Jeep for sale, it's had it's faults but all better now

I need to sell my 2006 Jeep Cherokee 2.8CRD with 180,000km on the clock.

I'll be selling my car to someone I know as there is no way that I'm advertising and selling to a total stranger, not in South Africa. A friend arranged to meet a potential buyer in a public place, he took a friend with him for security, they were bundled into the boot of their car and held hostage in a township over an hours drive north, for several hours before finally being released after one of them became very ill. I never did ask what happened to their car.

I'm sure there are plenty of successful stories but I'm not prepared to take the risk.

I've owned Chryslers and Jeeps before in the UK but sold or traded them in after 4 yrs. I bought this Jeep at 4 yrs old. I tweet frequently and blog about my experiences in SA and therefore everyone I know here, knows about the problems I've had with my Jeep, therefore I feel the need to explain it's frequent trips to the garage for months on end.

My first breakdown occurred in May 2011, when my tyre blew out in the outside lane at 120km. The tyre pressure valve was faulty so I had no indication it was running flat, I bought a new tyre and still don't have a pressure valve which means the light is on all the time on the dash board. I argued with the garage over it and asked them to order me a new one which I said I'd pay for, all that happened was they kept saying it wasn't covered under warranty and I had a Facebook request for friendship from the salesman. How inappropriate was that?

I've had a yearly service which has left my car off the road for several weeks, not because there were any major problems other than break pad and disc changes, but for some reason I end up choosing idiot garages that are so desperate for the work, but don't have the tools or fail to order the parts needed.

I broke down in 2012, the car refused to restart after refuelling so I called the breakdown company, they subcontracted to a tow company who subsequently failed to remove the key from the ignition and broke my steering column. The breakdown was due to a new starting motor, which was under warranty, however the warrantee company argued over the dates and it took 3 weeks before they agreed to pay up, in the meantime I was without a vehicle. It was then the garage informed me the steering column was broken and I was told my my insurance company I had to take the issue up with the tow company, after politely and forcefully informing them that my contract was with them and as they sub contracted it was their responsibility to sort, I finally got my car back and fixed, 7 weeks after the breakdown.

In December 2013 I started to hear a knocking when driving over bumping ground. My son had learnt to drive in the Jeep and I assumed he had been driving Top Gear style so wasn't surprised to hear it was the front suspension that needed fixing.

Easy to sort I thought, order parts and fix.....no, parts wouldn't be in stock until the end of January, so with a bit of googling and phoning around, I found parts, ordered, collected and returned with them to the garage, to discover they didn't have the tools to do the job, so contacted the garage where I'd purchased the parts from and they informed me they closed at 5pm for Christmas that day, but booked me in on January 6th for the repairs.

So no car over Christmas, Mother in Law and both kids were here, so we all suffered with a little bit of cabin fever. On January 6th on taking the car and the spare parts to the garage, they informed me there was nothing wrong with the front suspension, it was the rear and not only needed new parts but bushes also and thankfully they had them in stock. More money handed over and car returned the following day.

In August this year, whilst reversing off my drive, my wheel fell off. Give me strength, Insurance company called who subcontracted to tow firm, who I forcibly had to stop from literally dragging my car, with drive shaft dragging on the floor onto their truck, another guy arrived, despite me informing them it needed a pick up, not a tow and they fashioned a trolley under the wheel to drag the vehicle some 3 hrs later and took it away.

This time I had car hire as it was an accident, not a breakdown, for 30 days, but with previous experience something was bound to go wrong. I was told it was mechanical not a breakdown, but I'd done my research and ball joints are none serviceable parts, neither had Jeep done a product recall for my make and model and as I was on the road and not my drive it eventually classified as an accident not a breakdown. Had I have been on the highway when it happened, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog post now, I'd have flipped the car at speed and would almost be dead now.

Anyway 28 days later, my car was back, hubby put in new bulbs for the brakes and we bought new struts for the glass window at the back as they'd failed a year ago and I had to use an umbrella to prop the glass open.

But to my dismay, the following day, my car refused to start, I cried, I gave up. I went away for a few days then we had visitors, then I googled and made several calls and 2 weeks later after a visit to The Battery Centre who replaced my battery free of charge, I'm now back on the road and selling the vehicle.

My issues with the car being off the road for so long each time have been due to the garages and the insurance company I choose to use, not the Jeep, not the parts.

So if you're interested message me, I'm asking R70,000 for it.

