What Can You Do If a Used Car From a Dealer Breaks Within Six Months in South Africa?

If a used car you bought from a dealer turns out to be defective within six months of delivery, you can take it back at the dealer's cost and choose whether they repair it, replace it or refund you. That is section 56 of the Consumer Protection Act, and a dealer can't write you out of it. It applies at any dealership, including the dealerships on Dryv.

What does the Act promise when you buy a used car from a dealer?

Section 55 gives you the right to goods that are reasonably suitable for what they are normally used for, of good quality, in good working order, free of defects, and usable and durable for a reasonable time. Section 56 then makes the dealer, the distributor and the manufacturer or importer each warrant that the car meets that standard.

Two details work in your favour. The six months run from delivery, not from the day you signed (section 56(2)). And it does not matter whether the defect was hidden or one you could have spotted before you took the car (section 55(5)).

These rights come on top of any warranty the dealer or the manufacturer gives you, not instead of it (section 56(4)).

Does a used car have to be as good as new?

No. The Act judges quality against all the circumstances of the sale, including when the goods were produced and supplied (section 55(4)). It defines a defect as something that makes the goods less acceptable than people would reasonably be entitled to expect in the circumstances (section 53). A 12-year-old bakkie with 250,000 km is not held to the standard of a new one.

So worn brake pads on a high-mileage car are wear, not a defect. A major part that fails weeks after delivery is where your case is strong. The question is always what a reasonable buyer could expect of that car, at that age and mileage, at that price.

Does "sold voetstoots" mean you have no comeback?

Not at a dealer. A general "voetstoots" or "sold as is" clause tries to waive your rights under the Act, and section 51 makes a term like that void.

What a dealer can do is tell you expressly that the car is offered in a specific condition, and have you expressly agree to take it that way (section 55(6)). So read every line of the offer to purchase that describes the car's condition before you sign. That is what the dealer will point to later.

What can you demand in the first six months?

Return the car within six months of delivery and the dealer must, at your direction, repair it, replace it or refund the price you paid (section 56(2)). You choose, not the dealer. The return is "without penalty and at the supplier's risk and expense", so the cost and the risk of getting the car back to them sit with the dealer.

What if the repair doesn't hold?

If the dealer repairs the car and, within three months of that repair, the fault is still there or a new one appears, the dealer must replace the car or refund you (section 56(3)). Another repair is not one of the options.

Separately, any new or reconditioned part a workshop fits, and the labour to fit it, carries its own three-month warranty from the date it was installed (section 57).

Does the Act cover a car you bought privately?

No. The Act covers sales made in the ordinary course of a business, and a person selling their own car is not in the business of selling cars (section 1, the definitions of "consumer", "transaction" and "business"). Buying privately can save money, but if the gearbox goes in the second month, none of the protection above applies. That is the trade you make.

How do you claim, step by step?

1. Find your delivery date. The six months count from delivery, so keep the delivery note or the signed handover document.
2. Tell the dealer in writing as soon as the fault shows, and say which you want: repair, replacement or refund. Keep a copy.
3. Take the car back to the dealer before anyone else works on it. The warranty does not cover goods to the extent they were altered after leaving the dealer's control (section 56(1)), so don't hand the dealer that argument.
4. Keep a record of every call, visit and promise, with dates.
5. If the dealer doesn't resolve it, the Motor Industry Ombudsman's own advice is to ask for the manufacturer's representative, then to contact the manufacturer's customer care department.
6. If that fails, complain to the Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa: online, by email at info@miosa.co.za or on 010 590 8378. Its service is free to consumers, though an inspection, if one is needed, may be for your account. Under the industry's code of conduct it will decide a dispute within 30 days of receiving all the documents it needs.

The short version: keep your delivery note, put every complaint in writing, and take the car back to the dealer before anyone else touches it.