Bought A Lemon - Help - Who Knows The Lemon Law?

[Bourbon Boy]

Hope someone can help me out here... I was just after a home to station and back car. Didnt care about looks just function. I checked it out as best as I can (not a mechanic), found it a bit under powered but didnt care (old car), no oil leaks, no bad idling, no shaking, starts first time every time (still does), all electricals were good, took a loooong test drive, engine oil didnt look to be milky, no smoke, no smell (AT THE TIME). Dealer gave me a 1 year warranty from external company... Bought it... what a sucker...

Literally with no exaggeration, that same night the car started blowing lots of white (not blue) smoke with a heavy smell of petrol.

Called the dealer, redirected me to the warranty place... fair enough, so I tried to do the right thing and go to the warranty place but they're already talking about an engine rebuild or replacement and the warranty only covers a fraction of the price of that.

Dealer and his mechanically A1 "promise" should take resposibility for false advertising but of course... he wont.

Anyone had any experience with Fair Trading and or enforcing the Lemon Law on a bad buy like this?

Any feed back and advice would be great. Thanks.

[Hadouken]

Im no expert but,

Im sorry to say but you are boned! What car is it?

[GTR-N1]

Is it 7 days since you bought it?

You said, "That same night...", so I'm thinking you are entitled to a refund by law.

We have a NSW list of Traffic Lawyers thread if you're in NSW, but then...

...you must act straight away

[Berk]

Any idea how long it has been sitting at the car yard? It could just be a case of terrible/contaminated fuel, especially if it has been sitting outside for a couple of months.

[oweban]

Hope someone can help me out here... I was just after a home to station and back car. Didnt care about looks just function. I checked it out as best as I can (not a mechanic), found it a bit under powered but didnt care (old car), no oil leaks, no bad idling, no shaking, starts first time every time (still does), all electricals were good, took a loooong test drive, engine oil didnt look to be milky, no smoke, no smell (AT THE TIME). Dealer gave me a 1 year warranty from external company... Bought it... what a sucker...

Literally with no exaggeration, that same night the car started blowing lots of white (not blue) smoke with a heavy smell of petrol.

ACCC. Dept. Fair Trading. Both of these places you should be looking into.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/854467

[Liz]

I think you actually have a 30 day warranty direct with the dealer, by law. I had a few things go wrong with a car I bought a few years ago and the dealer fixed it because it was within the 30 days.

[GTR-N1]

ACCC. Dept. Fair Trading. Both of these places you should be looking into.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/854467

I love these ACCC quotes...

Major Problems

Option #2 " Refund for an identical replacement"

Time Period

"there is no time limitation..."

> terry runs off to look for major fault in long-in-the -tooth MY06 forester haha

[oweban]

Still, the threat of the ACCC breathing down a small dealership's neck should be enough to get them moving on it all.

[Bourbon Boy]

Thanks for the feedback fellas... As for your questions, its a good ol Camery. Dont know how long its been sitting in the yard but like I said, I took it for a looong test drive and nothing noticable indicated bad fuel in the mix.

Speaking of fuel, I filled it up 12 litres to get it to the warranty place. To put it in perspective, Its blowing smoke filled with fuel so badly that it ran out of petrol when I got there. The trip to the warranty place according to google maps was 13km. As much as it hurts, I got to LOL that shit.

Thanks Terry, will check out the Traffic Lawyers today. Its been just over a week (11 days) and I've honestly driven the car 3 times. Dealer to home. Home to warranty place. Warranty place to home. I am trying to act as quickly as I can, but I had to wait almost a week before the warranty place could fit me in their schedule. Now that I know their intension (engine replacement\rebuild), I will get a second opinion in writing and then take that up with the dealer again in writing. If it still doesnt resolve it, Hello ACCC.

[Ruxis]

comprehensive insurance, drive that car as fast as you can toward that dealer and jump out at the last second.

hate dealers with a passion, even if there legit they treat you like shit with a smile on their face.

