What you need to know about Statutory Warranties
Statutory Warranty
Buying a second hand vehicle can be tiring and stressful as well as exciting all at the same time. There are many decisions that need to be made from what car to buy and what colour through to how to finance the vehicle. One of the last steps in the process of buying a vehicle from a second hand car yard is the warranty. By this stage most people are just over the high stack of paperwork that they neglect to read the fine print on the warranty details.
The Statutory Warranty laws have changed on 1st December 2014. The Class B Statutory Warranty has ben removed to enable the Consumer Guarantees and Statutory Warranties to not be doubling up.
What you need to know about Statutory Warranties.
Dealers/auctioneers must have signage clearly stating this when advertising the vehicle, putting a notice on the windscreen or price tag or placing signs at the main entrance to the dealership if the vehicle does not come with a Statutory Warranty.
When are you covered?
- The vehicle is brought from a licensed motor dealer
- The vehicle is brought from a chattel auctioneer
- Odometer is less than 160,000kms AND the date of manufacture is less than 10 years before the sale date.
When are you not covered?
- Warranty period has expired
- Motorbikes/scooters/mopeds
- Caravans
- Commercial Vehicles
- Private seller consignment vehicles
- Vehicles that cannot be registered because of their design
- Written off vehicles
What does the warranty cover?
- Defects on the vehicle that are not doing what they are supposed to be doing
- The part is worn out so much that it no longer works
What is not covered under Statutory Warranty?
- Tyres and tubes, batteries, fitted airbags and radiator hoses
- Lights (excluding warning light or a turn indicator light used as a hazard light)
- Radio/CD player or tape recorder
- Aerial, spark plugs, wiper rubber, distributor point, oil or oil filter, heater hose, fuel or air filter
- Paintwork or upholstery
You will not be covered for any accidental damage due to your own misuse or negligence. Anything that is fitted to the vehicle or modified on the vehicle after the sale is made is also not covered.
How to Make a Claim
The notification to the dealer must be in writing.
The warrantor will then decide if the defect is covered by your statutory warranty and within 5 days they need to let you know how to get your vehicle fixed.
If you do not hear back from the warrantor in 5 days then they automatically accept the warranty covers the defects and they will be responsible to having your vehicle repaired.
Best thing is to email through the written notice, as then you will have a permanent record of when the email was sent and ask for a read receipt to ensure that it has been received.
What you need to know when getting the repairs done
You will need to deliver the vehicle to either the warrantor or an authorised repairer of their choice.
They will have 14 days to fix your vehicle. You don’t have to worry about them holding onto the vehicle to run out your warranty time as you get an extra day added to your warranty for each day the repairs are being done.
If you are located more than 200kms from the warrantors place of business they may choose to nominate the nearest qualified repairer or pay the delivery costs to use another repairer.
In the circumstance that the dealership changes ownership the original dealer is responsible for the repairs. The new owner is not liable for any of the repairs for the previous owners sales.
Thing to keep in mind
Even though the vehicle may have a valid Safety Certificate it does not mean that the vehicle is mechanically sound. The Safety Certificate is only a basic Safety Inspection to make sure that the vehicle meets the minimum safety standard set by the Queensland Transport and Main Roads Department.
It is always recommended that you have a qualified mechanic or an approved inspector check the vehicle and give you a full condition report widely known as a Pre Purchase Inspection so you know exactly what you are buying. You may not become aware of a problem until after the warranty period has expired and the mechanic may be able to pick this up for you that will save you a lot of time and money in the long run
