‘Buyer beware’ in the used-car market
Q. I purchased a second-hand vehicle from a person living in the same small town as me. My partner and I were looking over the vehicle, and the owner said there were no issues. I picked up the vehicle and, two days later, the gears locked up and you could not get it out of ‘‘park’’. I had only driven it 30km. The mechanic told me it failed its warrant of fitness as it needed a new shock absorber and two new tyres. I contacted the seller, who said it was my problem and he sold it as is where is. The vehicle was not advertised ‘‘as is where is’’ and there was nothing in the advertisement to indicate this. The repairs were quoted at $980. I purchased the vehicle for $1600. What are my options? A. AA motoring adviser Cade Wilson says the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) doesn’t apply to private sales and it is considered ‘‘buyer beware’’, as there is very little opportunity to seek compensation when things don’t go to plan.
‘‘This situation highlights why it’s very important to have the vehicle inspected pre-purchase and not solely rely on the fact it still has a warrant of fitness. If you were persuaded to buy a car based on misleading statements from a private seller, you may be able to get a refund or compensation under the
Contract and Commercial Law Act (CCLA) previously called Sale of Goods Act. If no agreement is reached, mediation will have to take place through the Disputes Tribunal who will determine if you have cause for compensation – where you will need to supply proof that misleading statements were made which caused you to purchase the vehicle.’’
He said buyers could insist on a warrant of fitness being less than a month old when they bought a car.
‘‘This helps protect them if faults have developed in the vehicle since the last WoF check. If the buyer doesn’t insist on this, they should give the seller written confirmation that they accept that the WoF is more than one month old. This protects the seller – it confirms that the buyer is aware that the current WoF is older than one month. Vehicles without a current WoF must be advertised for sale ‘as is, where is’. If the buyer is happy with that, they should give the seller a written undertaking that the vehicle won’t be used on the road except for taking it for repair or a new warrant of fitness inspection.’’
He said your situation highlighted why it was important to have a written contact for any sale.
This could include a ‘‘sold as is where is’’ statement, the negotiated price, an acknowledgement of the expiry date of the warrant and the buyer’s acceptance of the vehicle condition on the day of purchase.
‘‘In hindsight, when taking into account the WoF expiry date, a few days after vehicle purchase, in combination with a low purchase price, alarm bells should have been triggered as to the likelihood of passing its next warrant inspection in a few days and this factored into the vehicle purchase.’’
Q. About early November 2018, I purchased an Adobe software package on Trade Me. The package was AdobeCS6 suite – a graphic design package – via download. Once I won the auction, the person/company selling it then told me it was not available but instead they would offer me a better package, the Adobe Master Suite and sent me a serial number to use once I had downloaded the software from the official Adobe site. I did this but the serial number would not work. I could not get the software to accept the number and let me use the programs. I emailed the seller and was informed they would contact Adobe and get a new serial code and let me know. I have repeatedly chased the seller up but have had no further correspondence so am currently $800 out of pocket and still unable to use the software. Any advice as to how I proceed from here?
A. A Trade Me spokeswoman said she could not comment on your case because of privacy issues but the site’s disputes team should be able to help.
‘‘If the buyer has paid for the item using Ping, Pay Now or Afterpay they will be covered by our buyer protection policy, which means we can help get their money back. If the buyer is unable to resolve the situation by communicating with the seller, the buyer can file a dispute report and our disputes team will take a look. If we cannot help, we will help the buyer file a claim with the Disputes Tribunal.’’
Do you have a personal finance or consumer question you need help with? Email susan.edmunds@stuff.co.nz
Vehicles without a current WoF must be advertised for sale ‘as is, where is’.