Judge drives point home to car ‘slave’

A car lover, who considers himself “a slave to Mercedes-Benz”, was to live out that scenario in the Western Cape High Court before Acting Judge Anton Katz as the car manufacturer finally cracked the whip.

Mercedes-Benz took Dirk Coetzee to court with the aim of repossessing the vehicle after he found himself in arrears amounting to just over R400 000 as of February 2010. But in delivering judgment, Judge Katz found that it was “inappropriate for Mr Coetzee to consider himself a slave to Mercedes-Benz” as a justifiable reason why he should not return the car while the matter was pending.

Coetzee was ordered to return the vehicle to the Mercedes premises in Epping by 10am on Thursday for “safe keeping pending finalisation”.

“It is insensitive at best,” Judge Katz said, adding that many people in South Africa made use of and were dependent on public transport.

“He cannot afford a Mercedes vehicle of the kind he drives, yet does not appreciate that if a person cannot afford to drive a luxury motor vehicle, then that person cannot keep a luxury motor vehicle. No person has a right to a motor vehicle, let alone a luxury Mercedes at that.

“A person cannot expect to be entitled to enjoy driving a luxury Mercedes while litigation with a bank or finance house over the ownership and other issues in relation to that vehicle is pending.

“Mr Coetzee entered into a contract in which Mercedes-Benz was described as the owner of the Mercedes … until Mr Coetzee has paid his last instalment.”

It could also not be ignored that the vehicle “was worth hundreds of thousands of rands”, he said.

Mercedes-Benz is now expected to institute action against Coetzee by no later than March 14. Should it fail to do so, the car will be returned to Coetzee. - Cape Times