From Dream Car to Courtroom Drama: Gauteng Man’s R1.6 Million BMW Nightmare

How a Gauteng businessman’s brand-new BMW turned into a five-year legal and financial nightmare

What should have been the ultimate feel-good purchase for Lenasia businessman Farhaad Mahomed has spiralled into a battle that has cost him his business reputation, his financial standing, and years of his life. Mahomed is now locked in a legal war with BMW Financial Services, who claim he owes over R1.6 million for a BMW X3M Competition, a car he says he never even took home.

The deal that turned sour

In late 2019, Mahomed says he was riding high on business success when he put down R200,000 for a brand-new BMW, with the rest financed through BMW Financial Services. He asked the Cape Town dealership to keep the vehicle until January 2020 so it could be registered as a 2020 model, a decision that, in hindsight, he believes set the stage for disaster.

While waiting, Mahomed claims the car was put on display in a dealership showroom and even advertised online. Concerned that potential buyers might have test-driven it, he requested proof that the car hadn’t been used. The dealership allegedly failed to provide such evidence, citing broken cameras, and could not account for missing carbon fibre trim worth R12,000, an optional extra he had paid for.

That was when Mahomed pulled the plug, emailing the dealership to cancel the deal. But instead of voiding the agreement, he later discovered the car had been registered in his name without his consent.

The debits he says were never authorised

Things escalated quickly. By the end of January 2020, Mahomed says R23,000 was debited from his personal Absa account — despite him never taking possession of the car. He reversed several such debits and placed the equivalent funds into his lawyer’s trust account to prove his willingness to pay if the deal was honoured correctly.

He maintains that the agreed debit order was meant to come from his business account, not his personal one. He also argues that BMW violated the Consumer Protection Act by financing the car without proof of insurance, as he never insured something he didn’t have in his possession.

Five years, no resolution

BMW Financial Services insists he is contractually obligated to pay, claiming they had already paid the dealership when he agreed to delivery. Mahomed disputes this, saying delivery and the final debit mandate would only be completed upon collection.

The fallout has been devastating. “I have lost the prime years of my life,” Mahomed says. “I’ve been blacklisted and my business has taken a huge knock. I don’t trust any dealer anymore, no matter how big the brand.”

There’s also a criminal investigation underway involving the Gauteng commercial crimes unit, linked to alleged unauthorised debits. A salesman implicated in the matter has reportedly turned state witness.

BMW’s silence and public reaction

BMW South Africa has declined to comment, citing the matter as sub judice.

On social media, reactions have been divided. Some sympathise with Mahomed, calling it a textbook example of why consumers need to know their rights before signing finance deals. Others have questioned why he didn’t take the car immediately and fight the dispute later.

What’s clear is that Mahomed’s case has struck a nerve in South Africa’s motoring community, where stories of showroom disputes, unhonoured extras, and finance nightmares are becoming increasingly common.

With the case still unresolved after five years, the question lingers: when it comes to luxury cars, does the promise of prestige outweigh the risk of the fine print?

{Source: IOL}

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