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dandanlinda
By dandanlinda | AA Member | 2 Posts | 25 September 2018 at 1:17pm

Hi yesterday I purchased a Subaru Exiga GT from a well known 2nd car dealer and the car suddenly jerked several times on the uphill and down hill within normal speed. This really scared my kids in the car. Given this situation can I get full refund from the dealer? They offered to repair this, but I am very concerned. Even if they repaired it temporarily, what if this 10 year old car shows up other major problem several months later, and it is out of their warranty period?

Anon
By Cade | AA Expert | 3937 Posts | 25 September 2018 at 2:06pm

Hi there,
There are serious and non-serious faults and remedies associated with them. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, if a defect is one that can be remedied, a
consumer is obliged to give the supplier an opportunity to remedy. A consumer may only reject the goods if the supplier has refused or failed to remedy a defect that can be remedied, within a reasonable time or the failure is substantial in character. Information can be found here: https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/help-product-service/cars/solving-issues-car-dealer/

dandanlinda
By dandanlinda | AA Member | 2 Posts | 26 September 2018 at 4:37pm

Hi Cade,
Thank you for your response. The dealer replied back and said this is transmission problem and they are going to replace it. Coincidentally my work mate told me they had similar issue with their 2nd hand car dealer in the past and the dealer fixed the transmission problem within the 3 months warranty period but after 3 months, they problem appeared again, and the dealer refused to fix that problem because this is outside the warranty period. The transmission replacement is expensive. Can I possibly get refund from the car dealer given this is actually serious problem and they will need to replace the transmission and this remedy cost is substantial? And I am afraid after 3 months, the same problem would happen again and there will be no one responsible for this and I have suffer the huge loss and also this causes safety issue for the kids in the car. Thank you.

Anon
By Cade | AA Expert | 3937 Posts | 27 September 2018 at 8:18am

Hi there,
The CGA can extend beyond any warranty dealers can give, so if the transmission was faulty and repaired by the dealer- that repair still has to meet the same standards as the rest of the vehicle. If the exact same fault was to occur again, then under the CGA they would need to remedy. However sometimes it might mean a trip to the dispute tribunal if the dealer doesn't agree.