The ol' Consumers Guarantees Act and Second hand goods (car)

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Aaroona

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#113507 18-Jan-2013 22:35

Hi All,

so I purchased a vehicle about 4 months back. The car was sold to me as "Good condition" with no mechanical issues. The only noted things were 2 thinning tires on the front (was recommended a wheel alignment) and to replace tires soon.

The issue I've come into now is that the car started playing up a week or so ago. I took it in to get diagnosed, and it appears that >3< fuel injectors and a NOx sensor now need to be replaced.

The question is, do I have any recourse with the dealer I purchased it through (may I add, they are a registered dealer)? Is this something that the CGA act will cover?

The vehicle is a late model vehicle (2008) with a very small amount of mileage. (around 49k km)

Any help is appreciated.

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#747184 18-Jan-2013 22:42

Yeah, you do.

That is the reason that cars are so expensive at dealers and they auction all the tradeins off at turners or similar.

Richard rich.ms

Aaroona

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#747194 18-Jan-2013 23:07

Thanks richms. So where would be the best place for me to start?

While I'm not expecting a welcoming reception at the yard I purchased it from, I thought I would give them a call and see how willing they would be to front up the cost of repair, failing that mentioning the CGA.
The reason I'm not expecting a friendly welcome, is that the paperwork says "30 day warranty", but as we all know, you can't contract out of the CGA.

What sections in particular do you think would be most relevant?

richms

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#747196 18-Jan-2013 23:15

I will have to ask a friend who has been thru all sorts of hassles with a car and ended up with them paying for some repairs what he did.

But you can get free advice from the citizens advice people. Thats what he did to get the ball rolling

Richard rich.ms

johnr

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#747204 18-Jan-2013 23:52

Second hand car good luck with CGA I don't think it will work

lxsw20

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#747205 18-Jan-2013 23:55

^ CGA applies for used cars, although it appears they can contract out of the CGA.

Your first port of call is with the dealership.

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-business/by-business-type/motor-vehicle-traders-1/consumer-guarantees-act-for-motor-vehicle-traders

johnr

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#747206 18-Jan-2013 23:57

lxsw20: ^ CGA applies for used cars.

3 Months after warranty runs out, I think they might not agree

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lxsw20

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#747207 18-Jan-2013 23:59

I bet they won't, just like i bet Harvey Norman probably won't if you take back a faulty 2 year old tv, that does not make them right.

Cbfd

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#747242 19-Jan-2013 08:09

Consumers guarantees act for this sort of thing is a hard one due to the fact the company eill no doubt come back and say that its the car owners fault for running the fuel low in the car - picking up junk outta the tank thus blocking and causing the injecters to be replaced (quiet easy to prove to) even if it hasnt been done .

Have ya tried running some injector cleaner through the fuel tank and see if this fixes the problem

gzt

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#747247 19-Jan-2013 08:32

For that to actually happen in practice my guess - the fuel level has to be spectacularly low && the fuel filter has to be complete crap && there has to be significant crap in the tank to begin with.

What makes it easy to prove rubbish in fuel caused this kind of injector problem?

Aaroona

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#747376 19-Jan-2013 15:09

lxsw20: ^ CGA applies for used cars, although it appears they can contract out of the CGA.

Your first port of call is with the dealership.

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-business/by-business-type/motor-vehicle-traders-1/consumer-guarantees-act-for-motor-vehicle-traders

From what I've read they can only contract out if I am a business/using the vehicle for business.

This is a personal vehicle.

This wouldnt really be an issue if it was just one injector for example and I'd likely not even be looking at this route; but 3/4 seems a bit much to ignore.

Also, on my contract I signed, they say down the bottom "If the vehicle is being acquired for business purposes and the provisions of the action will not apply accordingly" , which implies for my personal purchase, it does, surely?

EDIT: by the way, no I havent tried to use any cleaners or anything. I literally took it in on Thursday, and picked up the same day. I'm trying to consider my options and wonder if chasing the dealer is the first thing I should do (unfortunately they're closed today, but reopen again tomorrow) then going through the motions. If I don't get anywhere with the dealer and/or CGA, then I spose a cleaner can't hurt..
Failing that I'm only going to have to replace them anyway.

TheUngeek

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#747385 19-Jan-2013 15:35

Dealers cannot for any reason contract out of the cga. Even via trademe auctions. Lots get caught out by that. Dealers sells via auction, all cga still applies.

First thing you have to do is contact the dealer. You mist give then a chance to repair first. Failing that call the MTA for advice. You will find depending on the age and milage the dealer will help out.
Rear the MTA mag, lots of examples of dealers sorting out cars many months after purchase as they have failures not considered reasonable for the age.

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SATTV

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#747386 19-Jan-2013 15:36

First things first.
Did you have the car checked by a suitably qualified person i.e AA before purchase?
Secondly, speak nicely to the car dealer and try and come to a soloution. If you go in guns blazing ranting about the CGA it will just put their back up and you will get no where.
You will find the car dealer knows the CGA way better than you. It is also a long an involed process that can be tied up for months.
Sensors die - it is not a major fault.
Injectors get clogged - not a major fault.

The car dealer might have a freindly mechanic that can fix these for a lot less and may opt to do so.
John

I know enough to be dangerous

Aaroona

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#747412 19-Jan-2013 16:41

SATTV: First things first.
Did you have the car checked by a suitably qualified person i.e AA before purchase?
Secondly, speak nicely to the car dealer and try and come to a soloution. If you go in guns blazing ranting about the CGA it will just put their back up and you will get no where.
You will find the car dealer knows the CGA way better than you. It is also a long an involed process that can be tied up for months.
Sensors die - it is not a major fault.
Injectors get clogged - not a major fault.

The car dealer might have a freindly mechanic that can fix these for a lot less and may opt to do so.
John

No, I did not have AA inspect the car. But after the car started running in limp mode, I took it in.
After speaking with the guys at the workshop, the car had the issue from when I picked it up, but he said it was in the very early stages and wouldn't have been picked up, at least in his opinion, as it wasn't technically faulting on the computer at that point. i.e the fault was in early stages and only showing intermittently. He said it would have been unlikely if AA had looked at it they would have found that issue.

The car yard also said the car was free from mechanical issues, however like stated previously, the sensation I described to the mechanic/tech, he said that was early signs of it, which I felt when I first bought the car, but being not very mechanically minded, I assumed it was something normal with these cars, especially since it was not something I could reproduce on a consistent basis.

Also, to answer the question previously in the thread... I have only ever used 98 fuel from BP in this vehicle.

gzt

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#747417 19-Jan-2013 16:58

Current status? You had the issue resolved? or just a diagnosis and maybe a quote?

Aaroona

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#747420 19-Jan-2013 16:59

gzt: Current status? You had the issue resolved? or just a diagnosis and maybe a quote?

Current status, to fix through official channels. quote includes parts, labour and reprogramming; $3250.
Or if I buy the parts myself, around 1.2k if I get pinged for customs, plus 700-800 for labour.

Sorry and to be clear, issue still present. Quote only and diagnosis, on paper.

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