Establishes Inspectify, its own vehicle inspection company with cutting-edge technology to differentiate it from other vehicle dealers.
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 (Nada) show in the US last year and identified a bunch of 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 to handle vehicle condition reports.
Moneyweb requested comment from Dekra Automotive but has not yet received a response.
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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).
This is a reference to the NCC reporting in December that WeBuyCars had agreed to pay a R2.5 million fine and R3.4 million in “consumer redress” in terms of a settlement agreement it entered into with the commission.
The consumer redress relates to WeBuyCars agreeing to refund 31 affected consumers a total of R3 419 971.83.
The settlement agreement followed the NCC receiving complaints from consumers in the past three years, alleging that WeBuyCars had failed to provide remedies as required under the sale agreements signed between the company and the consumers.
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The NCC said in December it had formed a reasonable suspicion that WeBuyCars’s terms and conditions, particularly in relation to warranty and terms of sale, contravened several provisions of the CPA.
The NCC investigated the complaints lodged by the consumers and found that the terms and conditions of the sale agreements did indeed contravene the CPA.
The settlement agreement was referred by the NCC to the National Consumer Tribunal on 3 December 2025 and was confirmed by the Tribunal on 19 December 2025.
Ponting confirmed that a few of the 31 complaints received by the NCC related to the Dekra vehicle condition reports, but stressed that, in context, WeBuyCars receives very few complaints overall.
He said the company sold 172 000 vehicles in 2024, of which only 0.34% were referred to the Motor Industry Ombud of South Africa (Miosa).
Of those cases, 80% were in WeBuyCars’s favour or were settled with the consumer, he added.
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Inspectify’s local focus
WeBuyCars’s website refers to Inspectify as South Africa’s next-generation vehicle inspection company, providing independent and professional condition reports.
Explaining the rationale for the establishment of Inspectify, WeBuyCars said that for years South Africans had to rely on global solutions for vehicle condition reporting, with nothing designed specifically for local conditions.
“With no alternative external options, WeBuyCars took the initiative and established Inspectify – a solution built for South Africa.
“Although a subsidiary of WeBuyCars, Inspectify operates independently and will expand its services and operations under the guidance of an independent management team and board.
“Inspectify’s advantage lies in a locally developed system designed for consistency, clarity and South African conditions,” the company said.
“The technology Inspectify has incorporated gives customers much more information than before, and a complete picture of what they’re buying.
“At its core, Inspectify believes one thing: transparency is trust.”
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WeBuyCars said Inspectify has been certified by the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), adheres to the strict Consumer Code of Conduct, and is held to high standards of quality, ethics and customer service.
It added that all Inspectify examiners undergo formal training, technical assessments and ongoing quality checks, with many team members having years of automotive experience, and all following the standardised inspection process.
Ponting said WeBuyCars started the transition to Inspectify branch-by-branch from about July last year.
He said there are now only two small branches that are still using Dekra, and they will be converted to Inspectify this year.
Ponting said it is sometimes difficult to conclude that a vehicle has been in an accident, but Inspectify reports will highlight if there is damage to a vehicle panel, which is an indication of it having been in an accident.
However, Ponting said the reports will be unable to confirm the severity of the previous accident damage and need access to the vehicle salvage database.
“We highlight in Inspectify reports any aspects that will impact the safety of the vehicle and its roadworthiness,” he said.
The South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (Sambra) has been on a drive for several years to get greater transparency about the identity of written-off vehicles, in an attempt to protect dealers and consumers.
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Vehicle salvage database
This led to the South African Insurance Association (Saia), which represents short-term insurers, on 1 September 2023 launching a free, public-access vehicle salvage database (VSD), but this excluded vehicles designated as Code 2 (‘Uneconomical or too expensive to repair’) and written off by insurance companies.
Code 2 vehicles were to be added to the VSD at a later date, but Saia subsequently reneged on this commitment because some of its insurance company members were opposed to making this information publicly available.
Saia said at the time it was determined that the most critical and urgent vehicle information to make available was for Code 3 (vehicles with structural defects that require substantial rebuilding), Code 3A (can only be used for spare parts), and Code 4 (must be permanently demolished) – and this information is available on the website.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.