Manipulation of new car deliveries seems to be the norm
JAGUAR Land Rover South Africa has no control over independent dealers who are manipulating the delivery of stock in the country.
This means consumers who want any of its latest models are bound to be overbilled if they don't deal directly with Jaguar Land Rover dealerships or want to jump the waiting period.
Last week, Consumer Line published an article exposing a dealer who delivered a wrong car to its client.
Nkosinathi Duma of Cape Town said he received a car he did not order.
He said he had bought a brand new Range Rover Evoque Dynamic 2.0s14.
He claimed the dealer told him they had the model on the floor and it had all the extras he expected of the vehicle.
Duma said when the car was delivered, he suspected that he was being given a car he had not ordered.
He then called the salesman to complain, only to learn that the salesman had no knowledge of the type of car he had sold him.
Moreover, Duma said he had also been billed R60,000 more for skipping the waiting list.
The media a ffairs m anager at Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, Lesley Sutton, said the company was aware that certain car dealers offer customers immediate delivery of vehicles that are in high demand and have legitimate waiting lists.
He said the manipulation of the delivery of the existing stock in South Africa by independent dealers is beyond Jaguar Land Rover's control.
He said due to global demand some dealers would ask their customers to be placed on a waiting list.
"This is done in order to facilitate specific customer specification systematically in our supply chain," Sutton said.
He said Jaguar Land Rover's process and prices are transparent and their customers understand a time-frame when they can expect delivery of their new vehicles.
Sutton said the vehicle that had been ordered would specifically the vehicle that would be delivered to a customer upon arrival in South Africa.
"The best practice remains to source a new vehicle from a franchised Jaguar Land Rover dealer," said Sutton.
The dealership has apologised to Duma for delivering a wrong car and has promised to pay off his debt.
* Thabo Mokoalase of Rustenburg is another consumer who accused S4 Auto of overcharging him in November last year.
He bought a car for R179,000 but ended up paying R195,000.
Mokoalase, a first-time car buyer, said an S4 salesman who helped him complete the loan application form told him to pay a deposit of R25,000 before his loan application was presented to any financial institution.
"I paid it but later realised that I had made a mistake by paying the deposit before seeing the actual contract," Mokoalase said.
He said S4 Auto only disclosed R15,000 as a deposit payable. The bank then approved a loan of R170,000 which was later paid into the dealership' s bank account.
He said he asked for his refund of R10,000 or an explanation as to why they kept his money. But his request fell on deaf ears.
This amount is not reflected on the invoice sent to the bank.
The dealership confirmed that they received R195,000 from Mokoalase and his financier, and that the car was sold for R179,000.
They said of the R25,000 Mokoalase paid, R15,000 was used as his contract deposit, and R10,000 was to offset the difference between the floor price of R179,950 and the R170,000 from the bank.
"The contract deposit results in a reduction of principle debt. The benefit of which logically accrues to the client and not the supplier," the dealership said.
'Better wait than be sorry'
Manipulation of new car deliveries seems to be the norm
JAGUAR Land Rover South Africa has no control over independent dealers who are manipulating the delivery of stock in the country.
This means consumers who want any of its latest models are bound to be overbilled if they don't deal directly with Jaguar Land Rover dealerships or want to jump the waiting period.
Last week, Consumer Line published an article exposing a dealer who delivered a wrong car to its client.
Nkosinathi Duma of Cape Town said he received a car he did not order.
He said he had bought a brand new Range Rover Evoque Dynamic 2.0s14.
He claimed the dealer told him they had the model on the floor and it had all the extras he expected of the vehicle.
Duma said when the car was delivered, he suspected that he was being given a car he had not ordered.
He then called the salesman to complain, only to learn that the salesman had no knowledge of the type of car he had sold him.
Moreover, Duma said he had also been billed R60,000 more for skipping the waiting list.
The media a ffairs m anager at Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, Lesley Sutton, said the company was aware that certain car dealers offer customers immediate delivery of vehicles that are in high demand and have legitimate waiting lists.
He said the manipulation of the delivery of the existing stock in South Africa by independent dealers is beyond Jaguar Land Rover's control.
He said due to global demand some dealers would ask their customers to be placed on a waiting list.
"This is done in order to facilitate specific customer specification systematically in our supply chain," Sutton said.
He said Jaguar Land Rover's process and prices are transparent and their customers understand a time-frame when they can expect delivery of their new vehicles.
Sutton said the vehicle that had been ordered would specifically the vehicle that would be delivered to a customer upon arrival in South Africa.
"The best practice remains to source a new vehicle from a franchised Jaguar Land Rover dealer," said Sutton.
The dealership has apologised to Duma for delivering a wrong car and has promised to pay off his debt.
* Thabo Mokoalase of Rustenburg is another consumer who accused S4 Auto of overcharging him in November last year.
He bought a car for R179,000 but ended up paying R195,000.
Mokoalase, a first-time car buyer, said an S4 salesman who helped him complete the loan application form told him to pay a deposit of R25,000 before his loan application was presented to any financial institution.
"I paid it but later realised that I had made a mistake by paying the deposit before seeing the actual contract," Mokoalase said.
He said S4 Auto only disclosed R15,000 as a deposit payable. The bank then approved a loan of R170,000 which was later paid into the dealership' s bank account.
He said he asked for his refund of R10,000 or an explanation as to why they kept his money. But his request fell on deaf ears.
This amount is not reflected on the invoice sent to the bank.
The dealership confirmed that they received R195,000 from Mokoalase and his financier, and that the car was sold for R179,000.
They said of the R25,000 Mokoalase paid, R15,000 was used as his contract deposit, and R10,000 was to offset the difference between the floor price of R179,950 and the R170,000 from the bank.
"The contract deposit results in a reduction of principle debt. The benefit of which logically accrues to the client and not the supplier," the dealership said.
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