Hyundai dealership loses bid to overturn R667,000 refund ruling after selling client wrong BMW model

Court rules against Hyundai dealership in R667,000 BMW misrepresentation case. A Cape Town Hyundai dealership haslost its bid to overturn a ruling ordering it to refund a customer more than R667,000 after selling him a BMW that was falsely representedas a sought-after Mzansi Edition. In a judgment handed down by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Acting Judge KJ Mogale, with Acting Judge F Pauer concurring, dismissed an appeal by Hyundai N1 City and upheld an earlier decision of the National Consumer Tribunal, finding that the dealership had contravened the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) by misrepresenting the vehicle it sold to Sylvester Henry Bartes.

The court also ordered the dealership to pay the costs of the appeal, leaving intact the tribunal’s order cancelling the sale agreement and requiring Hyundai N1 City to refund Bartes more than R667,000. The dispute dates back to July 2022, when Bartes spotted a BMW at Hyundai N1 City’s dealership. After inspecting and test-driving the vehicle in August that year, he was told by a salesperson that it was a BMW 320i M Mzansi Edition.

The vehicle was financed and insured on that basis before the sale was finalised, with Bartes paying a R50,000 deposit. The problem only emerged months later after Bartes took the vehicle to a panel beater following minor damage. During the assessment, he was informed that several components were not genuine BMW South Africa parts. He later learnt from BMW South Africa that the vehicle was not, in fact, a Mzansi Edition.