 

Apart from a bit of driving across Europe and a road trip on the west coast of America I’ve only ever driven on the left hand side of the road. On arrival in South Africa it was one of those things that I never gave any consideration to and was pleasantly surprised to discover they drove the same side as us in the UK. Make sure if you have a foreign licence it's translated into English.

The speed limit in SA is 120km and there are fixed and portable cameras everywhere. We’ve all had speeding fines now, caught on camera and the advice is ‘don’t pay it’ well we ignore the advice and have paid all 3. There’s a  50% reduction if you pay within 32 days but it usually takes 2-3 months before you receive your notification and we just pay the 50%.

I’d strongly advise that if you get stopped by police with a mobile camera you accept the fine and follow the instructions for payment. Apparently you can just bribe a police man and he’ll make it go away, I’d strongly advise you don’t do this. Everyone who tells you that, when pushed further, will admit they’ve never offered a bribe, but a friend of the friend’s cat told them about it.

The rules of the road are similar, keep left, and pass right, the use of mobile phones whilst driving is illegal. These are ignored by most, people weave frequently in the traffic and I’m afraid to say I also do this, usually to avoid crashing into the back of a stationary vehicle in the outside lane.

There are no official rules about vehicle maintenance and the only time a car is required to have one is at point of sale. There are too many vehicles on the roads without working lights, wipers, indicators and bald tyres. Accidents are frequent and can involve numerous deaths in double figures.

Sights like this are common and it’s usually the sheer volume of people in the back that prevent them falling out.

 

Navigation is via GPS, people often give out GPS coordinates which rarely reflect their actual physical address and can take you through townships and off road rather than around, so always check the route before you travel. The first journey I made with the GPS it yelled ‘warning’ and displayed a picture of skull and crossbones at the junction. At areas of hijacking risks, police will sit in their cars with lights flashing as a deterrent. Police also drive with their blue light on which I still find confusing. Driving past townships in the day light is safer although best to avoid 1^st thing in the morning and late afternoon, this is because of the number of taxi’s (mini buses) probably the most unsafe vehicle on the roads ,due to as I mentioned before, no road vehicle checks.

People here navigate by road names not a letter and number apart from the national Roads, N1, N2, N3 etc. The Municipality roads are known by their names and have recently under gone a name change in Pretoria, making it a constant adjustment for me, when people give me directions.

There’s no public transport in Gauteng apart from the Gautrain and the local buses that service the station, the first time I went to use it I discovered I had to have a card and have it pre loaded, similar to an oyster card, no cash is taken on the journey, you just scan in and out. It was very expensive and took me far longer to get to the airport than the car would’ve, plus valet parking at the airport is exceptional value.

One of my favourite things about driving here are the storms and the power outages. This often means the robots aren’t working. Robots are traffic lights and work slightly differently to what I’m used to. They change from red straight to green, missing out the amber light. When there is a power outage and the lights fail as they do often, the roads turn into 4 way stops, please note most people treat roundabouts and traffic circles as a 4 way stop and at busy times of the day OUTsurance manage the flow of traffic.

It’s always best to do your windows up at the lights and 4 way stops, not so much to do with safety but to stop endless people selling you useless items and begging for money and food. I like to put my sun glasses on and remain aloof. Try not to fall for the classic trick when someone points at the front of your car and you open your window to hear what they’re saying, before you know it a Hello kitty sunshade will be thrust upon you.

I drive at night, but it’s not something I’d recommend you doing unless you know the area well and stick to the main roads, even if it does take slightly longer. You must stop at a red light at night, if you feel unsafe and have checked the road is clear, and then proceed but you will need to prove you felt unsafe if you get a ticket. People told me after 11pm I can ignore the red lights and drive straight through, but again they got this info from a friend of their cat.

Don’t stop to pick anyone up or to help anyone who has broken down, this can be tricks used in hijacking. A few weeks ago a guy tried to flag me down, I swerved and drove past. I drove straight into a high jacking and shooting that had gone wrong, the police turned me round fairly quickly.

Don't forget to stay in your car at the fuel pump. They fill your car for you as apparently it's not safe to do it yourself.

 

 

 

 

Do you know what to do when your car breaks down?

I do and I don't.

You see things work differently here in South Africa. I know what to do in the UK but what happens here with a break down?

Two years ago my tyre blew at 120k in the outside lane on the N1, when asked by OUTsurance where I was, I said 'on the N1 driving south to Pretoria, no I can't see any signs, but I'm at a toll gate, what does it say on the toll gate?, hang on I'll take a look, it says E tags and cash only' seriously you can read that blog post here.

