Hi Guys
I just thought I would share a recent experience with my fellow fanatics to warn them of a potential rotten deal.
This post actually belongs in the classified section so maybe the mods can move it there.
As some of the fanatics knows , last weekend I spotted which I believed at the time to be a buy of a lifetime.
a 2005 330D Touring E46 .....yes a 330D.....not a 318 or 325..I couldn't believe it.
it looked damn good , it was in cape town advertised on the gum for R105k.
I've been looking for an E46 for some time now as I sold mine about a year ago and kicked myself for it everyday since....yes I am a MINI fan with having 3 new MINIs and having insane handling and mighty impressive acceleration for a car of its size ...but an E46 is close to the heart and I want one again!!
I was pre-approved weeks ago with FNB and I was on the hunt for the last 3 weeks or so when I spotted this just hours after it was posted.
I immediately made contact via email at 00:30AM and followed up via the phone number provided first thing that morning.
I spoke to a michael who was the owner , he said someone else phoned him first and that they had first option and that he would contact me if they didnt take it.
a few hours later he called and said it was still available.....yipeeee i thought to myself.......and after discussing the car in detail .....specifically the auto box and turbo he assured me that it was all fine....i sent a friend over to go have a look as I stay in JHB....he went ...said the car looked to me in a fair condition bar a few small dents and scratches.
Him not being a very mechanically minded person couldn't give me a proper answer on the gearbox as he wasn't familiar with the e46 auto box on a 330D but said it felt fine...not as strong as his MINI but still fine.
I then phoned michael and said that I would take the car and that I am financing and I have been pre-approved and ready to go and that we both just needed to complete the paperwork with FNB.
He said fine we could continue the conversation on the monday after saying "let me know what's needed from the bank on monday and we can complete the deal", a few minutes later I received a message saying he wanted R5000 deposit for him to keep the car and to show that I was serious.
He also said he would return the money once the deal was in motion and this was just for peace of mind and to show my intentions were serious.
I said no problem and transferred the money straight away.
Monday came , i did my part with FNB by 9:00AM and it was up to him to complete his side of the paperwork and take the car for a roadworthy and 101 point check as per FNB requirements.
on tuesday he phoned me and refused to fill in any paperwork or take the car for any tests.
I then tried to explain to him that FNB would be the title holder of the vehicle and I would be the owner and that certain paperwork was required from him.I then said I would try and come up with a solution by sending my sister their to sort it out.
he was shouting and swearing and saying he wont do it....I then arranged for my sister to fly to CPT to take the car for the test and to fill in the paperwork on his behalf as he just wasn't budging and wanted me to pay him for his "time" to take the car for the test and to complete the papers.
once i confirmed her flight I sent him a message to let him know...he later responded saying NO, I will take care of it and he didn't want to give her the car to take to the testing, which I can understand from a safety point of view.
I then waited, Wednesday came and FNB asked him for the papers , he sent through a copy of the agreement where he crossed out certain sections on the contract(the seller warrants that there are no latent defects to their knowledge to the vehicle and that it is sold for the purpose it was intended for)he also wrote in bold letters at the bottom , no guarantees are given whatsoever on the mechanical side of the vehicle and the buyer has sent a representative to view the car and that was proof enough that the car was fine.
FNB responded and asked that the original document was to be signed without any amendments.
Someone else by the name of Kelly then responded saying - "nor myself,Michael or anyone can guarantee that there are no latent defects to the vehicle and if you are not happy with the agreement as we have sent it , we will be happy to forego the deal"
moments later I responded trying to explain to the lady what "Latent defect" meant and that it was defects that they knew about but willfully kept from me with the intent to make the sale and NOT future faults that could happen to the car that hasn't already happened.I asked if they were aware of any defects on the vehicle that they did not inform me of.
she again responded saying they cant guarantee me that there were no latent defects to the vehicle and that this was final , take it as is we dont guarantee anything on the vehicle and we refuse to comment on any latent defects on the vehicle.
WTF!!!!
Alarm bells went off and FNB told me to let go of the deal as it sounded fishy , they then did some digging themselves and found the car to not only be a grey import(which was almost expected) but also not showing up as a registered vehicle with transunion, BMW or the dmv.
I responded to the lasy saying that I was happy to forego the deal based on her demands and terms and that she has to refund my R5000 immediately.
She simply resonded in saying "you will not get your money back as michael had to turn away other customers and this was the cost of this sale"
I then asked her for a copy of the power of attorney that michael has granted her to act in his capacity as she made it clear to FNB that she was the legal proxy on michaels behalf....she obviously couldnt provide this and since I have not seen my money , I stay too far to go and sort it out myself and the cost will far exceed the effort to go there to get it back.
they currently refuse to answer any of my emails and all my calls are being blocked or the phone was turned off as it goes straight to voicemail.
I am now left R5000 out of pocket for the deposit, R1200 for the flight that was booked and not used and without a car.
Let this be a warning to all fellow fanatics as I am sure you will see this car surface in the next few days on the gum for R105k +
STAY AWAY....THIS IS TROUBLE....THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY DIDN'T WANT TO ADMIT TO ANY LATENT DEFECTS!!!
:thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo:
by the way....if the owner wants to debate this issue and show his side to the story I am open for a full debate !!
