South African Motor Body Repair Association Archives

Buying a Pre-Owned Car: What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get

vuyi on July 1, 2021

For many South Africans, buying a car means freedom but many vehicles, which have been written off re ‘repaired’ and sold to unsuspecting people. Richard Green, National Director of SAMBRA weighs in on this illegal practice

Buying a second-hand car can be an exciting purchase and a good economical decision provided there are no surprises. Typically, the reliability of a second-hand car is at the forefront of most buyers’ minds. Meanwhile, to others, the fear of purchasing a vehicle that was previously involved in a serious accident could be that deal-breaker.

Cars that have been severely damaged are often repaired and end up back on the road, but the quality of the repair job and the severity of the damage play a huge part in ensuring the safety and roadworthiness of a vehicle.

There is no way of checking if a car has been written off previously in an accident
– Richard Green, National Director of the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (SAMBRA)

Richard Green, National Director of the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (SAMBRA), an association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) says the problem in South Africa is that there is no way of checking if a car has been written off previously in an accident making it difficult for consumers to access if the showroom-condition car they bought is exactly what it claims to be.

Green share a story of a customer who brought in a two-year-old Nissan into a SAMBRA Repair Shop in Bela Bela. With just 28 267km on the clock, the owner had no idea her vehicle had been in an accident previously and had been so poorly repaired that it was structurally unsafe.

“The front body bumper absorber, which is a structural and stabilizing component in most cars, (and this case forms part of the front cradle panel), had been heated or welded together so poorly that the metal strength had been compromised. This had resulted in rust developing in the panel – a sign of early metal fatigue. As it forms part of the crumple zone of a vehicle, the panel should have been replaced with a new part,” Green said.

There were numerous many other serious repair faults on the car too, but the consumer in question had no way of checking the history of the car. “Not only does this have serious legal and cost ramifications, but it talks to the safety of motorists and a growing pool of un-roadworthy and perhaps even stolen vehicles on our roads,” says Green.

If the South African Insurance Association would agree to make write-off information available buyers would be better informed

RICHARD GREEN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR BODY REPAIRERS’ ASSOCIATION (SAMBRA)

“If the South African Insurance Association (SAIA) would agree to make write-off information available on a public register where the VIN of a vehicle could be checked; buyers would be better informed before making a decision to purchase a used car.

Currently, write-off information is routinely forwarded to SAIA from all insurance companies. SAIA then creates a Vehicle Salvage Data (VSD) system which contains information on salvage vehicles. These are vehicles that have been deregistered by the respective insurers and thus declared salvage after policyholders have been indemnified of their motor claims. A vehicle is considered salvage by the insurance industry if it is written-off following, for instance, a motor accident.

By not making the information publicly available, SAIA is enabling the very two things they claim to be attempting to avoid.
– RICHARD GREEN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR BODY REPAIRERS’ ASSOCIATION (SAMBRA)

SAIA however, argues that making the database public, would not only be unlawful, but would allow criminals to have access to the entire motoring insurance industry database of scrapped vehicle VINs, leading to a dramatic increase in false financing and insurance of cloned vehicles.

The reality however, is that “uneconomical to repair” cars continue to be bought by fraudsters and syndicates on salvage yards – complete with Code 2 papers. In many instances they are then poorly repaired before being sold to dealers and unsuspecting consumers who have no way of checking the bona fide history of their second-hand purchase. The papers of these same vehicles are also being used to re-register stolen vehicles as bona fide 2nd hand (code 2) vehicles.

Consumers would be better empowered and enabled through the access to additional data on a used vehicle.
– RICHARD GREEN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR BODY REPAIRERS’ ASSOCIATION (SAMBRA)

“In essence, by not making the information publicly available, SAIA is enabling the very two things they claim to be attempting to avoid – criminal activity and an impact on the safety of motorists,” Green concluded.

TransUnion’s Kriben Reddy states that being unable to verify if a vehicle has been previously written off, is a significant problem as many vehicles are being cloned, especially in a consumer-to-consumer environment. “Consumers would be better empowered and enabled through the access to additional data on a used vehicle. As it stands consumers’ access to additional information is limited,” says Reddy.

It seems clear the conversation is not over and there is merit for all parties to revisit a system that is clearly not working.

Soure: Automobil Magazine, RMI

Do You Know the History of your Second-Hand Car?

vuyi on October 14, 2020

Insurers routinely ‘write off’ vehicles and these vehicles are sold within a salvage contract to auction yards
– Richard Green, National Director of SAMBRA

The South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (SAMBRA), an Association of the Retail Motor Industry (RMI), is concerned about the lack of information available to the market with regards to the status of second-hand vehicles.

Richard Green, National Director of SAMBRA, says at present there is no way for a consumer to find out if the second-hand vehicle they are purchasing has been previously written off. “Not only does this have serious legal and cost ramifications, but it talks to the safety of motorists and a growing pool of unroadworthy and perhaps even stolen vehicles on our roads,” says Green.

According to Green, insurers routinely ‘write off’ vehicles and these vehicles are sold within a salvage contract to auction yards.

