[CU2] Advice sought for trouble with dealer

[nickxau]

UPDATE: I was told by the DP this arvo that a refund will NOT be given and to take the matter to the DoFT.

Question is: I was recommended by the DoFT to lodge a complaint with the
Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal. Does anyone know the difference between the DoFT and the CTTT? They seem to do the same thing.

[buddah51au]

I hate to say it and I know many people don't realise the importance of the pre delivery inspection a buyer must sign stating he is happy with the car, but once you sign it I don't believe there is much you can do.

Personally, i spend at least an hour going over every panel, both in the sun & the shade, go over everything with a fine tooth comb so to say. Inspect all interior trims for marks, absolutely every item you can visibly see.

A lot of people to their detriment are over excited about picking up their new car and just give it a quick look over, sign the inspection report, then there is no way out....you own the car.

I am sorry to say i think your stuck with it, but hopefully you have learnt a good lesson for the future, & others on this forum also learn.

To the experienced eye it is always possible to pick a respray, & even easier to pick a partial respray.

[nickxau]

I see... but clearly in this case the damage had already been done prior to me picking up the car and in fact, it's been there for a while to have caused such damage. Furthermore, I had pointed out specifically that I wasn't happy with a particular spot at the time of pickup and yes I shouldn't have driven the car away that day but they didn't provide me with an acceptable solution at the time.

To add to that, someone from the dealership had ticked that they had inspected the car's paintwork (along with other checks) and had approved of its condition (which clearly was not acceptable) and the salesperson had also ticked their part of the QDS form indicating that they had checked the condition of both the interior and exterior. Had they seen those markings (which IMO is pretty hard to miss if they were actually checking) but still went ahead and ticked the item then that to me is deception.

[buddah51au]

I don't want to rave on about the subject & I feel for you, but a salesmans job is to get cars out the door, basically at all costs. I would never trust a salesman under any circumstances.

I spent many years working in Dealerships & know how they operate. Part of the process of signing for a new car is you need to sign a pre delivery inspection stating that your happy with the car which is why you need to spend considerable time INSPECTING EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, once you sign it & drive the car away you own it, regardless of any verbal, undocumented statements.

I learnt this lesson the hard way myself many years ago with a paint problem that was never repaired to my satisfaction.

[euromax]

Take it up with the CTTT if that's what the DoFT advise you. Even if after signing the Delivery form and there are geniune faults, the dealer must make good the repair and replacement. Case of a guy who found scratches on his car and the dealer rectify it on the 1000kms service. I had a damaged front right speaker and was replaced at the 1000kms service.

My advice is to get legal advice - any advice you get here is just someone's opinion ie their 2 cents worth. It's just going to confuse you. Good luck mate and hope you get a satisfying outcome.

[denot]

good advice ppl... i will pickup mine tomorrow and I will make sure not to put heart over my head... but hopefully the car is ok...

[tim-e]

Make an appointment to see the dealer principal.State to him clearly what you want(a new car is not an option)and tell him how you've been messed around,hear what he has to say,agree on a time frame for the problems to be rectified and state that if the car is not repaired in the agreed time to your satisfaction that you'll take the matter further.Be polite but firm.I'd be surprised if you don't get the matter sorted out after this.

I'd take a solicitor with me too.

[tony1234]

I see... but clearly in this case the damage had already been done prior to me picking up the car and in fact, it's been there for a while to have caused such damage. Furthermore, I had pointed out specifically that I wasn't happy with a particular spot at the time of pickup and yes I shouldn't have driven the car away that day but they didn't provide me with an acceptable solution at the time.

To add to that, someone from the dealership had ticked that they had inspected the car's paintwork (along with other checks) and had approved of its condition (which clearly was not acceptable) and the salesperson had also ticked their part of the QDS form indicating that they had checked the condition of both the interior and exterior. Had they seen those markings (which IMO is pretty hard to miss if they were actually checking) but still went ahead and ticked the item then that to me is deception.

Ask the DP how he'd feel if he was in your situation.Would he like to have taken delivery of a car that had paint damage that you describe.Ask him wouldnt' he feel ripped off and cheated?Morally they have an obligation to replace the car.Legally it's another story.Ask him a few times.

