Suzuki - NOT the way of life

Without prejudge and with all rights reserved I bought a new Suzuki S Presso from Suzuki Boksburg, in late mid-2022. First, never ending problems.

Their sales guy was not the friendliest and was so ****phobic, the guy struggled to even shake my hand. That incident was then sorted and apologized for...The first vehicle I got, had so many rattles in the first 3 days, with a struggle they swopped the vehicle.

With the swopped vehicle, also new, from day 1, it had jitters and shudders when changing gears and it was vibrating (almost jumping) between 80 and 90 km/h. I was told that the car must first be ridden into then it will be fine, as it is a new car... nonetheless, my car has been in and out of that workshop so many times that I have lost count, with the same problems since new. It was in every 2nd or 3rd month. This year from Jan to April they had my car to sort out all the issues. They were unsuccessful as they did not do what they were supposed to. I watched my tracker like a hawk. They have changed a ball bearing and incorrectly as well and I’m no mechanic, but a ball bearing has nothing to do with a gear box. My wheels were screaming as I drove out. They eventually fixed the screaming of the wheels.

The dealer principal and workshop manager said to me that there is nothing wrong with car and that it is the "characteristics" of the vehicle. Apparently, they had an engineer from Maruti Suzuki at the workshop to confirm, which is false.

I then made the decision to rather take my vehicle to Suzuki Edenvale for a second opinion, where they confirmed there is something wrong with the vehicle, but I will have to pay for a strip and quote. This is where it gets interesting... I then submitted yet, another complaint to Suzuki South Africa, and then spoke to Miss Naidoo, who told me that the only solution is paying for the strip and quote at Suzuki Edenvale and paying for the repairs as it will not fall under warranty. I then requested a list of the things that falls and do not fall under warranty, and I was told that they will only be able to that after they do a strip and quote... a bit fishy don't you think. Also, T's and C's says that should you not be able to pay for the strip and quote withing the 3 months, they sell your vehicle to recover the cost.

I was legally advised to take this further with the ombudsman. I then request all the necessary documents and job cards. The dealer principal sent most of the docs when I then realized, the record of advice document has none of my signatures, and my information on the document is incorrect as well. The acceptance and declined section also do not correspond with the comments made on the document and not what I originally app**** for. On the document they said that they emailed me copies, I never received ANY documents from the sale.

The tax invoice of the vehicle also does not correspond to the quote I received and my deposit I paid is also not on the invoice. It also does not correspond to the amount that is financed. So, what happened to my deposit?

I have then emailed the dealer principal and directors of the Suzuki Auto South Africa. I have not received any clarification as to where my money is and requested copies of all the original documents that I signed and initialled. It has been 2 days and no feedback.

I have been struggling for almost 2 years. I just wanted a new car to have a second income but have not been able to even pursue that as the car has problems that they do not fix. What's the point of buying a new car if it comes with problems?

I have been ****med at Suzuki Boksburg and Suzuki South Africa. As soon as they sell the budget vehicle, they don't care.