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Unethical Mercedes Authorized dealership

Applying a little bit of pressure online,

could you guys go give my post a like, pretty please ? :)



P.S Thanks, referenced it in my post and then added my personal story 😄
No stress bud, Hopefully it helps your case.
 
just buy bmw's from now then this wont happen.

Lol, well it definitely won't be a Merc again!

I'd love to just get donations and then do something stupid, like that (I think Russian) guy did and blew up his Tesla.

Unfortunately I don't have 300k just lying around to take the loss :LOL:
 
"They didn't disclose any previous damage during the sale. "- CPA , Wendy Knowler + Merc UK & Germany.
 
Unfortunately I believe I'm out of the time frame for CPA
Worth a try. SA law states that a crime can be reported 1000000 years later. IF they have broken the law, it's a crime.
 
Unfortunately I believe I'm out of the time frame for CPA
CPA is just a statutory minimum imposed on business, its not the be-all and end-all. Material non-disclosure is a possible ground for cancellation of a contract, fraudulent misrepresentation even more so. So there is still a possible legal avenue arising from a loss due to a non-disclosure. Those though are questions of fact that have to be hammered out.

Edit to add: The six-month CPA timeframe is irrelevant to the three-year window in which a person is allowed to sue. The Prescription Act governs how long civil claims remain open for.
 
Getworth come to inspect the car and tell me there has been way to much body work for them to even make an offer. Like, wtf????
So not really commenting on the whole dealer saga but mainly on Getworth.
They only consider cars which are basically perfect, so them telling to GTFO is not such a biggie.

Few years ago I had an Audi A3.
Low mileage, perfect condition, and still with a year of Audi Freeway plan.
Tried to sell it to Getworth, and everything was going well, had an offer from them, and then they ask for proof of servicing. I'm like sure, you have the VIN, phone Audi and give it to them, and they'll send you the full history.

Get a call back saying they are revoking the the offer, so I ask why and they say because Audi themselves did warranty repair work on the engine. Basically, the car started using oil just after we purchased it, and Audi fixed it.

So even manufacturer warrantied mechanical work, performed by the manufacturer on a car which is still covered by said manufacturers original freeway plan will have Getworth tell you to GTFO.

Ok, just one comment regarding your situation. Don't know what you paid for the car, but a R50k low offer on a bottom of the range luxury after a year of ownership is pretty average under normal circumstances.

My advice, is that nothing you do to try "Karen" the stealership will make much difference at all. Worst case is they threaten you with legalities for slander.

Sell the car to WBC, get your bike, and be happy. Life is too short to be fighting losing battles.
 
So not really commenting on the whole dealer saga but mainly on Getworth.
They only consider cars which are basically perfect, so them telling to GTFO is not such a biggie.

Few years ago I had an Audi A3.
Low mileage, perfect condition, and still with a year of Audi Freeway plan.
Tried to sell it to Getworth, and everything was going well, had an offer from them, and then they ask for proof of servicing. I'm like sure, you have the VIN, phone Audi and give it to them, and they'll send you the full history.

Get a call back saying they are revoking the the offer, so I ask why and they say because Audi themselves did warranty repair work on the engine. Basically, the car started using oil just after we purchased it, and Audi fixed it.

So even manufacturer warrantied mechanical work, performed by the manufacturer on a car which is still covered by said manufacturers original freeway plan will have Getworth tell you to GTFO.

Ok, just one comment regarding your situation. Don't know what you paid for the car, but a R50k low offer on a bottom of the range luxury after a year of ownership is pretty average under normal circumstances.

My advice, is that nothing you do to try "Karen" the stealership will make much difference at all. Worst case is they threaten you with legalities for slander.

Sell the car to WBC, get your bike, and be happy. Life is too short to be fighting losing battles.
Interesting take! Thanks for the informative response.

but a R50k low offer on a bottom of the range luxury after a year of ownership is pretty average under normal circumstances.

I'm at an offer of 80k less than current retail - so yeah I'd say the dealership really screwed me here.