So yesterday I drive to the fuel station, fill up, pop in the shop, pay the bill and start the car. Dead as a Dodo, zilch, nothing. I've had a flat battery in the past so I get the jump leads out, pursuade a motorist to help, I attach the jump leads and nothing. Another motorist offers his vehicle, again, nothing. So the pump attendants try a bump start and nothing. I park up. The lights work, the electrics on the sunroof work.

I call a friend who is in a building next door as I was on my way to a meeting, she collects me and all my stuff. I leave my details with the manager and I call OUTsurance.

Now I don't want towing home then have to pay for someone to collect my car at my cost in the morning. I don't know a reputal garage I can be towed to and it's 7pm so everywhere is closed. OUTsurance inform me they'll tow my car to a compund for the night then in the morning I can let the tow company know where to take my vehicle. Well I'm still none the wiser, so the guy at OUTsurance asks me how long I've had the car for and when I reply 2 years, he says 'take the car to where you had it serviced.

So this morning I ring the garage, they can take the car, I call the tow ompany and give them the address and the car is delivered. I'm waiting now for the garage to call me to tell me what is wrong and how much it will cost to have it repaired.

So what is the problem I hear you say? Sounds just like how things are done in the UK doesn't it?

But as an expat, here with hubbies work, it's this sort of thing that we should have been given advice on when we arrived. The day I picked my car up, I drove home and thought 'bugger, car insurance, who do I use?' Can you name me a car insurance company in South Africa? and remember this was back when I didn't have a cell, landline or access to the internet. I looked out the window and saw OUTsurance written on the side of a building, I ran over, took the number down and rang them from a phone box on a street corner.

This post isn't sponsored by OUTsurance, I have had problems with them about insurance with personal cover, but that was resolved and they've rescued me twice when I had no other way of getting home.

Learning to drive in South Africa

First things first, call your insurance company to find out what the costs are...shock, horror, no additional charge to learn to drive an excess increase of R300. In the UK the additional cost of insurance and the increase in the excess meant the older two boys were banned from learning to drive in my car.
So after you obtain your TRN as you’re a foreigner, you apply for your learners licence on the day of or after your 17th birthday, set the theory test date, between 6-12 weeks away, revise, sit the test, buy L plates and Mum says goodbye to her freedom as 17yo son will now offer to go everywhere with you, just so they can drive.
So you take your son out and let him drive around the security estate, but he can’t get out of 2nd gear with the speed limit, he moves the car well, he is sensible, calm, he listens, but I didn’t want to take him onto the roads too soon, so off to the local game reserve, where he could...
Practice his emergency stops

Know what to do at a zebra crossing

How to apply for a South African driving Licence

My son is 17, he wants to learn to drive, having discovered there is no extra cost with OUTsurance I am happy to teach him.

However, it's not as simple as complete form, send it off, wait for Provisioal licence to arrive, stick L Plates on the car.

First we were told to complete an APPLICATION FOR LEARNER'S LICENCE after the where? what? how? we finally submitted the form, sat in a queue, waited to be called and were told, by the same person who checked our forms an hour ago, that we needed a TRN. TRAFFIC REGISTRATION NUMBER. You can read here what happened next.

Finally having established What? Where? Watloo was, where we needed to go for the TRN hubby traisped off to Pretoria, avoiding Mamelodi, to the licensing services to collect the form.

We then needed a letter from sons school to verify he was a student there, what subjects he was studying (WHY?), verified copy and original passport and 2 black & white passport photos. Hubby traispes home with form.

We complete form and gathered letters, pictures, photocopies required and returned with my proof of address and verified copy of passport and original.

My passport states visitor, so it can't be done.

We are now in the process of obtaining the contract for our new address so hubby can provide the following details when they return to collect the TRN on May the 14th, at least they allowed us to submit the form.

All that's left to do now is for hubby to obtain the following information and they can return to get the TRN.

Contract and headed letter from company to verify (full names) are residents of ...
Colour photo copy of passport and visa.

(You will need several of these for address changes)

Take to Police Station to have them verified, also request to sign an affidavit to state that you are resident in the above property and that (son's name) resides there with you on a full time basis.

Change address at bank and ask for statement with new address.

We have to go back to the first place to resubmit the original documents, take an eye test, wait 6 weeks to be informed of examination date, obtain licence, stick L plates on the car and then book actual driving test.

See simple and easy, isn't it....only when you know how

No wonder I'm ill

After an emotional good bye to my 19 year old in the UK last week and a minor car crash (was stationary at lights with handbrake on and a BMW drove into the back of me, in Mother in Laws car)a long delay in Paris in the middle of the night, I arrive back to South Africa to collect the car which Peter had valet parked for me when he flew out to Cape Town.

