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We recently bought a second hand vehicle from a car dealer. He had accepted it as a 'trade-in' from another customer for a vehicle from his yard. We did a pre-purchase check (mechanical/electrical) and checked that no money was owing on the vehicle. We purchased it. Subsequently we've discovered yet another informative website called www.carjam.co.nz - through this site we discovered that the cars odometer was wound back 8 yeard ago by 85,000km. Would a dealer have checked all these things out when he accepted the vehicle for trade in? Was he under an obligation to disclose the unreliable odometer reading to us? Could he sell it advertising the 'lower than it should be' odometer reading? Obviously that was a feature which attracted us to the car. I realise it's a 'buyers beware' sort of market place, my question centres on whether there's a difference between a seller who is a dealer, and one who is a regular private citizen... does the dealer/seller have greater duty of care? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

When you purchase a vehicle from a Registered Motor Vehicle Trader it must display a Consumer Information Notice (CIN). This provides details about the Trader and the vehicle.

On the front of the notice the trader must state one of the following:

• the odometer reading or
• “I [name of trader] cannot accurately determine the actual distance
this motor vehicle has travelled because the odometer reading may be
inaccurate” or
• “This motor vehicle’s odometer reading is inaccurate”.

Stating an incorrect odometer reading is a breach of the Fair Trading
Act 1986.

You need to look at the CIN card for your vehicle and see which statement has been made.

Depending on the statement made by the trader may help determine your possible options.

The notes on the back of the CIN also state the following

Actual distance vehicle has travelled

You should not place too much importance on the odometer reading
when buying a used motor vehicle. There is a risk with any used motor
vehicle that the odometer has been wound back. A vehicle’s mechanical
condition is a better indicator of its quality. You may wish to have a
vehicle checked by a person with mechanical knowledge before you
buy.

You may also want to give the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal a call and ask for their opinion.

Their number is 0800 367 6838

So it's irrelevant whether this seller did or did not do the winding back? If he makes the statement it is assumed he has done his research?

Thanks very much for your response.

Out of curiosity I did a carjam report on my vehicle and it told me the odometer reading was dodgy. I might have believed it but it supposed happened during the period I owned it. I presume there was a mistake made by the garage doing a WOF and incorrectly entering the odometer reading. Carjam reports are great but are not the absolute gospel.