Man in legal battle with dealership after paying over R269,000 to fix faulty Ferrari five months after purchase

A Cape Town dealership, Millstock Cars, contested a ruling by the National Consumer Commission (NCC) that ordered them to refund over R269,000 to a customer for repairs made to a faulty Ferrari.

The issue began when M Gambale purchased a used Ferrari for over R3.6 million in April 2021.

However, just five months after the purchase, the car displayed a warning light and Gambale promptly notified Millstock Cars, and the vehicle was diagnosed at Ferrari Cape Town with a faulty temperature sensor, requiring replacement at a cost exceeding R53,000.

Initially, the dealership argued that the car was sold "voetstoots" (as is), thus denying liability for the sensor replacement. However, after negotiations, Millstock agreed to cover 50% of the repair costs and paid a deposit to Ferrari Cape Town.

According to Gambale, after Millstock confirmed that it would pay for the replacement of the sensor, the manufacturer, Ferrari Italy, identified an underlying issue with the Clutch Control Plane (CCP) and recommended that the entire CCP be replaced after conducting a remote diagnostic test on the vehicle.

Gambale demanded that Millstock pay for the replacement of the CCP, which was quoted at over R269,000. However, the dealership refused this request, prompting Gambale to escalate the matter to the NCC.

Upon reviewing the case, the NCC sided with Gambale, issuing a notice demanding that Millstock refund the repair expenses for the CCP.

In response, Millstock appointed consulting engineer and tribologist, Patric Swan who examined the CCP and found no evidence of mechanical damage or wear, asserting that the original diagnosis of a faulty sensor was accurate.

Swan's report was submitted to the NCC before they issued a notice. 

A second witness, a service manager at Ferrari Cape Town, Vito Viglietti, said the car was connected to Ferrari Italy’s system, and they confirmed that the sensor was indeed defective.

Viglietti testified that the manufacturer indicated that it would not honour any warranty extension on the vehicle if the CCP was not replaced.

He also said that the manufacturer never confirmed the underlying issue which caused the sensor to malfunction, but they told Ferrari Cape Town to proceed to replace the CCP. He said Ferrari Cape Town never physically examined the CCP and could not confirm whether it was defective or not.

In its submissions, Millstock asserted that the NCC’s notice was based on a flawed assessment, pointing to Swan’s report which highlighted the absence of any mechanical defect in the CCP. They further stated that the NCC neglected to consider that Gambale's vehicle was an aged, second-hand model.

In his reply, Gambale maintained that Ferrari’s diagnosis suggested an inherent issue with the CCP which required replacement to ensure long-term functionality and warranty considerations, which was crucial for preserving the vehicle’s resale value.

After thorough deliberation, the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) expressed uncertainty as to whether the NCC had properly considered Swan’s report.

In the tribunal’s view, if Swan's report had been properly considered, the notice would not have stated that the vehicle had broken down due to a clutch failure.

"The evidence that was in front of the NCC suggested that the issue with the vehicle was due to a malfunctioning sensor. There was and remains no evidence to the contrary. At most, there was a suggestion that an underlying issue caused the sensor to malfunction, but such an underlying issue was not identified," said the tribunal.

Having considered the evidence, including the oral testimonies from Swan and Viglietti, the tribunal said it was of the view that it cannot be concluded that the CCP was defective or that it was necessary to replace it.

Based on the tribunal's findings, the NCC's notice was cancelled.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

IOL News

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.