Pensioner's nightmare when used car with roadworthy certificate turns out to be a write-off

If you're buying a used car you tend to feel reassured about its condition if it's been recently serviced and has a current roadworthy certificate.

However, these checks don't guarantee that the vehicle isn't one of those ‘smashed up and put back together jobs’, warns Wendy Knowler.

The person that inspected your car in order to grant that roadworthy certificate is not looking with the level of detail that you might expect, the consumer ninja says.

"Answering your question about the need to be cautious, you might have expected me to say because the roadworthy certificate might not be legitimate. But, NO!"

"It can be a legitimate certificate and the car could have been serviced by the OEM, i.e. one of the manufacturer's franchised dealers, which would give you a level of comfort you'd think. But that level of comfort could be completely misplaced."

Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist

She notes that a roadworthy test identifies visual defects with the electrical items, bodywork components, steering, suspension and undercarriage.

However, it will NOT necessarily pick up if the vehicle has been in a previous collision and then repaired.

"Patched-up accident damage is also unlikely to be picked up during a routine service, and yes, even by a dealership in a manufacturer’s franchised network."

Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist

The problem for the consumer is that the SA Insurance Association’s VIN-Lookup platform does NOT include cars which were previously written off by insurers.

SAIA argue that doing this would compromise people who buy those cars and then repair them to the manufacturer's specifications.

Knowler looks at a case that exactly proves the point about the risk a second-hand car buyer faces.

84-year-old 'Oom Leon' Bredenkamp is bitterly regretting his purchase of a 2021 Suzuki Vitara Brezza from a Bryanston-based dealer.

The Bela Bela pensioner traded in his trusty old Toyota Corolla and paid R230,000 for the Brezza, which showed just 28,525 kms travelled.

The Brezza has been found, on inspection, not only to be a Code 2 vehicle which was previously written off, but 'literally a rolling deathtrap on wheels' says SAMBRA.

That's the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association, who want these Code 2 cars included on the VIN-Lookup website.

The lesson here is, BUYER BEWARE, Knowler concludes.

"Choose your dealers wisely, and don’t buy a used car, no matter how lovely it looks, without getting it extensively checked by an entity that’s trained to look for patched up structural damage."

Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist