Four-ring fight after Audi TT burns

[Excalibur]

Why did Themba Mabasa’s three-year-old Audi TT catch fire and burn out on the side of a Gauteng freeway?

That’s the burning question at the heart of the now very public spat between Audi South Africa and the Capetonian.

Mabasa claims Audi South Africa has failed to reveal why his TT caught fire‚ or take responsibility for it‚ and he’s taken to Twitter to reveal that other Audis have also gone up in smoke.

The manufacturer‚ on the other hand‚ claims that Mabasa’s demands for a lump sum payment as compensation for the destruction of the car he bought new in April 2015 have no legal or ethical basis.

“He seeks to use the adverse publicity arising from his social media posts in the hope of compelling Audi SA to effect payment of the amount which he demands in order to purchase his silence.

“Audi SA will neither subscribe or accede to extortionate behaviour of this nature.”

Mabasa was driving from Cape Town to Limpopo on Easter Friday when things went horribly wrong. First his sports car’s seats stopped adjusting‚ he says‚ then he detected a strong “plastic burning smell”‚ so he pulled over to the side of a Gauteng freeway to open the bonnet‚ but saw nothing unusual.

But when he tried to get back into the car‚ all the doors had locked and his key remote wouldn’t work. Then the car’s cabin began filling with smoke and flames followed.

A laptop containing photos of his son’s birth and irreplaceable data‚ as well as clothes and a camera were among the possessions lost in the blaze. Mabasa says he remains traumatised by the incident.

Audi SA said it took the issue of a vehicle catching fire “very seriously”.

“When this was reported to us‚ we took immediate action and a full investigation was conducted internally. We also referred this incident to our headquarters in Germany to establish if similar incidents have occurred anywhere else in the world.”

The answer was no‚ the manufacturer said.

Mabaso also tweeted that Audi Germany had recently issued a recall for 1.2 million cars for a coolant fire hazard “but in South Africa when our cars burn we are told it’s unknown circumstances…”

Audi SA said that recall did not affect TT models.

Mabaso has been in contact with five other South African owners of Audis which caught fire and has posted photos of some of the burning cars on social media.

But Audi says: "All other fire-related cases in South Africa have their own specific facts and technical circumstances applicable and there is no relation whatsoever to that of Mr Mabasa’s case.”

The manufacturer said it had commissioned an independent investigator‚ Dr David Klatzow‚ to participate in its investigation into the cause of the Mabaso’s TT fire - a difficult task as it had totally burnt out.

Although it could not be established that the tracking device which Mabaso had had fitted to the vehicle contributed to the fire‚ Audi SA said‚ “the wiring did not conform to … the standard of the wiring utilised in the Audi TT”.

Mabasa counters that he started “having issues” with the car’s entertainment system within two months of purchasing this vehicle. “By the time of the fire‚ it had been in for repair or replacement of parts eight times and was still not right‚” he says.

But Audi insists that “none of the technical problems referred to by Mr Mabasa could have been the cause of the fire”.

Audi said it had made Mabasa two offers in February - to repurchase the TT for a sum higher than its market value‚ or replace it with a car of similar specification‚ mileage and age‚ “but neither option was acceptable to Mr Mabasa who advised that the proposal would leave him in an unfavourable financial position".

Mabasa suggested a new Audi A5 as his preferred replacement vehicle‚ but Audi declined‚ saying it was “substantially” more than the current value of his vehicle.

Link.

 

[ForceFate]

I've seen some of the twitter exchanges between him and Audi SA.

Personally I'll never buy Audi. I've heard way too many horror stories.

 

[airborne]

What the heck, did this guy not have any insurance??

Intersting though, why would Audi be making that offering in any case if the car burning to the ground was no inherent fault of the TT or was that before the car caught fire?

And he refuses Audi's offer of a payout or similar value vehicle, weird.

 

[Magnum]

What the heck, did this guy not have any insurance??

Intersting though, why would Audi be making that offering in any case if the car burning to the ground was no inherent fault of the TT or was that before the car caught fire?

And he refuses Audi's offer of a payout or similar value vehicle, weird.