I just thought I would share a recent experience with my fellow fanatics to warn them of a potential rotten deal.
This post actually belongs in the classified section so maybe the mods can move it there.
As some of the fanatics knows , last weekend I spotted which I believed at the time to be a buy of a lifetime.
a 2005 330D Touring E46 .....yes a 330D.....not a 318 or 325..I couldn't believe it.
it looked damn good , it was in cape town advertised on the gum for R105k.
I've been looking for an E46 for some time now as I sold mine about a year ago and kicked myself for it everyday since....yes I am a MINI fan with having 3 new MINIs and having insane handling and mighty impressive acceleration for a car of its size ...but an E46 is close to the heart and I want one again!!
I was pre-approved weeks ago with FNB and I was on the hunt for the last 3 weeks or so when I spotted this just hours after it was posted.
I immediately made contact via email at 00:30AM and followed up via the phone number provided first thing that morning.
I spoke to a michael who was the owner , he said someone else phoned him first and that they had first option and that he would contact me if they didnt take it.
a few hours later he called and said it was still available.....yipeeee i thought to myself.......and after discussing the car in detail .....specifically the auto box and turbo he assured me that it was all fine....i sent a friend over to go have a look as I stay in JHB....he went ...said the car looked to me in a fair condition bar a few small dents and scratches.
Him not being a very mechanically minded person couldn't give me a proper answer on the gearbox as he wasn't familiar with the e46 auto box on a 330D but said it felt fine...not as strong as his MINI but still fine.
I then phoned michael and said that I would take the car and that I am financing and I have been pre-approved and ready to go and that we both just needed to complete the paperwork with FNB.
He said fine we could continue the conversation on the monday after saying "let me know what's needed from the bank on monday and we can complete the deal", a few minutes later I received a message saying he wanted R5000 deposit for him to keep the car and to show that I was serious.
He also said he would return the money once the deal was in motion and this was just for peace of mind and to show my intentions were serious.
I said no problem and transferred the money straight away.
Monday came , i did my part with FNB by 9:00AM and it was up to him to complete his side of the paperwork and take the car for a roadworthy and 101 point check as per FNB requirements.
on tuesday he phoned me and refused to fill in any paperwork or take the car for any tests.
I then tried to explain to him that FNB would be the title holder of the vehicle and I would be the owner and that certain paperwork was required from him.I then said I would try and come up with a solution by sending my sister their to sort it out.
he was shouting and swearing and saying he wont do it....I then arranged for my sister to fly to CPT to take the car for the test and to fill in the paperwork on his behalf as he just wasn't budging and wanted me to pay him for his "time" to take the car for the test and to complete the papers.
once i confirmed her flight I sent him a message to let him know...he later responded saying NO, I will take care of it and he didn't want to give her the car to take to the testing, which I can understand from a safety point of view.
I then waited, Wednesday came and FNB asked him for the papers , he sent through a copy of the agreement where he crossed out certain sections on the contract(the seller warrants that there are no latent defects to their knowledge to the vehicle and that it is sold for the purpose it was intended for)he also wrote in bold letters at the bottom , no guarantees are given whatsoever on the mechanical side of the vehicle and the buyer has sent a representative to view the car and that was proof enough that the car was fine.
FNB responded and asked that the original document was to be signed without any amendments.
Someone else by the name of Kelly then responded saying - "nor myself,Michael or anyone can guarantee that there are no latent defects to the vehicle and if you are not happy with the agreement as we have sent it , we will be happy to forego the deal"
moments later I responded trying to explain to the lady what "Latent defect" meant and that it was defects that they knew about but willfully kept from me with the intent to make the sale and NOT future faults that could happen to the car that hasn't already happened.I asked if they were aware of any defects on the vehicle that they did not inform me of.
she again responded saying they cant guarantee me that there were no latent defects to the vehicle and that this was final , take it as is we dont guarantee anything on the vehicle and we refuse to comment on any latent defects on the vehicle.
WTF!!!!
Alarm bells went off and FNB told me to let go of the deal as it sounded fishy , they then did some digging themselves and found the car to not only be a grey import(which was almost expected) but also not showing up as a registered vehicle with transunion, BMW or the dmv.
I responded to the lasy saying that I was happy to forego the deal based on her demands and terms and that she has to refund my R5000 immediately.
She simply resonded in saying "you will not get your money back as michael had to turn away other customers and this was the cost of this sale"
I then asked her for a copy of the power of attorney that michael has granted her to act in his capacity as she made it clear to FNB that she was the legal proxy on michaels behalf....she obviously couldnt provide this and since I have not seen my money , I stay too far to go and sort it out myself and the cost will far exceed the effort to go there to get it back.
they currently refuse to answer any of my emails and all my calls are being blocked or the phone was turned off as it goes straight to voicemail.
I am now left R5000 out of pocket for the deposit, R1200 for the flight that was booked and not used and without a car.
Let this be a warning to all fellow fanatics as I am sure you will see this car surface in the next few days on the gum for R105k +
STAY AWAY....THIS IS TROUBLE....THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY DIDN'T WANT TO ADMIT TO ANY LATENT DEFECTS!!!
:thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo::thumbdo:
by the way....if the owner wants to debate this issue and show his side to the story I am open for a full debate !!
