Johannesburg - Whether it’s the hail damage that a reader failed to notice in the rapidly fading light when taking possession of his new luxury car, accident damage suspected and later independently confirmed on a vehicle sold as “new”, mechanical failures on cars freshly out of their warranty periods or the lemons that seem to develop into catastrophic issues on a monthly basis - when it comes to car problems, my inbox is flooded with complaints.
It comes as little surprise: after property, vehicles are usually the second most expensive purchases we make in our lives. Not only are they big capital outlays, they’re assets that depreciate the moment they leave the dealer’s floor.
And when vehicle owners encounter problems, they need to act fast because if the issues are not covered by a warranty, the Consumer Protection Act’s built-in automatic warranty runs out after six months.
Also read: How can it take 3 months to fix a car?
With little hope of any speedy resolution in sight, I approached the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) to discuss options available to consumers, who are frustrated by dealers’ responses and manufacturers’ apparent disinterest.
As a starting point, the RMI’s chief operations officer, Jan Schoeman, tells me you simply can’t please everyone: “We attempt to resolve issues between consumers and our members to the relative dissatisfaction of both parties, as those are normally good solutions.”
Q: When was the RMI established?
We started 108 years ago as the Western Cape Oxwagon Journeyman’s Association, which then became the SA Motor Trader’s Association, the Motor Industry Federation and finally, the RMI.
With over 7500 members, we restrict ourselves to assisting our members and consumers with related grievances.
Q: Tell me about your members:
Our membership includes the entire retail chain - from the moment a vehicle leaves the manufacturing line, new and used car dealerships, tyre centres, tyre retreading factories, panel beaters, importers, scrapyards, diesel pump rooms, component manufacturers and re-manufacturers, vehicle testing stations, the number plate guys and others. There are 14 sub-sectors under us - we regulate 13 of those, just not the tow trucks. They have their own associations.
As a member-driven organisation that works at improving the industry’s reputation, our reach is extensive. We don’t always get it right, but those are the exceptions. Generally, we find solutions to problems because we’re in a position to yield influence over the member.
Q: What are the consequences for your members?
If RMI members don’t abide by our advice, there may be dire consequences for their businesses as they may forfeit on preferential allocation of work from large government and corporate clients. The guys have to think very carefully about that.
We cannot shut down a member’s business, but their businesses could shut down if we terminate their membership, due to a loss in confidence on the part of the consumer.
Q: Who complains most?
We encourage our members to approach us, but most of the complaints come from the consumer. We’d encourage our members that when they encounter problems, to say to the customer they’d like to put the issue before us. The member then comes to us. We would try to resolve the issue. The consumer just agrees to the process.
In the past, 80 percent of our complaints came from consumers. We wanted to turn that around, so 80 percent of the complaints would be coming from our members. That didn’t happen. As soon as the Motor Industry Ombudsman was accredited, their office was flooded with complaints. All of a sudden, something we could resolve within days at most, was taking substantially longer to resolve. Of course, word gets out there very quickly.
Q: Are there costs involved?
We charge consumers an admin fee of R285. We ask our technical staff, with the assistance of experts, to do the investigations, objectively. We jealously guard our reputation. We get the parties around the table, assess the situation and resolve the matter. If the member abides, they sign a mediation agreement provided the consumer doesn’t also take the complaint elsewhere to take a second bite at the cherry.
If the member feels they’re in the right, they aren’t prepared to negotiate or make a goodwill gesture, there’s nothing we can do. But if they’re in the wrong and refuse to provide restitution to the consumer, on our advice, we then have an internal disciplinary process for that member and they could be expelled.
Q: Why should consumers come to you?
It helps to get a second opinion. Often, we find consumers complain but they don’t really have a case. They don’t accept the service provider’s word and want to hear it from someone else. We pride ourselves on our reputation and take no nonsense from delinquent members or the consumer. We can resolve consumers’ complaints - or they can pay an attorney or go to court.
Q: What about the Motoring Industry Ombudsman?
Our role complements the ombud’s role, but we can’t make rulings like they do and enforce. Mostly, 94 percent of the time, we resolve issues and quickly, within days.
Q: What about profits?
We’re non-profit so there’s no desire to build up huge reserves. All our members pay the same. We work for the industry and are paid by the industry to regulate it. We have about 7500 members - there are 18 000 retail motor industry businesses registered in SA. Our members employ about 75 percent of the industry’s workforce. The other 11 000-odd businesses are mostly the one- or two-man businesses that operate out of a garage or a back yard.
We try to clean up the industry by establishing and enforcing minimum standards; we try to keep it clean; and where issues arise, we try to resolve those.
Q: What about those “new” cars that turn out to be accident-damaged?
It happens more than you know. A car leaves the manufacturer and gets damaged en route - a low branch hits it, it falls off a truck, it drives through hail. They don’t scrap the car - it goes back on the truck, back to the manufacturer and it gets repaired. It’s never been registered before. If people notice it, against whom is the claim? The dealer or the manufacturer?
We say to consumers: don’t fight with the dealer as they’re only intermediaries because they probably don’t even know about it. If it’s a latent or a patent defect, approach the manufacturer. We will direct you to the right place to resolve the issue.
We don’t live in a perfect world - it’s what happens when things go wrong that matters.
WISE UP - HERE’S HOW
First up: Try to resolve the issue with the supplier. Determine whether it’s a dealer or a manufacturer issue and take up the matter through the correct channels.
Getting nowhere? If that fails, contact the RMI. They have regional branches across the country.
You can also visit http://www.rmi.org.za or call them at 011 886 6300 or 011 789 2542.
It’s not free: Besides the R285 admin fee, any assessments will be for your pocket.
No second bite at the cherry: If you opt for mediation by the RMI, you’ll be expected to sign an agreement that you will accept the outcome of their decision. As Schoeman pointed out: you won’t be able to take your issue elsewhere once you’ve agreed to their mediation efforts.
Follow Georgie on Twitter: @askgeorgie
The Star