My advice, is that nothing you do to try "Karen" the stealership will make much difference at all. Worst case is they threaten you with legalities for slander.

You are most likely right here, but if I had to roll over and take such a loss because it's "too much effort", then I'd be at the point where money doesn't really matter :p Unfortunately I still have to work a daily job...

My goal is for Mercedes to review their Authorized Dealership status and if they broke their quality standards they should have it removed...I still lose the cash, but at least the dealer who sold me the car can feel a knock too!
 
All wbc/weelee/getworth's just churn out as much as they can. Lowball. Give it a valet/touchups. Resell.
The 80k lowball does not mean much. They would likely offer roughly that amount anyways even if you did not have any panel work done.

Currently trying to sell my car. Cheapest model on gumtree/cars/autotrader is hovering around ~120k
I got an offer of 47k from those clowns.

Sell it privately, or take the lowball 🤷‍♀️
 
My 2007 C230 V6 coupe needed to be sold and I wasn't going to take anything less than R100k for it at the time that I sold it and those same clowns offered me R52k for a car that had no marks - 0 engine issues - brand new 18" tyres and 77k km on the clock....

Sell private ...

@OP Burn them and be as petty as possible R50k is a shit ton of cash.
 
Ok I have an old car, its now my turn to have a problem.
The interior fan has died, well because, the weather in Cape Town has been TOTALLY SHIT with fucking heatwaves following on each other.

STEALERSHIP tells me R4500 + VAT and 6-8 weeks... FUCK THAT!
Do they honestly look at us and go "Oh look... another bag of money just walked in the door!"

Watch this space for the repair/hack I am about to perform on the car.. Video camera is ready...
 
Successful repair... I just finished [22:40]
Let's say this...
Stealership can keep their parts... AND FUCK OFF

I went to a scrapyard this morning in Salt River and spent some time looking through cars for similar size fans. The closest I could find was a HONDA JAZZ... Got home, saw the motor was more or less same size and this evening proceeded to disassemble the Honda Jazz blower and I hacked the DC motor to fit the original fan housing. It sure fit in there, tight but who cares... gentle persuasion.

Drilled original impeller to be a tight press fit on the new motor. Used Dremel to cut old motor connector out and Pratley Steel to glue it in place...

I didn't get around to video recording everything because I got gatvol of the heat and decided to push through and finish the job.

Its a little bit noisier than it used to be, it is what it is, at least now we won't be DYING in the car in this fucking steaming tropical climate that is Cape Town these days.

Total cost: R950 vs R4500
 
Successful repair... I just finished [22:40]
Let's say this...
Stealership can keep their parts... AND FUCK OFF

I went to a scrapyard this morning in Salt River and spent some time looking through cars for similar size fans. The closest I could find was a HONDA JAZZ... Got home, saw the motor was more or less same size and this evening proceeded to disassemble the Honda Jazz blower and I hacked the DC motor to fit the original fan housing. It sure fit in there, tight but who cares... gentle persuasion.

Drilled original impeller to be a tight press fit on the new motor. Used Dremel to cut old motor connector out and Pratley Steel to glue it in place...

I didn't get around to video recording everything because I got gatvol of the heat and decided to push through and finish the job.

Its a little bit noisier than it used to be, it is what it is, at least now we won't be DYING in the car in this fucking steaming tropical climate that is Cape Town these days.

Total cost: R950 vs R4500

Total cost of R950? Not really.

Plus the time & petrol spent driving to the scrapyard.
Plus the time spent pfaffing at the scrapyard to find a suitable part.
Plus the time and petrol spent driving home.
Plus the time spent stripping your vehicle.
Plus the time spent bastardising the parts to fit.
Plus the time spent to put it all back together.
Plus the time NOT spent with spouse/family.

If you place no value on your time, then yes, it was "cheap".

At least half a days pfaffing and working on the car to save R3,5k?
In my eyes you've overspent by a considerable amount.

The only thing you've "saved" is the 6-8 odd week wait.
 
