CPA on Second hand Car Purchases

W

Wasp_21

Expert Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
2,881
Reaction score
43
Location
Currently 18m down
Hello All.

I see there is reference in the CPA on sellers requirements in terms of the CPA, but I have not seen reference to the second hand car market. I bought a second hand bakkie from private individual. The vehicle was "fine" at purchase, i.e, it ran and drove well. I took the vehicle for COR, and it failed on so many points. It will now cost me R13,500 to fix in order to get through the COR, and obviously the safety levels. I have asked the seller to re-imburse me the R13,500, as the issues weren't disclosed before the sale, nor was there specification of "voetstoets", OR to take the vehicle back and re-imburse me the purchase price. Do i have a leg to stand on in either of these scenarios? Thanks in advance.
 
No, you probably didn't don't have a leg to stand on. You would have to show they he would have reasonably known about the problems when he sold it to you, and then failed to disclose.
 
The CPA does not apply to somebody who earns less than 5 million a year (basically an individual). Even if it is a small company you still can not take it to the CPA if it earns less than 5.
 
I'd say you're screwed.

always insist on having the car tested before hand - I'm in the process of selling my vehicle, and am actually arranging to have it AA tested now.
 
If it failed so badly surely it wouldn't have passed any of the myriad of roadworthiness checks provided by the AA and the like?
 
Ah, ok. So would then have to get all legal and so-on. Thanks for the advice.

Problems with the vehicle include replacement of:

Rear leaf springs / Front coil springs
Alternator
Shocks
Clutch

It's a 2001 Mazda Drifter.
 
You probably wont get very far legally, as you should have got it tested before you bought it. As I mentioned, you would have to prove that a reasonable man would have known about the problems, and that he then sold it to you knowing about those problems without disclosing
 
Wasp_21 said:
Ah, ok. So would then have to get all legal and so-on. Thanks for the advice.

Problems with the vehicle include replacement of:

Rear leaf springs / Front coil springs
Alternator
Shocks
Clutch

It's a 2001 Mazda Drifter.
Click to expand...

Besides the alternator - that could probably be claimed as wear and tear?
 
This raises quite an interesting question on my side... I've got a buyer who wants the car urgently, as in tomorrow, he wants to take it without an AA test that I want to do, and without me replacing the front tyres that need replacing... I'm concerned because I don't know if anything needs work on the vehicle... he's offering me just less than someone else, but then I'd still have to do the above test/tyres.... (obviously only taking it once the money has cleared and confirmed by the bank)
Not sure what to do..
 
Wasp_21 said:
Hello All.

I see there is reference in the CPA on sellers requirements in terms of the CPA, but I have not seen reference to the second hand car market. I bought a second hand bakkie from private individual. The vehicle was "fine" at purchase, i.e, it ran and drove well. I took the vehicle for COR, and it failed on so many points. It will now cost me R13,500 to fix in order to get through the COR, and obviously the safety levels. I have asked the seller to re-imburse me the R13,500, as the issues weren't disclosed before the sale, nor was there specification of "voetstoets", OR to take the vehicle back and re-imburse me the purchase price. Do i have a leg to stand on in either of these scenarios? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

This might answer your question:

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=83347
 
i sit with a similar situation... bought a car from a person, DID ask that if there is anything wrong with the car he should tell me so that i know..he said no all is fine with the car. i also got a roadworthy certificate... 3 days later took the car for another roadworthy.. it failed miserably. i reported this to the correct government department and they are now investigating the situation. the roadworthy was done under imperial select, and the person who called for the roadworthy admitted that he called the test centre in advance to tell them to pass the broken cv boot!!!...the car also had a massive oil leak all the problems could not have arisen in driving a 100kms from when he did his roadworthy and i did mine...i am in the process of fixing those things(he did come down by R1000 which i used to fix the vc boot and oil leak BUT there are now another problem i was not aware of because he did not make me aware of it after i DID ask him about problems! AND he HAD to know about it because the car struggles to drive in the mornings(auto choke does not work properly)..how did he then get the car to go every morning without it hak vas soos 'n steeks donkie???? i still owe him R2000 on the car....to fix the rest of the roadworthy issues(after i had cv boot and oil leak taken care of) and the choke(big problem..no parts for this) is already R1500??

how now???
any advise please?
thank you
 
Last edited:
If you bought the car privatly then the CPA does not apply.
Your potential case is against the company that did the roadworthy test.
The service they provided was faulty and hence you have a claim.
A certificate of roadworthy has to carry a minimum of 6 months validity under CPA, maybe more under other regulations.
good luck dude.
 
I am on the other end of the scale when it comes to second-hand car purchases, and would like a little advice.

