Franchised motorcycle and quad dealers say they are losing out to unscrupulous "grey" importers and cut-price Chinese machines sold without benefit of warranty or after-sales service
Wayne Bakker of Can-Am distributor Waterworld told motoring.co.za nothing was being done to slow the importation of cheap, poor-quality motorcycles and quads, although steps were being taken to combat the effect on the South African clothing industry of cheap imports from the Far East.
He said: "It seems any Tom, Dick or Harry can import these machines and retail them through the local car dealer, café or supermarket with no spares or service backup."
Not all importers of entry-level bikes and quads are guilty; there are distributors with huge stocks of spares that provide impressive after-sales service.
Buyers should double-check warranty, parts availability and service facilities - even ask to see the workshop at the dealership. A clean, well-equipped and brightly lit workspace is a good indication that your new wheels will be well looked after.
Nevertheless, motoring.co.za has received a steady trickle of e-mails over the past few years from owners of Chinese scooters whose South African distributors, after selling several hundred units on the local market at very attractive prices, disappeared about the time the first warranty claims started coming in.
No reputable motorcycle dealer will work on them because there is no way to obtain parts; one Cape Town dealer went so far as to refer to them as "styrofoam cups - use once and throw away".
Bakker said: "Almost every day I see another Chinese scooter abandoned alongside the road and I wonder what the owner is going to do when he finds his three-month-old scooter is virtually irreparable.
"I know of cases where Chinese quads had to be scrapped after only a few months because the importers were unable to provide spares - or had simply vanished."
He was just as scathing about unofficial imports of well-known brands.
"The traditional importers are going down the tubes thanks to grey importers who bring in similar bikes and quads, sell them without a warranty - often blatantly lying about this - and telling buyers that the spares are carried by the agents and even that the warranties will be honoured by the official importers."
motoring.co.za asked a leading "parallel importer" (they don't like to called "grey") for a price on a popular 600cc sports machine - in this case a Yamaha R6 - and was quoted R79 500. A Yamaha dealer quoted R87 000.
What about warranty?
The "grey" salesman said: "We offer our own, two-year, unlimited-distance warranty - just bring the bike back to us if anything goes wrong."
Could the owner take it to a Yamaha dealer for service or repair?
"Yes, of course, it's exactly the same as the official model."
Unknown origin
Not so, said the Yamaha dealer; a "grey" R6 has bigger indicators and a different ignition lock from the SA-spec version; he wasn't able to say what internal differences there might be.
It was disquieting that the "grey" salesman was unable - or unwilling - to say where the R79 500 Yamaha R6 actually came from, thus making its exact specifications a matter of guesswork for the owner and anybody who ever had to work on it.
Bakker again: "Even assuming the official distributors and dealers survive the onslaught the customer still loses because only a grey dealer will trade-in the bike, and then at a much lower price. The owner will lose more than he saved when he bought the bike."
The last word, however, goes to South Africa's most outspoken "parallel importer", Robbie Perold of Boland Bikes.
"We keep the official importers honest," he said bluntly. "If it wasn't for us they could charge whatever they liked for their machines - and they would."
As always the final decision is up to the customer; all too often you get what you pay for - but it helps to buy from a reputable supplier (official or "grey") that's been in business for many years.