@Trompie67 Not everyone earns R7000/day and has a family they need to spend time with.

Fair enough. I do have a family I'd rather spend time with, and even if not, I've certainly got other things to do with my time.

Also some people enjoy the challenge and the tinkering

Also fair enough. But then shouldn't the phrase be "learning" and not "saving"?

Don't misunderstand - I do all my own car & motorcycle maintenance & repairs, from oil services to complete engine rebuilds & most things in between.
But there comes a time when it is false economy to DIY, and it makes more sense to pay someone else to do the job.
Car Clutch replacement is a good example:
Clutch kit is around R3k.
It's a good 4 hours of work, plus a trip to the machine shop if the flywheel needs to be skimmed. Plus 2 people are needed to do the job.
Plus it's a shitty job.
So I rather pay R2k in labour to get the job done.
 
At least half a days pfaffing and working on the car to save R3,5k?
In my eyes you've overspent by a considerable amount.
Time spent "pfaffing" as you say resulted in a 3.5k saving? Yet you consider this overspending? Are you assuming that during the time spent income exceeding 3.5k could be generated but instead op was "pfaffing"? Or there was a cheaper (in terms of currency and time) way to do this?
Lets guesstimate R500 worth of petrol to and from scrapyards, down to 3k. Op is at home, like he normally would have been, and instead of watching the sports he worked on the car. Needed tools to get the job done so knock another guesstimate R100 for electricity.
R2900 saving for an afternoon of "pfaffing".

What was the amount overspent?
 
Total cost of R950? Not really.

Plus the time & petrol spent driving to the scrapyard.
Plus the time spent pfaffing at the scrapyard to find a suitable part.
Plus the time and petrol spent driving home.
Plus the time spent stripping your vehicle.
Plus the time spent bastardising the parts to fit.
Plus the time spent to put it all back together.
Plus the time NOT spent with spouse/family.

If you place no value on your time, then yes, it was "cheap".

At least half a days pfaffing and working on the car to save R3,5k?
In my eyes you've overspent by a considerable amount.

The only thing you've "saved" is the 6-8 odd week wait.

I would really like to know where the overspending comes from.
I have kids and they love helping even around the car so that would still count as time spent with family and they get to learn some new skills, stuff that don't get taught at school anymore.

so now the part would have costed R4500 (this is part alone) we have no idea what they would have charged to install it.
still have to drive to them to get the part fitted by them, so now you going to wait for the car or go home only to be fetch an hour or so later?
so still time lost waiting for driving to them and back home. (sure you can drop it off by them in the morning and they drop you at work and come fetch you again, but you still end up paying for it and your fuel to them and home)
 
Time spent "pfaffing" as you say resulted in a 3.5k saving? Yet you consider this overspending? Are you assuming that during the time spent income exceeding 3.5k could be generated but instead op was "pfaffing"? Or there was a cheaper (in terms of currency and time) way to do this?
Lets guesstimate R500 worth of petrol to and from scrapyards, down to 3k. Op is at home, like he normally would have been, and instead of watching the sports he worked on the car. Needed tools to get the job done so knock another guesstimate R100 for electricity.
R2900 saving for an afternoon of "pfaffing".

What was the amount overspent?

I consider the time spent to be worth more than the R3,5k saving. A morning at scrapyards, and then an evening Mcgyvering & fitting = say around 8 hours?
Hell, let's call it only 6 hours, even 4 hours, is worth much more to me than R3,5k. So yes, if I had spent that amount of time looking to "save" I would not have saved anything, in fact after 4 hours I'd be losing more in time value than made in saving.

I would really like to know where the overspending comes from.
I have kids and they love helping even around the car so that would still count as time spent with family and they get to learn some new skills, stuff that don't get taught at school anymore.

so now the part would have costed R4500 (this is part alone) we have no idea what they would have charged to install it.
still have to drive to them to get the part fitted by them, so now you going to wait for the car or go home only to be fetch an hour or so later?
so still time lost waiting for driving to them and back home. (sure you can drop it off by them in the morning and they drop you at work and come fetch you again, but you still end up paying for it and your fuel to them and home)

What you're saying is you would've done it with the kids helping. That is not doing the task to make a saving, in that case it is learning. Different focus.

