Consumer law with buying used car from dealer over manufacture warranty.

[TheGrimReaper]

Good everning. Probably wrong thread but does anyone know the consumer rights for Victoria when it comes to buying a used car from a dealer. I went and brought a used car and apon test driving I noticed a noise. Asked all the questions about the noise and they said they will have it looked over when it goes for a roadworthy after deposit. Went back a week later to pick up car and when I asked them about the noise they said there mechanic said it he didn’t find anything wrong and that it wasn’t ticking when he looked at it. Was driving around for TWO weeks when all of a sudden the noise was back. I took it to my mechanic and was found to be failed lifter and that a full dismantle down to the cam and replacement of lifters,camshaft,rods,tune and possible oil,oil filter as well as pump. With labour quoted $2500-$3500. Am in within my rights to demand the car yard to foot the Bill. I mean I was told by my mechanic that there is no way me driving it for two weeks would cause it and that the car yard would have known.
any help will be considered useful.

 

[shane_3800]

From my experience they will only cover it if you pay for warranty. Wether that's how it's meant to be I have no idea. That is just what I've observed as a mechanic doing warranty work.

 

[gossie]

Did you have YOUR mechanic check it before you even left a deposit on it?

 

[rambunctious]

Best to contact Consumer Affairs in your State.
They will be probably the only ones to give you the info you require.

 

[Derekthetree]

Dealers in Vic have to offer a 3 month/5000km warranty

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/cars/buying-a-used-car/warranties

 

[TheGrimReaper]

Did you have YOUR mechanic check it before you even left a deposit on it?

No I didn’t as when I purchased it i was told it was going for a roadworthy and any defects I listed would be repaired and if any major faults were found they too would be repaired. I listed four. Three were fixed and was told the other was a noisy lifter (common on those models) and that it was not nessasery to replace it. Two weeks on I’m in this mess. Surly having been looked over and cleared for road use something so major to go wrong in two weeks of buying it has to be covered by something. I remember when I brought my other car two years ago the car yard gave me 30 days that if anything went wrong they would be liable to fix. Doesn’t this apply to all secondhand car dealers ?

 

[TheGrimReaper]

Dealers in Vic have to offer a 3 month/5000km warranty

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/cars/buying-a-used-car/warranties

That’s if a car is under 10 years old or 165,000. Being as mine is 14 years old and done 215,000km it’s well over. Even then surly I have some sort of coverage for major faults like the one listed.

 

[TheGrimReaper]

Has a quick look at my contract and found this. Surly a $3500 rebuild of engine is classed as a major failure I mean driving it without repair would just stuff the block further so in its own right it’s not drivable right ?

 

[Skylarking]

Ring Consumer Affairs Victoria and discuss the issue with them since there are protections provided under Australia Consumer Law for anything sold down under, including old second hand cars as sold by car dealers...

However, the statutory used car warranty could possibly place some limits on the duration of the ACL statutory warranty period (even though the statutory used car warranty is not relevant in this case).

The fact you raised the ticking noise (defect) with the seller prior to purchase and they stated they would look at the issue, and rectify the problems you’ve highlighted before you pick it up, should work in your favour. The fact they fixed 3 of the 4 items you highlighted but stated the lifter noise was normal (presumable for this age vehicle) means you may be screwed, especially if they provided this in written form (since if it’s in written form and you drove away, it could be seen as an acceptance of the defect as seen by ACL).

In this case it’s all a little muddled so best to call CAV ASAP and get some real advice on how best to proceed. I’d think time is always a factor (with used car issues) and it’s always best to put your demands to the seller in written form as soon as you’ve got the rundown from CAV.

On another tack, since it’s a second hand car that has a problem, what’s a reasonable repair for a 14 yo clunker may be very different to what’s a reasonable for a 5 yo used car. And what’s a reasonable repair for a tribunal judge may also be different to what’s the best mechanical repair to a car guy, so a full rebuild may not be on the cards. You may only end up with an ok repair for a 14 yo car.

Best to talk to CAV (despite them occasionally being titts on a bull)...

 

[TheGrimReaper]

Has a quick look at my contract and found this. Surly a $3500 rebuild of engine is classed as a major failure.

Ring Consumer Affairs Victoria and discuss the issue with them since there are protections provided under Australia Consumer Law for anything sold down under, including old second hand cars as sold by car dealers...

However, the statutory used car warranty could possibly place some limits on the duration of the ACL statutory warranty period (even though the statutory used car warranty is not relevant in this case).

The fact you raised the ticking noise (defect) with the seller prior to purchase and they stated they would look at the issue, and rectify the problems you’ve highlighted before you pick it up, should work in your favour. The fact they fixed 3 of the 4 items you highlighted but stated the lifter noise was normal (presumable for this age vehicle) means you may be screwed, especially if they provided this in written form (since if it’s in written form and you drove away, it could be seen as an acceptance of the defect as seen by ACL).

In this case it’s all a little muddled so best to call CAV ASAP and get some real advice on how best to proceed. I’d think time is always a factor (with used car issues) and it’s always best to put your demands to the seller in written form as soon as you’ve got the rundown from CAV.

On another tack, since it’s a second hand car that has a problem, what’s a reasonable repair for a 14 yo clunker may be very different to what’s a reasonable for a 5 yo used car. And what’s a reasonable repair for a tribunal judge may also be different to what’s the best mechanical repair to a car guy, so a full rebuild may not be on the cards. You may only end up with an ok repair for a 14 yo car.

Best to talk to CAV (despite them occasionally being titts on a bull)...

Thank you for the info very much appreciated and like you said it’s all very confuising. As for cost and age of car I understand that a rebuild may seem a bit steap and to be honest I’m not after anything more then just a working car I paid for ($15,000) you would expect them to at least Try to prolong the life of the car not just a dodgy second hand part replacement that will cause more problems down the track. But I guess I’ll see what they say.