Dekra says no fraudulent reports are being provided to WeBuyCars or any other motor vehicle dealer. Picture: Facebook
A consumer has highlighted the danger of prospective used vehicle buyers relying on so-called independent vehicle assessment reports compiled by Dekra Automotive when considering purchasing vehicles from JSE-listed WeBuyCars and other used vehicle dealers.
Journalist Jonathan Witt posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday about his experience when he went to look at some vehicle stock at WeBuyCars at The Dome in Randburg, Johannesburg.
Witt said two cars caught his fancy. He had a look at them, and drove one.
“To be clear the pricing, while on the lower end of the scale, is still in line with market value.
“The salesmen either directly stated or implied that both cars are in excellent condition.
“The @DEKRA_sa reports claimed that both vehicles were in good or very good condition with no evidence of damage, faults or repairs, and both are categorised as being ‘Platinum’ condition.
“I took the VIN numbers and did some follow up today [Thursday] and have confirmed that both vehicles have been involved in accidents,” he wrote.
“One of them had no less than 3 accidents and the other was considered uneconomical to repair after a major accident, and has therefore been rebuilt.
“There was no disclosure of any of this and the argument could be made that such information has been intentionally hidden and the vehicles misrepresented.
“I will never buy a car from WBC [WeBuyCars] and as far as I’m concerned the Dekra report isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” he added.
Moneyweb was unsuccessful in its attempt to speak directly to Witt.
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Witt’s experience is similar to that of other consumers at WeBuyCars and other used vehicle dealerships, again highlighting the need for an accurate and fully transparent Vehicle Salvage Database (VDS).
WeBuyCars sales director Janson Ponting said on Friday that without specific vehicle details, it is unable to provide a comprehensive response.
Ponting said 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”.
However, he said it “is not a full mechanical evaluation and does not determine whether a vehicle has been in an accident”.
Ponting said South Africa lacks a reliable system for recording vehicle accident history.
“With less than 30% of vehicles insured, data from insurers is incomplete and cannot be relied upon to verify accident status comprehensively.
“WeBuyCars is currently unable to reliably indicate which vehicles have been in an accident due to the limitations of available information,” he said.
Ponting added that insurers determine whether a vehicle is “uneconomical to repair” based on cost factors such as the cost of parts, availability, repair duration, and related expenses.
But Ponting said this designation “does not necessarily indicate structural damage but reflects the insurer’s opinion that paying out the customer is more economical than repairs”.
“Importantly, this does not alter the vehicle’s official status [Code].
“WeBuyCars is committed to full transparency. All known defects are disclosed, and vehicles classified as Code 3 or 4 are marketed accordingly,” he said.
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Dekra Automotive chief operating officer Stefan Bleitner confirmed that Dekra operates completely independently and prides itself on that independence.
He said there is “absolutely no franchise agreement” in place with WeBuyCars and certainly no interference in any way in 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.
Apart from the details about Witt’s experience, Moneyweb provided Dekra with details of two previous instances when Dekra’s vehicle assessment reports were called into question.
They were:
Bleitner said Dekra has unfortunately not been given the opportunity to investigate all these reports, but it can assure that “there are no fraudulent reports being provided to WeBuyCars or any other motor vehicle dealer”.
“Where the public are unhappy about a report that is provided to WeBuyCars, we usually ask the client to bring the vehicle into one of our branches to be re-inspected.
“We have established an email address where the public can verify any Dekra report that is provided to them by any vehicle dealer to establish the authenticity of such a report,” he said.
Dekra’s website says a Condition Report can reassure consumers that the second-hand vehicle they are interested in is in good working condition.
“Instead of relying solely on the seller’s word, the report offers a professional, unbiased evaluation that allows you to make an informed decision.
“Knowing the vehicle has been independently tested builds confidence that there are no hidden issues or surprises,” it states.
ALSO READ: Worried about your rights when buying a used car? Here’s what you need to know
The South African Insurance Association (Saia) in 2023 launched the first phase of its free public access VSD, which will help prevent consumers unknowingly buying written-off vehicles and at inflated prices.
It was scheduled to launch the second phase – which was to contain used (Written-off Code 2) vehicles that had been deemed uneconomical or too expensive to repair and written off by insurance companies – in December 2023, but reneged on a commitment to provide consumers with the details of these vehicles.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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