I've done exactly that - by age 6 my son could change his brake pads on his KX65 (admittedly I had to initially loosen bolts as he did not have the strength to do so); by age 10 he could give his YZ85 a complete service including fitting a new piston & rings.
By age 10 my daughter could wash, plait & fully show prep her pony on her own.
The time spent teaching them could've been spent doing other things & paying someone else to prep the pony or maintain the bike, but my wife and I believed lessons and skills were required for the kids and thus they were imparted.
Whilst some monetary savings could possibly be ascribed by us doing it instead of outsourcing, saving was never the focus.

Hope that helps clarify!
 
I consider the time spent to be worth more than the R3,5k saving. A morning at scrapyards, and then an evening Mcgyvering & fitting = say around 8 hours?
Hell, let's call it only 6 hours, even 4 hours, is worth much more to me than R3,5k. So yes, if I had spent that amount of time looking to "save" I would not have saved anything, in fact after 4 hours I'd be losing more in time value than made in saving.



What you're saying is you would've done it with the kids helping. That is not doing the task to make a saving, in that case it is learning. Different focus.

I've done exactly that - by age 6 my son could change his brake pads on his KX65 (admittedly I had to initially loosen bolts as he did not have the strength to do so); by age 10 he could give his YZ85 a complete service including fitting a new piston & rings.
By age 10 my daughter could wash, plait & fully show prep her pony on her own.
The time spent teaching them could've been spent doing other things & paying someone else to prep the pony or maintain the bike, but my wife and I believed lessons and skills were required for the kids and thus they were imparted.
Whilst some monetary savings could possibly be ascribed by us doing it instead of outsourcing, saving was never the focus.

Hope that helps clarify!

Not really, as anything I do my kids want to help. so it doesn't mean I start the task to show them, but that's where it ends up going.
So my goal is to save money where I can and have knowledge in the required task, its its above me yeah by all means pay someone until I feel like I'm been taken for a ride.

You know, my brother use to say what you saying and funny enough the time he "saves" he never made the amount that he actually payed someone to do the mediocre task as he ended up doing other useless things like sit next to the wife while she watched her favorite show.
 
You know, my brother use to say what you saying and funny enough the time he "saves" he never made the amount that he actually payed someone to do the mediocre task as he ended up doing other useless things like sit next to the wife while she watched her favorite show.
Isn't there value in just relaxing with one's family though? I don't mean rands and cents, I mean "quality of life" value.
Just because you aren't spending the time earning rands and cents doesn't mean you aren't doing something of value.

I feel like people who see earning money as the only valuable thing in their lives, must end up being quite unhappy.
 
Isn't there value in just relaxing with one's family though? I don't mean rands and cents, I mean "quality of life" value.
Just because you aren't spending the time earning rands and cents doesn't mean you aren't doing something of value.

I feel like people who see earning money as the only valuable thing in their lives, must end up being quite unhappy.
there is definitely value in spending anytime with them.
this is why I still fetch my kid at school as I love having that chat time with him not having to compete with the computer and the gadgets at home...

but I tend to have some time to kill after they have gone to bed and have "put" the wife to bed too. I'm not always sleepy at 10pm.
so if I have no maintenance that I need to do on any systems I might as well do those mediocre jobs?
 
@Fife did anything ever come of this?

Unfortunately not, I ended up going to a different Mercedes dealership, not giving them any background and surprisingly they offered me more than WeBuyCars and Weelee.

Merc SA pretty much said "Sorry, sucks for you"..

In the end I ended up losing about 35k from what similar models were being sold at. But I also don't have to live with the conscience of putting someone else in the same situation by selling it personally and not saying anything, Merc can deal with that if they sell it to someone else...
 

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