[NutR33]

Hi Mike,

Just for fun, have a really good check of the vac line between the inlet manifold and the map sensor mounted on the firewall.

We had one at work the other day, I think it was an sv21 camery mid 90s pos, hardly running pouring out smoke, the line had come off the sensor. Hopefully it might be something that easy for you.

Cheers

Luke

[1motoractive]

Mate, if I were you I wouldn't muck around. With it happening so soon after purchase tell the dealer they are responsible for fixing it ASAP or you want a full refund. Do it in writing. Make sure you record everything including exactly when the problem occurred, who you originally spoke to, and when. Also what their response at that time was.

If you don't get a positive response just go straight to Fair Trading. Recent changes to consumer law put you in a very strong position.

Cheers

Andy

[GTR-N1]

We have a NSW list of Traffic Lawyers thread if you're in NSW, but then...you must act straight away

Mate, if I were you I wouldn't muck around. With it happening so soon after purchase tell the dealer they are responsible for fixing it ASAP or you want a full refund. Do it in writing. Make sure you record everything including exactly when the problem occurred, who you originally spoke to, and when. Also what their response at that time was.

If you don't get a positive response just go straight to Fair Trading. Recent changes to consumer law put you in a very strong position.

Cheers

Andy

+1

Even the time, day & date of your first complaint and with whom should be journalised IMHO

...and every dialogue since.

Emails (&/or witness) can also carry more weight than a verbal.

[oweban]

if you record EVERYTHING in a book (hand written) or if it's emails, but make sure there's the day, date, time, how the contact was made or what happened, if contact then what tone was taken, etc etc. FULLY document everything, and it's admissible in court (if need be).

[asps91]

Take it to tribunal, $40 application fee from memory... As long as you are prepared with notes ect. You may be able to get something out of it.

[Bourbon Boy]

Just trying to get that second opinion... having a hard time finding a mechanic that will do me a written assesment report in case they have to go to court and have to take time off. Called NRMA, and they're good to do it but they only do an external examination (no dismantling) report for $299. Ouch.

Thanks Luke will check the Vac Line thinga-ma-jig tonight. lol I'll work it out. So hopefully you're right.

Hey ASPS91, where can I apply? Whats the process? Have you been in this situation before?

Edited May 23, 2012 by Bourbon Boy

[asps91]

Hey mate, you can apply at you local department of fair trading office. I'm a property manager so I take non paying tenants there for performance orders. You can also take other matters there, think of it as a small court without legal representation. It may sound daunting but the process is fairy easy going and private. You may even come to an agreement before it goes to a registrar. Basically you apply and they will send either party a notice to show up at a specific date and time at a local Cttt office. You will have a chance to go into a room with a mediator before the case is heard, if no agreement is come to you will stand before a registrar and tell them your case. Be polite and keep your head on, from experience registrars demand this kind of respect if you want it to go your way. Goodluck champ!

[Bourbon Boy]

Just an update guys.

Took the car to Newton Automotives (Blacktown, Sunnyholt Road). Really happy with their service and recommend them . They actually troubleshooted the problem instead of assuming like those idiots at the Warranty place (I'd name and shame them but dont know if I'll be breaking any forum rules if I do??).

There was nothing wrong with the engine. It was the computer playing up. Was leaving two of the injectors open causing a flood in the engine. Replaced the chip and presto. Working as new. Fan-freaken-tastic. Cost me less than $500 to fix instead of $1800 ++labour +gst +bad service for a new engine that wouldnt have fixed the problem anyways. Seriously, I wonder how some people are still in business with such bad service.

Anyways, all sorted. Thanks for all the help & advice though... much appreciated.

[NYTSKY]

Good news, lucky the motor didnt lock up with that much fuel in it.

Did Newton do a full service/engine flush on it?

[Bourbon Boy]

Yup Newton did a service. Said the oil was badly contaminated with fuel so did an oil & filter change.