Truth in Vehicle Salesmanship.
Page 36
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THE sale of a commercial vehicle is a vastly different proposition from that of a private car, for the reason that the requirements of the purchaser of the former may vary so greatly and a vehicle which might work perfectly if used in one capacity would quite possibly prove a failure in another.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that the commercial-vehicle salesman should possess a thorough knowledge of his task and know exactly how a particular chassis will perform. He must not be tempted to make exaggerated claims regarding its capabilities, and, in particular, he must not suggest that it can be overloaded with impunity. In this country few cases occur in which a chassis of a certain rated capacity is sold as being. of a higher one, but instances of this nature have occurred overseas, and it is a practice which we most strongly condemn, for it • enables an unscrupulous agent to undercut an honest competitor, at the same time causing endless trouble to both purchaser and manufacturer. A legal decision recently given in South Africa in a case of this description was to the effect that a model which is continuously overloaded will have its mileage life reduced, substantially below the normal useful life which a purchaser is entitled to expect, and that when a manufacturer states that the capacity of a lorry is a certain figure the burden of proof is on any party who asserts that its capacity is greater than this. If a person knowingly overloads, he must take the consequences of any trouble which ensues; but if lie loads only to a capacity which has been stated by the seller, and this is greater than the true capacity of the vehicle, then the seller must accept the responsibility.