Running afoul of the law
For a long time (ever since I was a k id) I’ve been into cars. While I was a struggling student at universit y, I reckon I spent every break flicking through magazines, dreaming about what I might be able to get one day (a lt hough t hat Mclaren F1 continues to evade me).
As time went on, though, I was fortunate enough to be able to buy one or two of the ‘dream cars’ from my youth. I picked up a tough looking Falcon ute and a custom trimmed, 202-engined HT Kingswood station wagon. Being blessed with some big sheds at my house I always took the point of view that one more wouldn’t hurt. And it’s fair to say I got addicted to t he thrill of finding hidden gems. There were occasions where I would simply dial the number in the ad, offer cash and nail down a deal before anyone else had the chance to have a look.
Soon I had more than 10 cars in t he shed. Then I started listing them online and before you k new it I had made both a bit of shed space and a tidy profit. I was having a great time.
Then, out of t he blue, I got a letter from Consumer and Business Services, saying having bought and sold in excess of four cars within a 12-month period, I had `breached s7(1) of
the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act’. I was shocked – I could be hit up with a significant fine. I never thought of myself as a gun wheeler dealer and always felt like I had simply got luck y if I made money on a sale.
Turns out, IT DOESN’T MATTER. I could have lost money on ever y car I sold and the very specific regulations prohibiting individuals from buying/ selling more than four cars in a 12 month period without holding a SecondHand Dealers Licence still would have applied. As I found out, it doesn’t matter if you paid cash, swapped or did any other sorts of deals either.
There’s nothing wrong with‘ collecting’ and then lightening t he load if it’s getting too unwieldy. But, as I found out, t he laws that govern this are very specific.
I found Consumer and Business Services to be understanding (I think there’s a few classic car nuts in there too) and was fortunate enough that I was able to resolve my breach ofs 7(1) via an ‘Enforceable Undertaking’ as opposed to a big fine. Either way t hough, it wasn’t worth the sleepless nights for something that I should have been aware of in the f irst place. Duncan Gordon, Email