What you need to know about Statutory Warranties

By Lisa Cockerill

Statutory Warranty

Buying a second hand vehicle can be both tiring and stressful as well as exciting all at the same time.

You have so many decisions that need to be made from what car to buy and what colour through to how to finance the vehicle.

The second hand dealer walks you through the Sale Contract and the last page usually contains details of 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.

What you need to know about Statutory Warranties.

The Statutory Warranty laws changed on 1^st December 2014.

To avoid doubling up the Class B Statutory Warranty has been removed.

The dealer/auctioneers must have the following if the vehicle does NOT come with a statutory warranty.

Clear signage on the vehicle (Notice on the windscreen)
Stated on the price tag
Placing signage at the main entrance to the dealership

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.

It is highly recommend to email through the written notice. Therefore this will be a permanent record of when the email was sent. Furthermore you can ask for a read receipt to ensure that it has been received.

What you need to know

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.

Things 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

0/5 (0 Reviews)