Not the usual suspects

We are often critical of car manufacturers and dealers for what is perceived as an uncaring attitude towards car owners in this column.

This exchange of letters below shows the blame does not always lie with the manufacturer or dealer.

On March 14, MotorMania received this letter: "On Wednesday, March 2, my Nissan Pathfinder had a breakdown while I was driving from KwaZulu-Natal to Polokwane, Limpopo, where I live. It was towed to Nissan Zululand in Empangeni, where a broken fan belt and pretensioner were replaced on the Friday.

The next day, the car was making the same squealing sounds it made before I had the breakdown. I contacted Nissan Zululand which advised me to take the car to BB Auto, the Nissan dealer in Polokwane. BB Auto told me the fan belt had been attached too tightly, in other words, incorrectly.

But Nissan Zululand insisted it had done a proper job. BB Auto then refused to repair the car until Nissan Zululand had paid for the work. But Nissan Zululand has refused. I then contacted Nissan headquarters with my problem after I had paid R4000 for a questionable job. After many calls, no one at Nissan headquarters has given me any satisfaction either - with only empty promises to "come back to me ".

I'm tired. Please help.

Anonymous (Name supplied)

The letter was forwarded to Nissan SA for a response. On March 24, we received this reply from Jacques Labotsky, Nissan SA's senior customer care manager: "We confirm we received a phone call from the customer on March 10, and the following was stated to us

• He had a breakdown with his vehicle, and our dealer, Imperial Zululand, assisted him and replaced the fan belt and the tensioner.
• He returned to his home in Limpopo Province, and experienced no problems.
• 9000km later he had another breakdown, and this time the vehicle went to BB Polokwane.
• According to BB Polokwane, it seemed Imperial Zululand had set the tensioner too tight, causing damage to the pulley.
• Photographs were sent to Imperial Zululand , and Imperial Zululand was of the opinion it could not be held liable, as the belt would not have lasted 9000km, and that the failure was still part of the previous accident the customer had in 2010.
• The Autoshop which repaired the vehicle after the accident, contacted BB Polokwane after obtaining authorisation from the customer's insurer to replace the jockey pulley and V-belt.
• The parts were ordered by BB Polokwane's parts department and these were delivered on March 17 with a request to fit the parts for the account of the insurer.
• The customer confirmed the repairs needed were accident-related and not dealer-related as originally stated, and that his insurance company had settled the account.
• In the interim the customer has sold the vehicle.
• We have confirmed with the customer, as a courtesy, and he confirmed the failure was due to the accident and that subsequent repairs were done by Autobody, that the insurer had paid, and that he had sold the vehicle in the meantime - Jacques Labotsky

MotorMania make an earnest appeal to readers to furnish complete and accurate information in their letters. As a general rule, it is also essential to supply the vehicle's VIN (vehicle identification number, the car's ID number) which can be found on the licence disc.