Decisions from the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal – December 2023
2 recent decisions made by the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal relate to traders selling faulty vehicles and not complying with section 6 of the Consumer Guarantee Act. In both cases, the tribunal ruled in the customer's favour and the trader was ordered to pay.
Cheng v 2 Cheap Cars Ltd
Cheng wanted to reject the Subaru Impreza she bought from 2 Cheap Cars Ltd. Cheng claimed that the vehicle had a transmission fault since she purchased it, and despite giving them a reasonable opportunity to fix it, they failed to do so. Cheng sought a refund of the purchase price and compensation for other costs incurred. 2 Cheap Cars admitted that the vehicle was faulty and agreed to refund the purchase price and the cost of diagnosing the faults. The tribunal ruled in favour of Cheng, allowing her to reject the vehicle and ordering 2 Cheap cars to pay her $12,785.50.
Read the full decision – New Zealand Legal Information Institute(external link)
Koong v Korpac Trading Company Limited TA Pacific Cars
Mr Koong wanted to reject a vehicle he bought from Pacific Cars due to a noise issue with the vehicle’s suspension and engine. Despite Pacific Cars claiming the noise was negligible, Mr Koong had a report from Autostation confirming the significant sound and the need for parts to be replaced. The tribunal ruled in favour of Mr Koong, ruling that the vehicle did not meet the guarantee of acceptable quality and ordered Pacific Cars to pay him $17,000.
Read the full decision – New Zealand Legal Information Institute(external link)