“While there is nothing wrong with this on face value, the problem comes in when these vehicles, still registered as Code 2 (the description for a used car) are sold to any buyer willing to pay the highest price on auction. In many cases, these vehicles are bought by dubious repairers and sold back into the system for a good profit via digital sales platforms or unsuspecting used car traders. This is where the system goes awfully wrong as the second unsuspecting buyers often ends up with a vehicle that has previously been written off by an insurer, deemed uneconomical to repair. It also has not been reclassified as a Code 3 vehicle and the purchaser has no way of checking the history.”

Most vehicles stolen by professional thieves have a high value and are never recovered
– RICHARD GREEN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF SAMBRA

Further problems

The other problem facing the industry is if the cars are not repaired and sold on, they can be bought by hijacking syndicates.

“Most vehicles stolen by professional thieves have a high value and are never recovered, as they’re either stripped for parts and the bodies dumped or re-birthed under new identities. These written off vehicles provides the perfect foil for this illegal activity. The severely damaged vehicles are bought on auction to obtain Code 2 registration documents which are then used to re-register stolen vehicles. The VIN and engine numbers on the stolen or hijacked vehicle is changed to match the “written off” vehicles papers and the scrapped licence plates are used on the stolen car. For the unsuspecting buyer it is almost impossible to check the validity of his car papers,” says Green.

Green adds that it is for these reasons that SAMBRA have requested SAIA (South African Insurance Association) to make this information available in the form of the VIN number of the vehicle so that consumers can be properly informed prior to making a used car purchase decision.

The information is routinely forwarded to SAIA from all insurance companies yet the request to SAIA has been denied to date. SAMBRA believes a formal, publicly accessible write off register will minimise the illegal use of vehicle identifiers in the re-birthing of stolen vehicles and in curtailing stolen vehicle parts being used in the repair of damaged vehicles. It will also help eliminate unsafe vehicles for unsuspecting purchasers.

“Practically, if there is not a market for these cars, the practice will have to slow down,” he says.

“Access to the write-off register is the only way one can check those repairable written-off vehicles don’t contain stolen parts and it is the only way to take severely damaged vehicles off the road permanently. We need that “write off’ register as a vehicle remains on the register for the rest of its life, even if it’s repaired or ownership is transferred,” concludes Green.

Your chassis is the most powerful structure in your car

vuyi on September 1, 2020

Richard Green, national director of the South African Motor Body Repair Association (SAMBRA), says many motorists believe the engine is a vehicle’s toughest attribute when, in fact, the chassis is where the true strength lies – in collisions especially.
– article courtesy of retail motor industry organization (RMI)

The chassis is best described as the vehicle’s frame onto which its many parts are mounted.

Did you know, for example, that even car seats mount directly to the chassis? The bigger the vehicle the stronger the chassis needs to be on which to fasten the parts. Trucks, for example, are made up of thousands of parts.

The engine of the vehicle is bolted into the chassis too and the various body panels also bolted in to hold their shape. “The chassis, often overlooked as the ‘powerhouse’ of vehicle design, endures incredible stresses and strains on a day-to-day basis. For example, it has to cope with the movement of the wheels, carry the weight of the body, fuel and passengers and take some serious knocks from road hazards,” Green says.

“But the most important aspect of chassis design is protecting life – the chassis must absorb and distribute crash energy to help a car to stay in one piece and preserve the shape of the driver and passenger cabin. Not to downplay the importance of other safety features, like airbags, braking systems and seat belts, but the chassis is a very important safety structure.”

Green adds that while a chassis is fundamental to safety, in a serious accident its ability to absorb the impact will not guarantee the occupants walk away unscathed, but it can increase their chances of survival.

There are two types of chassis: ladder-style body-on-frame chassis and unibody chassis

Two types of chassis most used:

Ladder-style body-on-frame chassis
Unibody chassis

“A body-on-frame chassis is often made from square steel tubing welded together to form an extremely strong framework,” Green explains. “This type of chassis is predominantly used for bakkies, SUVs and trucks, but classic cars are also known to use a body-on-frame chassis to support their powerful engines and heavy weight.”

The unibody chassis, on the other hand, is used for light passenger vehicles and weight reduction.

“A unibody chassis is not an independent frame, instead it is made from stamped metal sheets and body parts connected together. The metal sheets, welded, bolted, glued and screwed together, give the chassis the strength that it needs. Also, parts of this type of chassis can be made of aluminium, steel, carbon fibre or reinforced plastic.”

Second hand vehicles that have been written off previously by an Insurer could also find their way back into the used car market.

What can go wrong with a chassis?

Green says outside influences are the biggest culprits of damage to a chassis. These can include:

Corrosion is often seen in vehicles in high-moisture coastal areas. It is particularly damaging because it can go unnoticed for years. Corrosion deteriorates a chassis’ strength and rigidity over time.
While today’s vehicles are designed with crumple zones, a serious impact could render a chassis unfixable.
Off-road enthusiasts should be aware that this type of driving can crack a chassis and that this damage can also go unnoticed for a long time.
Often when people buy second-hand cars they do not enquire about or check the health of the chassis. This could be a costly mistake.
Second hand vehicles that have been written off previously by an Insurer could also find their way back into the used car market. The sub-standard repairs that occur in this instance could render the chassis unsafe.

“Rather be safe than sorry. A damaged chassis directly affects the ability of your car to absorb the impact of an accident as effectively as it should. If you feel the chassis of your car has been compromised in any way, visit a SAMBRA accredited workshop and have them conduct a simple laser test to check for vulnerabilities – it could save lives,” he concludes.