Legal dispute over luxury off-road caravan: customer demands refund for defects

A luxury custom-built off-road caravan purchased at  R1 250 000 "with all the bells and whistles, latest technology, premium features and uncompromised quality and luxury" is at the centre of a legal dispute after the customer demanded his money back claiming several defects upon delivery.

However Elite Luxury Off Road Vehicles, a company based in Johannesburg, disputes the claim citing the damages were due to the customer's own negligence.

Brett Loubser, a consultant from Heldervue, Somerset West, instituted action in the Johannesburg High Court to claim damages arising from the supply of a "severely defective" custom-built off-road luxury caravan, which he said nearly injured his children due to the "catastrophic failure" of the awnings.

 Through his attorney Trudie Broekman, Loubser said that during March 2022, he  approached Elite Luxury Off-Road vehicles, an expert manufacturer, retailer and distributor of custom-built off-road luxury caravans and purchased a custom-built luxury off road caravan (Ng’Ombe Off Roader 6.2) for R1 250 000. He took delivery on 4 April 2023.

The Ng’Ombe is described on Elite’s website as “The biggest of them all - our double axle Off-Road Trailer. Equipped with Al-Ko Enduro X suspension on an aluminium chassis to overcome the most gruelling African terrains, effortlessly.”

 However, he claimed what was supposed to be a dream purchase quickly turned into a nightmare.

 "Within just two weeks of taking delivery and using the caravan, Louser identified 14 defects in the caravan. These included that the shower could not be utilized as it had not been properly sealed at floor level, resulting in water running into the floor of the caravan under the interior shower well.

 "The cabinet door in the toilet was incorrectly mounted. The rear-view camera was not functional. The outdoor kitchen slider was skew and the caravan had not been registered, according to Loubser," his attorney said.

"Loubser informed Elite Luxury Off-Road Vehicles of these defects, and the manufacturer agreed to address and repair them in June 2023. Loubser duly delivered the caravan to the manufacturer in June 2023 for the necessary repairs.

"However, during his return trip to Somerset West, he discovered further defects. One of the more severe defects was that the geyser pipe disconnected and flooded the caravan."

"In addition, the awning did not function properly in windy conditions as no guide ropes had been supplied to secure the awnings properly; there was an air leak in the suspension. The gas geyser was inoperable and not in working condition."

In response to this, Hugo Botha, a director at Elite Luxury Off Road Vehicles, said they have Loubser's whatsapp message clearly stating that the damages were due to a gust wind while the awning was not strapped down.

"Mr. Loubser approved his choice of this awning prior to installation. We source the awnings from reputable awning manufacturers and install them onto our caravans using strong brackets. Mr. Loubser should have taken the weather conditions into account before untying support straps."

Broekman said when Loubser used the caravan again in October 2023, further defects manifested. "He listed 11 of them, including that the outside refrigerator had stopped functioning, the electrical system failed and the air leak in the suspension remained unresolved. The awning was also difficult to deploy, assemble and disassemble.

 "As a consequence of all the various defects and failures, Loubser ultimately elected to cancel the agreement, returned the caravan to Elite Luxury Off-Road Vehicles and insisted on payment of a full refund."

However Botha said Loubser was looking for a very customized build, and they were one of the only companies willing to build according to  his requests and specifications.

"He was looking for the best and the biggest caravan possible. Mr. Loubser cannot cancel the transaction of a completely custom requested build due to his own negligence in the use thereof."

Broekman said her client in mitigation of his damages, sold the outdoor caravan to We Buy Cars for R550 000.

"Thus, the total damage suffered by Loubser is R756,695 (the difference between the purchase price and the resale price, plus repair costs of R56 695).

Broekmann has instituted action in the Johannesburg High Court (South Gauteng High Court) where the next step is mediation between Loubser and Elite and then the hearing.

Botha said the company's legal representative sent a letter to Loubser's legal representative in which the amount claimed is denied. Quoting from the letter he said Loubser failed to mitigate his damages by selling the Ng'Ombe for an amount far below the reasonable market value.

"This was done at your client's own risk and our client cannot be held responsible for your client's failure to mitigate his loss," the letter from the company's legal representative  to Broekman states.

Botha said they offered to pay Loubser R1 million as a final offer provided he withdrew the lawsuit, but he rejected it and instead  sold the caravan to We Buy Cars for R550 000.

Loubser in his reply said the offer of R1m made was specifically made to settle the lawsuit.

"Also, it was not a cash offer, but R50k per month until they sold the caravan, upon which they would settle any outstanding up to R1m, but retain profit above that themselves should they manage to sell it for a higher price. My acceptance of this offer would include me withdrawing the lawsuit. I countered and said I would accept this hybrid payment plan if they raised the number to R1.2m and this was rejected by them."