IMAGINE buying a brand new vehicle but being unable to drive it because its engine, gear lever and steering wheel rusted within six months and your dealer blames you for it?

A Durban woman says the office of the motor industry ombudsman has also disappointed her because it has ruled that she contributed to the rusting of the car without substantiating this finding, and has urged her to contribute the repair costs.

Queen Mncube has been paying instalments for her Toyota Auris for the past 18 months, and now the car is deteriorating at Toyota while the dealership is accusing her of having exposed it to corrosion.

Mncube bought the car in June last year for R210000. She drove it for only two months before it gave her problems.

She says she was driving on the highway one day when the car suddenly became uncontrollable, even when she applied brakes. She almost caused an accident, she says.

She stopped and called for McCarthy technicians to give her roadside help. At the time they could not find the problem.

The car was fine until January, when she noticed that some rust had developed in the boot.

A salesperson inspected the car and told her it was common to have rust in their Toyota cars.

"I was dissatisfied with this comment. He arranged for the rusted part to be replaced. I sent the car in and it has been in Toyota's possession since March," Mncube says.

She pays R3900 in repayments and insurance for the car.

She says she was told that the parts were not available. She complains that the rust has now spread to the pedals and the steering wheel.

She says Toyota undertook to get a response from their Brazilian experts on the type and cause of the rust.

"The response is not forthcoming, yet Toyota wants me to contribute to the repair costs and the ombudsman supports them."

She claims Toyota has been using her car and that it has accumulated more kilometres.

Mncube says the dealership told her she would have to foot the bill.

"They said their new vehicle warranty was only to protect the owner against unexpectedfailure."

She says Toyota told her the rust could have been caused by her driving through deep water or leaving windows open during stormy weather, or by using excessive water when cleaning the interior.

Referring the matter to the ombudsman was just waste of time, she says.

"I do not think the ombudsman even investigated the matter because I received the same response I had submitted to the office from Toyota.

"They know it's a common defect with Toyota vehicles.

"I had been under the impression that the office of the ombudsman was a neutral body and never expected this outcome before the matter was evenconcluded."

Consumer Line took the matter up with Lucious Bodibe, a senior adjudicator of the motor industry ombudsman, who said they would reconsider the matter.

"Mncube has lodged an appeal against the outcome of her complaint. We are attending to all the appeals on a first-come-first-served basis. We will deal with hers when we get to it and give a response," Bodibe said.