I am looking at selling my 2002 Mazda Etude 1.6Si Hatch. It's a Code 3 (that's structurally and aesthetically in very good condition) and it has unresolvable mechanical problems.
I've been approached a few times by interested buyers and I've given them full disclosure of all the problems with the vehicle, and as much detail as possible on the unresolved issue.
How do I go about ensuring that whoever I sell the car to doesn't change their mind or ask for a refund after a period of time because of an issue with the car? Also, how long would a buyer have to come back to me if the car did not match what I advertised? I heard that because of the CPA there is no longer a thing such as "voetstoots".

All I can think of is to make the buyer sign a contract that protects us both - something along the lines of understanding all the mechanical issues that have been disclosed, accepting that I have disclosed all issues to the best of my knowledge, that the buyer will do the transfer of ownership within 1 month of the date of purchase etc. How legal would this be? What should and shouldn't go into a contract like that?
 
How many times do we have to say the CPA doesn't apply to private sales.... just one post above yours... :rolleyes:
 
Sorry for the long letter :)

I bought a 2nd hand vehicle(2005 Model) -
Bought it on the 22nd of November (Car has a full service history) in Joburg - 105,000 km

Drove down to CPT and not even 10km out of Joburg some warning lights came on (i called the Car dealer, he said i must switch the engine off and wait 2min and start back up) .... Anywho long story short, when i reached CPT i took it to a local place (It ended up being a breaklight switch behind the pedal being faulty)

Car ran fine for the next 3 almost 4months ( until the end of April it started making a funny noise)

The noise sounded like a ticking noise but quite loud (almost like tappits) but the noise quieted down after 1min. (So i left the car in the garage) {Luckily i have more than one vehicle}

The next morning i started it up again, and it did the same. So i phoned Motorinsurance place to find out what the process is to have it looked at. (As i took out a motorplan when i bought the car incase there's issues)

They notified me i must take it to any RMI Approved shop , they can then run diagnostics and have a look.

I took it in 2weeks later. Car was sitting in the garage.... (I couldn't take a day off or get any leave sooner) - So i took it in to have it checked out.

The car dealer in CPT said they think it's the timing chain quote was about R16,000 +- (Timing chain kit + Labour) . Apparently they have to lift out the engine to replace the timing chain.

I phoned the dealer where i bought the car from, mentioned that it will cost about R16,000 to replace, he said he'll call me back the next week. (I never heard back from him)

In the meanwhile i took my car to a 2nd place (As i thought R16,000 is a bit too steep and i'm not 100% sure the timing chain is the problem) . 2nd Place also RMI Approved said its the timing chain aswell (Quoted around R14,500 +-)

Long story short - I had a 3rd company check it out (also RMI Approved) They said it's timing chain too. (All this happend in 1week)

End quote was around R12,000 +-. So i told them to go ahead and replace the timing chain kit.

Once the part arrived 2 weeks later, i was informed that the oil pump chain is also kaput (another R2000) to get that chain and another 2 weeks wait.

Meanwhile no feedback from the Joburg Company Seller (and it's a big company)

After that 2weeks wait.. The parts arrived , they phoned me to inform the oil pump is kaput aswell (so again another 2weeks wait)

Then once the parts finally all arrived, i was called to come have a look..... Apparently there is metal shavings (small pieces of metal fragments right through the engine) - and i need a new engine


I bought the car on the 22nd or 23rd of November 2011 , i gave the car in for repairs on the 21st of May. *so i haven't even driven the car 6months, infact the car has been in repairs the last almost 2months* (But i notified the Joburg car Dealer and my Motorplan company on the 3rd of May 2012 that there's a sound thats not going away)

I received a report from the RMI approved company that my engine needs to be replaced, It is broken beyond economical repair.

Do you guys think i have a case that the CPA will accept (i took photo's of the block where the oilpump slots into, plenty of ridges and marks. Oil Filter is full of metal shavings, Oil Pump has marks on it and 2 little pieces that broke off) -

The Theory is the point of failure was the Oil pump, causing strain on the chains(timing and oil chain). These metal shavings will affect the pistons and crank shaft .... etc.etc.etc.


Any Advise
 
Last edited:
Hmmm - In this case, I'm not sure... purely because the time line is so close to the "6-month quality of goods guarantee" - have you brought up the CPA with the dealer in question, to see how they respond?

With a vehicle, unless the dealer budges easily, I'd say you've got a big battle ahead of you, because they could easily turn around and say its due to neglect...
 
couldn't be due to neglect (Car was services just before i got it) - But i phoned the company that did the service. It was a light service.

New Oil, Filters. Thats about it.

I drove the car down from Joburg to CPT (1400km). Then i was able to drive the car for about another 3-4 months as mentioned above.

Then it started making that noise (and immediatly i stopped driving it. It's been in my garage or with the RepairShop since.)
 
Thats where there might be a problem, the dealer is probably going to come back and say there was nothing wrong with the vehicle when they had it serviced (no metal shavings in dirty oil)

Try explain the situation to the dealer, mention the CPA - see how they react, but I'd imagine you're in for an uphill battle, second hand car dealerships are usually a PIA when it comes to after sales service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X