have good reviews as well as be one of the few car dealerships approved by Capitec, my bank, for vehicle loans. Although Capitec declined my loan so I had to borrow money from friends to buy cash.

I caught a shuttle and went to Johannesburg after speaking to Pash, the manager, at Quality Cheapies who seemed very helpful and sure that they could assist me with a reliable 2nd hand vehicle. At the dealership I spoke to Sizwe, who was very helpful. He showed me to quite a few cars but after I told him that reliability is my only concern he said he would speak to his manager and get back to me. 

When he came back he said his manager was concerned that the cars I was looking at were not reliable enough and that they would help me out by allowing me to sign an acknowledgement of debt and allow me to buy for more than the R35k I had on me. 

They then said if I can put down R37k instead of R35k then they will sell me a Mercedes A160 2000 year model for R47k. The car had some physical bodywork damage as well as some dents and scratches. I took the car for a test drive and she seemed to behave the way I would have  expected it to.  I am not a mechanic and have very limited knowledge on cars and how they work. The radio didn't work, there was no jack. The tyres seemed new but were all different brands. The inside of the car showing considerable wear and tear. However, I was not phased by the physical look as I needed the car to be more reliable than pretty. To make the additional two grand on the deposit I used my monthly food budget fully knowing that I would have to not eat for a couple weeks but I needed a car to keep my job so I did it. I thought they were really trying to help me out this point.

I paid the R37k and while doing the paperwork Sizwe then organized me an additional R5k discount and told me it was because the car probably needs a service very soon which I was appreciative of the additional discount I just wish I was told before as I didn't have money to pay for a service. I signed an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) to pay the remaining R5k over three months. The AOD gave me a little relief that if anything went wrong with the car they would still assist me as I still owed them.

I drove the car back from Germiston to Pretoria, my mother's house where I stayed the previous night and then back to White River but I never made it out of Pretoria. Before leaving Pretoria I checked fluids and tyre pressure and the right back tyre was 0.8 bar. Pumped it up to 2.2 and carried on to the next petrol station 30km on to see if I had a leak and how fast it was leaking. At the next petrol station it was on 0.8 again so I drove back to my mother's house. The next day, a Monday public holiday, I discovered that the valve was leaking. Luckily I found someone who could remove the tyre and replace the valve on a public holiday as most places were closed. I was relieved but I didn't realize this was going to be the first and the least of the many issues that were to come very soon. I finally drove back to White River that afternoon. This cost me R250. I also had to buy a jack which cost R900.

The second problem I had was when applying for a fleet card at the company I work for, who would not issue the card as my license plates did not match the registration disc. I had to pay cash for my petrol and claim back adding financial stress. I called the salesman to ask what they can do to fix this and he said the manager would get back to me. They never did.

Within the first week on the road the car broke down, engine light came on and went into limp mode. I took it to the nearest mechanic who managed to got it out of limp mode but said that I would need to take the car to someone who knows these cars well to see what's going on as he only cleared the codes. I spoke to Mercedes and they quoted a huge amount of money just to check.

As my mother has a family friend who is her trusted mechanic in Pretoria and he has experience with these cars I drove down to see him. The car broke down twice more from White River to Pretoria on the way down. Eventually I ended up driving the car in limp mode most of the way. It was extremely dangerous to drive 40 kmph on the N4 as it got dark. I also noticed many cars flash lights but assumed it was because I was driving slowly in the emergency lane. Later I would discover it is my lights that also need work.

I eventually got back to Pretoria and the next day the mechanic collected the car to do repair as well as service that I had arranged. The car ended up being in repair for two weeks as my mechanic discovered that the car had major issues with the mass airflow sensor and the ECU. He said this was a big problem of this make and model of car and seems to make them practically impossible to repair without replacing the sensor. There are no second hand replacement parts in SA and Mercedes sells a new one R26150 without any warranty. 

He took the car to an ECU expert and they managed to get the car running again without replacing the sensor. I paid R3500 for the repair and service as it was a family friend and the car seemed to be working fine. I am still waiting for the invoice and from the ECU repair.

I drove the car back to White River the next day and as I got there the check engine light turned on again. Heavily depressed by this I called my mechanic and he sent me to do a diagnostic as he was too far away at this point to check the car. The diagnostic said that it was the mass airflow sensor again but as many issues as the car has it didn't go into limp mode this time. The mechanic told me that the car should be fine as long as it doesn't go back into limp mode and to keeping checking fluid levels.

