WeBuyCars drops Dekra

MOVING ON: WIDESPREAD COMPLAINTS ABOUT ACCURACY OF REPORTS

- Roy Cokayne

WeBuyCars (WBC) has “ended its ties” with Dekra Automotive, which previously provided independent vehicle condition reports to the JSE-listed used vehicle buyer and seller for use by prospective buyers, and has now established its own vehicle inspection company.

Moneyweb last year received an unprecedented number of complaints from consumers about the quality and accuracy of the information in the vehicle condition reports compiled by Dekra for WeBuyCars customers.

WeBuyCars sales director Janson Ponting confirmed on Monday the company has “ended their ties” with Dekra and replaced it with vehicle condition reports compiled by Inspectify, a new subsidiary of WeBuyCars.

Ponting said WeBuyCars executives visited the National Automobile Dealers’ Association show in the US last year, and identified cutting-edge vehicle evaluation technologies internationally.

“Our decision to use Inspectify, rather than Dekra, is because it uses better technology and improved the reports from a technological point of view.

“The reports were difficult to understand, so we could use technology to make them more understandable from a CPA [Consumer Protection Act] point of view.

“We want to be the leader in the market, and a lot of dealers are now also using Dekra,” he added.

“We started with Dekra five years ago with their condition report and a lot of people copied us, with Dekra starting to do reports for multiple dealers across South Africa. So it’s just another way of differentiating ourselves.”

He said WeBuyCars has invested heavily in technology for Inspectify.

Moneyweb requested comment from Dekra Automotive but has not yet received a response.

NCC settlement

Ponting said the timing of the launch of Inspectify is very good in terms of the outcome of the settlement agreement reached with the National Consumer Commission (NCC).