The value sank faster than the Titanic...Problem with TT's

 

[3WA]

Mabasa suggested a new Audi A5 as his preferred replacement vehicle

Not unreasonable. I once dinged the bumper on my Citigolf. Called up VW, and had a new GTI for free within a few hours. No questions asked.

 

[cpu.]

What the heck, did this guy not have any insurance??

Intersting though, why would Audi be making that offering in any case if the car burning to the ground was no inherent fault of the TT or was that before the car caught fire?

And he refuses Audi's offer of a payout or similar value vehicle, weird.

No insurance (apparently) and no backups of important photos either.

 

[Hemi300c]

Audi said it had made Mabasa two offers in February - to repurchase the TT for a sum higher than its market value‚ or replace it with a car of similar specification‚ mileage and age‚ “but neither option was acceptable to Mr Mabasa who advised that the proposal would leave him in an unfavourable financial position".

More than reasonable but the client wasn't to rip the ring out of it.

 

[ForceFate]

More than reasonable but the client wasn't to rip the ring out of it.

You obviously haven't been following this saga.

 

[rietrot]

Definitely reasonable. Car companies should take some responsibility for their cars catching fire. It could very well have been an electrical fault caused by the faulty entertainment system.

 

[Tacet]

You obviously haven't been following this saga.

Most of us wouldn't have been following us. Why wouldn't Audi's offer be acceptable? Audi repurchasing at higher than market value sounds fair enough? Replacing also sounds fair, but I guess I'd have chosen the repurchase option.

 

[xrapidx]

So - he's been paid by his insurance - AND wants money from Audi for a new vehicle? Sounds like extortion.

 

[ForceFate]

Most of us wouldn't have been following us. Why wouldn't Audi's offer be acceptable? Audi repurchasing at higher than market value sounds fair enough? Replacing also sounds fair, but I guess I'd have chosen the repurchase option.

When did they make the offer? How much was the TT worth when they finally made the offer?

 

[blowdart18]

So - he's been paid by his insurance - AND wants money from Audi for a new vehicle? Sounds like extortion.

Because somebody sounds like a spoilt brat, driving a TT, and has expectations that the world owes him for being on this planet.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Looks like audi is becoming the new ford

Let's see who can burn the most car's first!

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

But Audi says: "All other fire-related cases in South Africa have their own specific facts and technical circumstances applicable and there is no relation whatsoever to that of Mr Mabasa’s case.”

So the PR-person from Ford did in fact find a new job ... :wtf:

Audi said it had made Mabasa two offers in February - to repurchase the TT for a sum higher than its market value‚ or replace it with a car of similar specification‚ mileage and age‚ “but neither option was acceptable to Mr Mabasa who advised that the proposal would leave him in an unfavourable financial position".

Very reasonable actually, sympathy for this "victim" waning fast ...

Mabasa suggested a new Audi A5 as his preferred replacement vehicle‚ but Audi declined‚ saying it was “substantially” more than the current value of his vehicle.

... aaaaand there it is! gfy Mabasa, why stop there? Audi is part of the VW group that own Lamborghini and is owned by Porsche, why not ask for a Lambo instead, A5 is for peasants, you deserve better!

 

[Hemi300c]

You obviously haven't been following this saga.

Nope, this is the first I heard of this.
But what financial loss, if on HP why no insurance. I smell a rat and if on HP and no insurance I hope he gets his butt handed to him.

 

[xrapidx]

Nope, this is the first I heard of this.
But what financial loss, if on HP why no insurance. I smell a rat and if on HP and no insurance I hope he gets his butt handed to him.

He has insurance, and was paid out by his insurance.

 

[Ho3n3r]

He has insurance, and was paid out by his insurance.

How do you know?

 

[Y'all Qaeda]

So - he's been paid by his insurance - AND wants money from Audi for a new vehicle? Sounds like extortion.

I understood it as he didn't have insurance. So likely the offers they've made places him under the amount owed to the bank. Or similar.

 

[Temujin]

Also, haven't followed story, but sounds to me like someone bought a car he couldn't afford, and took drastic steps to get a pay day out of ford... only to realize its not a ford:crylaugh: