I bought a dead beat car
MIDRAND - Resident, Bongani Zulu told Midrand Reporter that he regrets buying a car from a private seller. "I bought a car for R45 000 thinking it was reliable. My wife and I met with the seller after seeing the car on the internet," he said.
Zulu took the car for a test drive and everything seemed to work well. The following day, the car overheated and the engine had problems. “Before buying the car I had asked him if there was anything wrong with the car and he said everything is in order.”
Zulu contacted the seller to renegotiate the price. The seller agreed to meet at the police station, alleging that Zulu, in anger, might attack him. After the meeting, the seller promised to renegotiate the price, but has since vanished. The car is still in the seller’s name as he vanished before giving Zulu a receipt and an affidavit.
Senior technical ombudsman at Automobile Association, Gerrie Jonker said potential car buyers must avoid buying cars from private sellers without properly testing the car. “A private seller will not tell you everything that is wrong with the car. They are also looking to make a bargain through the sale. If you buy a dead beat car, and have written proof that the seller knew of the problems the car has, you can open a fraud case.” He explained that when buying from a private buyer, you buy the car as is. There is no surety or peace of mind. He advised:
- Â Ask the seller for the car’s service history, if none, do not buy the car.
- Â Ask the seller to take the car to a Dekra AA Testing Station where they will do a full technical inspection and a roadworthy test. A road worthy test alone is not a comprehensive report on the car.
- Â A full technical inspection will tell you if the car was once in an accident.
- Â Buy a used car from an Automobile Association-accredited dealership. They have a six month guarantee.
- Â Take your time when buying a car privately and get reputable mechanics to check everything. If the seller refuses this, do not buy the car.
- Â Dealerships, and their cars, are a few thousand rands more to buy, but they give you a used car that is in good condition, and can be traced, if the car has a problem.
Hi There
i am also caught up in a situation whereby i sold a VW Microbus to a guy who responded to my Gumtree Ad and came to view and drive the car.
I explained to him all that i know about the car because i also recently bought it from Free State and used it for not more than 6 months. I had the car serviced and decided to sell it. The car had an engine heating problem but the buyer said he is fine with buying the car as is. He went to an extent of stopping other buyers who were present to view the car and said i must stop negotiating with them, he deals and fixes these type of cars nothing will bother him. I honestly dont know anything about cars. all i know is to drive, refuel and wash the car. He will take the car.
The sale went on but after one day he called me and said he is not happy with the car and wants to return it to me. We had not gone into an agreement when selling the car. I simple took the money and he drove off with the car. I still dont know his name or where he stays. To this day i have been calling him and texting him to return the car so i can sell it to other people who are interested in buying it as is but he does not answer.
What must i do because the money he gave me was intended to fix one of my cars that was involved in an accident. Now he is delaying bringing my car back, i dont know if he is stripping it or he has now accepted the sale or what? What must i do?
Thank you for that advise, and just to name the person who sold me the car is Patridge Tembo, I will forward the picture to you and his number that he is no longer using