NATION Drivers angry at airbag buyback

FRUSTRATED motorists set to hand over their cars because they contain deadly Takata airbags have lashed out at the “disgraceful conduct” surrounding buyback programs.

Manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, Audi and BMW are buying back thousands of vehicles sold with the potentially fatal airbags that have been linked to two deaths in Australia and dozens more overseas.

Car makers face severe penalties if they do not rectify the Takata airbag problem in Australia by December 31.

While many reasonably new cars can be fixed, fresh airbag inflators for older cars built in the late 1990s to early 2000s are not available.

The ACCC has encouraged carmakers to buy cars from customers and turn them into scrap given the dangerous nature of airbags which can explode and propel shrapnel into the cabin.

About 78,000 cars sold between 1996 and 2000 have faulty Takata NADI 5-AT type airbag inflators, many of which are unlikely to be replaced.

Some manufacturers do not know exactly how many affected vehicles remain in driveways across the country, as many older models will have been recycled or crashed in the last 20 years.

Gold Coast resident Natalie Friswell took her Audi A4 Quattro to her local dealership for an airbag check only to be told the car must never be driven again. “They offered us $950 and said ‘you can accept it or don’t’,” she said.

“It was definitely not fair. Once they take your car you’re stuck with nothing.”

The mum-of-two and her husband scrambled to scrape enough cash together to buy a second-hand car, settling on a Nissan X-Trail SUV.

“We just needed to get something,” she said.

“We put money into the Audi to keep it going.

THEY OFFERED US $950. IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT FAIR. ONCE THEY TAKE YOUR CAR YOU’RE STUCK WITH NOTHING

MOTORIST NATALIE FRISWELL

“It would have lasted us for years and years.

“If we sold it privately we might have got $3000 for it.”

Customers have little recourse as all states and territories have flagged registration cancellations or suspensions for affected vehicles which remain on the road.

Honda owners vented frustrations on Facebook.

Rae Trees said the $3250 payout for her Honda CR-V was a “ridiculous price and we are on a pension so buying a car is something we didn’t plan for”. Wendy Belli hit out at “disgustingly low ball offers,” while Rudi Anslow said his car cost $3000 more than Honda planned to buy it back for.