[albii]

Ok here goes, i purchased a Mazda Bravo V6 ute brand new in 06 and found there to be quite a few paint faults. I showed this to the dealer principal and he in turn called Mazda Aust and someone flew to Brisbane to investigate the matter.
After a bit of conversation tennis ,i told them i had come to the conclusion that if i don't get what i had paid for (being a new car and not a resprayed one) and that i regarded Mazda as a very reputable brand , that i would take it further and seek a solicitor to act on my behalf .
After owning the car for 4000km it was subsequently replaced with another of same spec with 0km onthe clock.
Having said that, Mazda went on to say that this was only the second time they had replaced a vehicle in Australia.

[nickxau]

@buddah51au - unfortunately your words aren't very encouraging but I accept your words of experience and I thank you for them. At least it makes me feel better now that I know I'm not the only one that got ripped off in such a way. Having said that however, the battle's not over yet!!!

@euromax - I did get legal advice from a solicitor... he told me to go to the CTTT as well so I think that's the best approach. For those that are also wondering, difference b/w DoFT (from here on referred to as the Office of Fair Trading or OoFT - coz that's what they're called) and CTTT is that the CTTT used to be a division of the OoFT but now they've branched out and they deal in matters under the following categories: Tenancy, Social Housing, Home Building, Strata & Community Schemes, Retirement Villages, Residential Parks, Motor Vehicles, General and Commercial - if that makes sense.
Sorry to hear about your speaker problem but at least it got fixed and it was an easy fix, not like mine. I hope NO ONE has to go through what I'm going through now.

@denot - my word of advice, inspect your car like it's a crime scene when you pickup your car. No offence but if you haven't got a good eye, take someone who has with you. Don't try to be smart (like me) and try to surprise everyone with your new car and go for the pickup alone. If you absolutely can't take someone with you, get the salesperson to piss off after he's shown you how your car's buttons works (DUH~!) and inspect each and every panel (as buddah51au suggested) with great care. I'm usually a VERY pedantic kind of person but even I was a fool and was overwhelmed by the joy of owning a new car for the first time that I overlooked the car inspection. Now look what's come back to haunt me....

Just having a bit of a whinge here but now I've got no car to drive my gf with this Valentine's Day (we live ~45mins apart), no car to pickup my family with this month when they come here from overseas and to add insult to injury, they took my courtesy car back!?!?!? NOT happy~!!!

[nickxau]

@tim-e - good advice there but unfortunately solicitors aren't on-call for me when I need them (w/o paying a premium at least) coz I'm using up all my lunchtime every single time I go to the dealership.

@tony1234 - although I didn't repeat my question over and over again to him, I DID in fact ask the DP if HE would accept a car, that he's paid nearly $40k for and saved up tireless for, and expect it to be a brand NEW car, only to find out that it's got paint defects and needs the WHOLE roof to be stripped of paint and re-sprayed and he very confidently replied yes and went on further to say that it's "not uncommon for new cars to need to be re-sprayed due to transport and storage"??? Either morally he's feeling bad afterwards (I HOPE!) or he doesn't have a heart...

@albii - you must be one lucky bugger~! Although I've sent HA a copy of my letter of demand, they are yet to take any action or contact me in regards to this matter. Sometimes it really makes me think whether I should've got a Mazda6 instead in the first place... is the Euro really what it's hyped up to be??? Pinging, creaking in the boot, faulty speaker, seatbelt noise, parcel shelf noise, centre dash noise... someone remind me why it won Wheels COTY again?

[tony1234]

@tim-e - good advice there but unfortunately solicitors aren't on-call for me when I need them (w/o paying a premium at least) coz I'm using up all my lunchtime every single time I go to the dealership.

@tony1234 - although I didn't repeat my question over and over again to him, I DID in fact ask the DP if HE would accept a car, that he's paid nearly $40k for and saved up tireless for, and expect it to be a brand NEW car, only to find out that it's got paint defects and needs the WHOLE roof to be stripped of paint and re-sprayed and he very confidently replied yes and went on further to say that it's "not uncommon for new cars to need to be re-sprayed due to transport and storage"??? Either morally he's feeling bad afterwards (I HOPE!) or he doesn't have a heart...

@albii - you must be one lucky bugger~! Although I've sent HA a copy of my letter of demand, they are yet to take any action or contact me in regards to this matter. Sometimes it really makes me think whether I should've got a Mazda6 instead in the first place... is the Euro really what it's hyped up to be??? Pinging, creaking in the boot, faulty speaker, seatbelt noise, parcel shelf noise, centre dash noise... someone remind me why it won Wheels COTY again?

They took your courtesy car back.WTF!I wouldnt have given it back.i'd have told them they get it back when my NEW(joke)car is fixed to my satisfaction.