I got mugged at the door by Dan for his spoils, slept longer than I wanted in the afternoon and finally got back to sleep past midnight.

On Friday I couldn't find my car keys, Peter had put them somewhere safe. I collected Peter and his colleague from the airport Friday evening, stopped for a meal on the way home and crawled into bed at midnight (again)

Saturday morning Peter goes to golf, I'm not feeling well, tummy ache and feeling sick. I try to start the car to go food shooping, having located the keys, and the battery is dead...great..I call OUTsurance breakdown to be informed I only have 2 free call outs per year. So Dan and I attempt to bump start the car, but we can't get it up the slope in the garage. Peter and colleague get home we try jump starting it, no bloody luck so we give up.

Sunday night I drop Peter off at the airport, I've been able to drink but haven't been able to hold down any food. I have an emotional drive home as I won't see Peter now for two weeks, collapse into bed, but unable to sleep.

Managed some lunch today and was promptly sick. the neighbours came round to offer some help with the car, but I've called the garage and they're sending someone out. I broke down. Told them about the bump last week and they've made me an appointment with the chiropractor and will take me later in the week.

The garage get the car started, I'm low on fuel, go to get fuel discover I've a flat tyre, drive to the tyre place to be told they don't have a valve for my jeep, walk to the garage, they call the tyre place who replace the faulty valve, but I have to go back once they get a valve with a sensor in it.

I'm tired, ill and miserable, I've got tea to cook, washing to bring in and a thumping headache...

...but then Peter calls and suddendly I'm feeling better having off loaded and told him off for abondoning me...lol

It says E-tags and Cash only

I blogged and tweeted how I felt OUTsurance had let me down with an insurance claim and they decided to review my case and pay out (see previous blog) so I decided to redress the balance and tell you about the time, last month, I had a blow out whilst driving home from Pilanensburg late one evening.

I was with a colleague of Peter's and offered to take him on Safari, Pilanensburg is a 2 hour drive from us, a trip I'd done twice before with the family.

At 8pm in the dark, the rear drivers side tyre blew, I was travelling in the outside lane at 120km/per hour and I reacted well, avoiding the traffic as I came to a halt on the hard shoulder...

My mobile had run out of talk time so using my friends phone I called OUTsurance, typical, being a Danish phone it wouldn't dial a free phone number so I rang Peter with our details, he called OUTsurance who rang me back straight away...

'Where are you?'

'I'm at a toll on the N1 north of Pretoria'

'Are you alone?'

'No, I am with a male friend and the toll booth security people have sent someone to wait with us'

'OK I'll get Premier Tow with you within 33 minutes ma'am, can you tell me your exact location?'

'I'm sorry there's no signs'

'OK, what does it say on the toll sign?'

Honestly I was in hysterics with my answer, so was my friend...

'It says E-tags and Cash Only...does that help?'

The poor guy was laughing ' no ma'am that doesn't help...use your GPS to find out where you are'

So Premier Tow arrive within 33 minutes, park behind me, set up 3 cones by the wheel and starts to change the tyre...

OUTsurance ring me to check he has arrived, text me several times to confirm I am still OK, the toll guy drives off after establishing we weren't really having a picnic as my friend told him when he asked why we were sitting on the bank at this time of night in the dark and my friend has made Precision Tow, move his car back on an angle, put up the warning triangle much further dowen the road and moved the cones where they were more effective.

So thank you OUTsurance for making my breakdown a pleasurable experience.

My letter to OUTsurance

I object to your rejection letter for a claim for a camera and GPS stolen from my vehicle.



I acknowledge there was no visable sign of break in to the vehicle, this is because I was stood at the boot of the vehicle loading shopping when someone entered the car via the front door and removed the items from the centre console. I was not threatened either, but I was informed that if I had the items next to me on a cafe table and someone walked past and picked them up I would have been covered as there may be CCTV to evidence this.

To unlock my boot I am required to press the button twice which then unlocks all the doors. How I am supposed to take any other action to protect the contents of my vehicle when I am stood there?

Are you seriously suggesting that I challenge anyone that wants to take any thing from me and risk having a gun drawn to my head? Should I next time ask the peron who is stealing my personal items if they wouldn't mind smashing the glass next time so I can make a claim?

i don't want to recieve a cut and paste terms and conditions of policy as a standard reply. I would like a full explanation as to what you expect me to do in a situation like this or I cannot see the need for having contents insurance with you.