Nine months, and 46 unhappy WeBuyCars customer complaints heard

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has so far received and considered 46 complaints in its 2024/25 financial year – April to December 2024 – against WeBuyCars, the JSE-listed used vehicle buyer and seller.

NCC spokesperson Phetho Ntaba confirmed to Moneyweb that these consumers made various allegations about WeBuyCars, mainly alleging that it had supplied them with defective vehicles.

Ntaba provided a breakdown of the status of these 46 complaints, stating:

• Investigations were initiated into two of the complaints;
• 23 were referred to the Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa (Miosa) and provincial consumer protection offices;
• 21 are still under consideration, with at least one focusing on cross-cutting concerns on terms and conditions with respect to the insertion of voetstoots-type provisions in sale contracts.

Ntaba added that one of the two investigations initiated was closed because WeBuyCars cancelled the transaction and refunded the consumer.

She said the second complaint that led to the initiation of an investigation related to worn tyres and involved the use of a vehicle assessment report compiled by Dekra Automotive – but the NCC did not make any adverse findings because there was no evidence to indicate the state of the tyres at the time of sale.

ALSO READ: Worried about your rights when buying a used car? Here’s what you need to know

Consumer protection

The NCC investigates allegations of contraventions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) based on complaints by consumers or initiates investigations itself in terms of Section 72 of the CPA.

Ntaba said the NCC is not specifically investigating vehicle assessment reports compiled by Dekra Automotive “but these are considered on a case-by-case basis if linked to a complaint”.

“If there are questions of acceptability of reports issued by Dekra Automotive, the NCC considers alternative expert opinions,” she said.

The 46 complaints against WeBuyCars must be viewed in the context that it is probably the largest used vehicle dealer in South Africa.

The NCC said it received about 600 complaints against various second-hand vehicle suppliers in the nine months to December 2024. Ntaba said some of these complaints were referred to Miosa, which may be resubmitted to the NCC if the Miosa mediation fails.

“Other complaints were referred to various provinces where both the supplier and the consumer are in the same province.

“We have closed some complaints where the consumer failed to provide supporting evidence,” she added.

Ntaba confirmed that the NCC has ongoing investigations against various suppliers.

ALSO READ: These ombud complaints highlight what to look out for when buying a used car

Dekra report

Moneyweb approached the NCC, whose main function is to enforce the CPA, after an unprecedented response from consumers to an article published last month about the experience of journalist Jonathan Witt, who posted a message on X about his experience when he went to look at vehicles at WeBuyCars at The Dome in Randburg, Johannesburg, including that the Dekra report is not worth the paper it is printed on.

WeBuyCars sales director Janson Ponting said that without specific vehicle details it is unable to provide a comprehensive response to Witt’s experience, but that the Dekra Used Vehicle Report provides “an independent evaluation of a vehicle’s roadworthiness, focusing on aspects such as brake performance, tyre condition, shock absorbers, and diagnostic error codes”.

Ponting said it “is not a full mechanical evaluation and does not determine whether a vehicle has been in an accident”.

Ponting stressed that WeBuyCars is currently unable to reliably indicate which vehicles have been in an accident due to the limited available information, but said WeBuyCars is committed to full transparency.

“All known defects are disclosed, and vehicles classified as Code 3 or 4 are marketed accordingly,” he said.

Dekra Automotive chief operating officer Stefan Bleitner said Dekra operates completely independently from WeBuyCars, which does not interfere in any way with the inspection reports provided to them.

“The reports are conducted by Dekra staff … and each branch conducts the reports independently and these are then quality checked by Dekra staff before being released,” he said.

ALSO READ: Tribunal fines dealer R75 000 for wrong engine, another R20 000 for repairs

Buyers with stories to tell

The article published by Moneyweb in January elicited 27 comments on the website plus more than a dozen emails directly to the reporter.

Most of these were extremely critical of the quality and accuracy of the vehicle assessment reports compiled by Dekra.

Riaan Enslin wrote that he had purchased a 2017 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 DCI and a 2013 Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCI Titanium from WeBuyCars.

Enslin said according to the ‘Platinum’ Dekra report, both vehicles were deemed to have no faults or issues.

“However, six months after the warranty expired, I encountered a problem with the Qashqai.

“Upon taking it to Nissan, I was informed that the stabiliser and control arms required replacement.

“I sent an email to Dekra, referencing their report, which indicated that there were no issues with the control arms and stabilisers. I argued that it is implausible for a roadworthy vehicle to develop such severe issues within 5 000km,” he said.

Enslin said the Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCI also developed a significant issue when it began to exhibit a pronounced vibration.

He initially suspected a balancing issue and had the wheels checked, only to discover that one of the rims was cracked.

“Despite replacing the 19 inch rims with 17 inch rims, the vibration persisted. I then took the vehicle to Ford for a thorough inspection, which revealed that the CV joints, drive shaft, and control arms were severely damaged, causing the vibration.

“Once again, this issue surfaced just after the WeBuyCars warranty had expired. I contacted Dekra, the Ombudsman, and WeBuyCars, but received no assistance.”

ALSO READ: Consumer Tribunal fines two used car dealers and orders R1 million total refund

‘I started to cry’ says another buyer

Simphiwe Gaxela said: “I read your article and I started to cry as I am sitting without a vehicle, a BMW X1 I bought from WeBuyCars.

“The Dekra report indicated clean accident free but now the vehicle is standing at the mechanic because it overheated.

“The insurance assessment report revealed it was involved in a bad accident that affected the cooling system,” said Gaxela.

“I submitted a claim to the Innovation group. They are paying 50%, I am liable for 50% of R103 000.”

Gaxela claimed WeBuyCars and Miosa cannot provide evidence that the vehicle was properly inspected.

ALSO READ: Consumer wins at the Consumer Tribunal in 2024

Hidden defects lead to R90k repair quote on R70k vehicle

James Lekgoathi said he purchased a used vehicle from WeBuyCars in April 2024 for R70 000, a price that appeared to be in line with the market value.

However, Lekgoathi said shortly after the purchase he discovered hidden defects in the vehicle that were identified by an RMI-approved workshop, with repair costs estimated at R90 000 – more than the original purchase price.

“The Dekra report for the vehicle indicated no active error messages, but our own diagnostics revealed multiple active faults, some of which had timestamps showing they were present at the time of the Dekra assessment,” he said.

“I reached out to WeBuyCars for clarification, but their response was misleading, including incorrect statements about the distance I had driven and the details of the Dekra report, which failed to mention the fault codes.

“After being referred to the Ombudsman, I have yet to receive any response, and the vehicle has been parked for the last eight months without any resolution.”

Vernon Narian said the Dekra report “is either compiled by people in the office who never inspect the vehicle or inspectors who [have] NO vehicle knowledge”.

ALSO READ: Another used car dealer pays the price for selling a defective car

Beach Buggy buyer to be refunded

The NCC reported this week that Plett Motor Services had been ordered by the National Consumer Tribunal to refund R70 000 to a consumer who paid to acquire a used Volkswagen Beach Buggy.

The NCC said the dealership contravened Section 56(2) of the CPA.

This section of the act requires that “within six months after delivery of any goods to the consumer, the consumer may return the goods to the supplier without penalty and the supplier must, at the direction of the consumer, repair or replace the unsafe or defective goods”.

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.