This was within the first two weeks of owning the car. I then wrote an email to the dealership to make them aware as well as contact the salesman on Whatsapp who sold me the car. I told him I was not happy and want an answer from his manager regarding what had happened. I eventually gave up calling, emailing and messaging as the manager never got back to me and drove to go see them in Johannesburg.

I asked them to please respond to my emails in writing so that we can resolve this issue. They said they would do so. They also told me to just go and get new plates printed as they were not going to assist me even though they sold me a car without the correct license plates. The front license plate was stuck directly onto the front bumper with mirror tape and had to be pulled off. The rear one had a bracket but ended up having to buy two new brackets as well. This cost me R900.

I had also noticed that the central locking works some days and some days not but I could lock manually so I would address this at a later point. I then emailed Quality Cheapies again, via their website submission form,  and asked for any feedback but nothing. After one month of owning the car, the car had been to the mechanic 5 times but this certainly wasn't the end.

In the beginning of month two the brake pads went and I also had to have the discs skimmed as there was a lip. This cost me another R2040 and I hoped it would be the end. I also investigated the lights and discovered I need new bulbs as mine were really dim and that's why people have been flashing me constantly. I decided to only drive during the day so that I could replace the bulbs when I could afford it.

About two weeks later while still in month two the car started to change gear more and more roughly so I took my car to several gearbox specialists only to discover that this model doesn't come with a dipstick to measure the automatic transmission fluid. Mayfair gearbox topped up the ATF and asked me to take her a test drive and she was gearing better again. They advised that I must keep it topped up until I can afford for them to look at the gearbox properly which I have been doing since then. They assisted me for free knowing I would come back to do the gearbox.

At about the beginning of month three I noticed a wobble when gaining speed between 70 and 80 and took the car to Supa quick to see what could be causing it. They confirmed that the back right tyre had several bald spots and that it was actually deformed and suspected it was what was causing the wobble and that I need two new tyres. They also pointed out that wheel alignment will need to be done. They quoted R3500 then R2800 when I couldn't afford it but that was still too much.

It is now payday 26 July 2024 and we are in month four. No response to any emails or requests for assistance from Quality Cheapies and I have found a shop that can assist me with two new tyres and a wheel alignment for R2150. While the car was lifted to change the tyres I took the opportunity to see if I could spot the leak for the gearbox which is costing me ATF every month and managed to spot a build up near the left wheel that I would need checked.

While changing the tyres the gentleman doing it told me they won't be able to do the wheel alignment as the car desperately needs tnew tie rods and rack ends before alignment can be done. As I couldn't afford the additional repair costs I put it off until the next pay day which will be August. 

This last weekend I drove from White River back to Pretoria as it is closer to work from Pretoria when I see customers in Witbank and the surrounding area. I topped everything up oil, water, ATF and did tyre pressure all seemed well but about half way down the car stopped gearing altogether and was stuck in the highest gear. Fearing that if I stop it would stop for good I pressed on and drove the rest of the way back in what must have been fifth gear. 

Once I got to Pretoria I stopped the car, put her in park and turned her off. Checked all fluids fine and topped up the ATF. When starting again the car was back to first gear. I spoke to the gearbox guys and they said to keep topping up until I can afford to have the gearbox taken out and investigated. 

Yesterday en route to the office in Germiston from Pretoria the car got stuck in top gear again and then after restarting then it got stuck in first gear and then after letting her rest for a couple minutes then started to gear normally again but I drove her straight back to my mother's house and starting calling all gearbox specialists. I went to seven of them only to find out that this is an extremely difficult gearbox to work on and that the whole engine needs to be removed in order to do an inspection or any repair work be done. Furthermore, every gearbox expert said due to difficulty they don't work on these cars anymore. 

I was eventually referred to a person who only works on these Mercedes gearboxes and has done so for the last 30 years. He quoted me R9500 to R18500 to repair the gearbox depending whether it's the seals going or the casing that's cracked.

Here I am today, I have lost business not being on the road yesterday as well as going to lose out today. I could lose my job as well. Quality Cheapies is ignoring me flat out and I need the assistance of the Ombudsman and as well as the Consumer Protection Act. Please assist me to take this further as I want my money back or for the dealership to cover all paid for and new repair costs until this is a roadworthy reliable vehicle as I requested and promised.

They sold me an absolutely broken non-functioning car and they knew it. They only give you service before you pay, once the money transfers you are stuck in a mess.

Please see WhatsApp and emails attached. 

Please help me what can I do as I require urgent assistance before I lose my job. Please tell me what to do. Thank you very much. 

Kind regards,

Guy