4x4 newbie. Rude and Intimidating Service - Jurie Swart Motors, Cape Town
South Africa

I want to buy a 4x4, but I am new to the 4x4 market. I am a first time buyer
in the off-road market. I went to Jurie Swart Bakkie Dealership in Cape
Town three weeks ago and explained "newbie staturs" to one of their salesmen
Pieter, requesting to test drive 3 different cars, so I could get the feel
of them. I drove a 3.0L colt rodeo petrol, an Isuzu frontier and a 2.4L
Hardbody diesel. I did not find the Nissan powerful enough, and it
shuddered on the road, nor did I like the Isuzu -it was noisy and old. The
2003 3L Colt Petrol was great, but I since I want to use the vehicle for
off-road, I wanted to test drive the diesel version first to compare torque
at low revs. I also wanted to drive a more powerful hardbody, to give
Nissan a fair judgment. Jurie Swart didn't have these vehicles in stock, so
I told Pieter I would return in a few weeks. I returned today, 3 weeks
later, and received the rudest service from Pieter ever.

Today, I took time off work, drove though to Jurie Swart with a friend, to
see if you had anything new. There were 2 colt 2.8 turbo diesels -exactly
what I wanted to try! I asked Pieter if I could test drive them and maybe
one other vehicle (I wanted to see if they had a Hardbody in stock, one with
a larger engine size than previously). Pieter rudely told me I could only
test them IF I was going to buy one this time. I told him that I couldn't
give him that guarantee, but that I would probably buy in the next one or
two weeks, once I was sure what I wanted. His answer was that in that case I
could not testdrive any vehicles! I thought he was joking. I asked him if he
was being serious. He said that he was not joking and that he was being
serious. I could NOT test drive the vehicles. My friend politely told him
that this was bad service and that maybe we should take our money elsewhere.
He told us to go do that then, turned his back and walked off.

Needless to say, we left, went round the corner and saw a Charl Smit and
Engelie Haupt at Mitsubishi motors, from whom I received excellent service
and from whom I shall probably be purchasing my first 4x4.

4x4 dealerships need to realise that first-time buyers are on a major
learning curve. To us, its not like buying any other car. There are a lot
of new concepts we need to get our mind around, and vehicles we need to
test. To reveive such intimidating and rude service is unacceptable.
Dealerships who want a sustained competitive advantage over others need to
offer kind, helpful and patient service to newbie buyers.

Brent Murphy