After being tipped off by a man who had previously bought a “grey” car, the Independent on Saturday went undercover to investigate how these cars made it onto South African roads, and the cost to the country. We visited three warehouses where these cars were kept after being released from the harbour, and before they made it to our roads. They were shipped from Japan, China and Singapore.
“All you need is to pay the deposit of R15 000 cash then you can take the car home with you. I will take care of everything else,” the dealer said.The dealer explained the process he claimed would make the car “legal”. “It is a simple transaction, no paperwork for you, no installment and we do not check credit status or even want to know whether you have a licence or not.”
He said the dealer had briefed him on what to say when he was stopped by police or traffic officers. He had to tell them he had borrowed the car from a friend for a day and to show them the papers with the Asian name.
This is the exact side effect of the astronomical car prices on the official car market. The government needs to regulate car prices now, otherwise the black market will flourish
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