Bought a 2001 mitsubishi from a car dealer 4 months ago for $6000. I didn't ask about the cambelt and the dealer didn't mention anything about it. The belt has now snapped, causing $2000 worth of damage. The dealer says he is not responsible. Under the consumer guarantees act, I thought cars need to have a certain durability and a major failure in a reasonable period of time is covered. It has done 140,000 k's. Is is worth going to the disputes tribunal! What do you think!
biggles45,
Apr 5, 9:19pm
Cam belt is normally changed at 100,000Kms. Your responsibility to ask/check if it was done, did you get an independent or AA check! Wouldn't think you would stand much chance of winning at tribunal.
mugenb20b,
Apr 5, 9:22pm
Well, after 4 months anything could happen, but the fault developed due to a *maintenance item* failing. And it was your responsibility to keep the car maintained.
trdbzr,
Apr 5, 9:22pm
I don't think it would/should be covered. Cambelt is a maintenance item, and if you fail to change it, then its your fault, not the dealers. The only time it should be the dealers fault is when the dealer stated that the cambelt was changed by them. If something like the gearbox or engine developed problems on its own, not caused by lack of maintenance, then the dealer should have it fixed.
rallec,
Apr 5, 9:22pm
Even if he didn't mention the cambelt specifically, did he say that it had been regularly serviced or anything along those lines!Not necessarily water tight, but if he had said the servicing and maintenance was all done/up to date then you might have a case (as the belt should have been changed at either 100000km or 5/10 years (so in either case it should've been done)
mopeds,
Apr 5, 9:27pm
A good dealer wouldn't have sold a car in that condition, they would have bought the car up to standard including replacing the cam belt.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 5, 9:27pm
Aside from whether the dealer is responsible thats really crappy "duty of care". People pay a premium to buy from a dealer mostly because they are not mechanically minded themselves. The dealer at the very least should be pointing out that the timing belt is or may be overdue. Sounds like yet another dealer focused on short term profits only.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 5, 9:27pm
Snap!
unclejake,
Apr 5, 9:36pm
How much profit do you reckon is in a 10 year old Mitsi with 120,000 plus kms on it!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 5, 10:17pm
That is absolutely no excuse for not pointing out that the timing belt is due. This is precisely the attitude I am talking about.
rpvr,
Apr 5, 10:29pm
And it was the dealer's responsibility to sell the car in a condition that made it fit for the purpose. In my view the purchaser may not have a watertight case, but has a good chance of a gain from the tribunal. Even a 50/50 contribution would be worth having.
elect70,
Apr 5, 10:34pm
How the hell woulddealer know if cam belts been replaced.If you didnt know then should have had it replaced yourselfits a maintenance problemChrist the dealer cant be liable for owners lack ofmaintenance, perhaps should have bought a warrantywith it .
intrade,
Apr 5, 10:42pm
i just got me a new car first thing i have to do now is whip the cover off and inspect the belt suposedly it was done not long ago but you cant trust no one , i would say it was done however as gilltrap have serviced the car i think but who knows it pays to not trust anyone. My van renault has suposedly hadthe belt done and when it starting making gray smoke i inspected the belt and it was so streched that the timing was out of the injector pump and belt was about to fail any minute so done it all my self better to be save then sorry is the way to go.
intrade,
Apr 5, 10:43pm
Ps dont buy a mitsubishi as that is the worst crap car maker .
intrade,
Apr 5, 10:45pm
Dealers usually say anything to make a sale, if you paid top doller and you have proof you where told the cambelt was done then you will win in disputes tribunal . (supressed-name) cars is one of them who sell cars and then belt snaping client took em to court after they butchered the repair job. edited post to not violate tradme rules i think
intrade,
Apr 5, 10:50pm
basically what it comes down to is how you got this car sold if they made loads of proffit off it and you got proof you where told the car was fully serviced then you got good chances they do need the chance to repair it however first if they claim its not there problem then get it in writing from them . If you paid peanuts for the car and where lied to then its tuff luck as court will see that dealer made no mutch profit so it would have been logical to pass on the servicing to the buyer if you can see what i mean.
yogibearz,
Apr 5, 11:24pm
the court wouldnt give a toss how much profit or loss the dealer made from the sale. My experience of tribuniral and small claims cases they tend to rule against the dealers more often than not,and iwas in court several times a year. If its a Mitsubishi and it was serviced by a Mitzy dealer then the service records are available to all Mitsy dealers by logging in to Vols. Most sensible repairers also note on the cambelt cover when it was done.a responsible dealer may cover part of the costs as a goodwill gesture but they are not responsible for it.
carmedic,
Apr 5, 11:52pm
For once I 100% agree with Jaz. If you can't make an honest living out of something its not justification to defraud or mislead people. I can't stand this 'what do you expect it was cheap' attitude that's all to prevalent in the NZ retail sector these days.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 5, 11:55pm
That's the whole point. If there are no service records and the car has a cambelt and its past due for a change. Then the dealer should point this out. That's called "Duty of care".
gadgit3,
Apr 6, 12:02am
Seen a case just like this in Feb's Radiator Mag. Customer buys a car and cambelt breaks after a few months. Has a go at the dealer and gets a "we are happy to pay half the repair bill" which was $800 no damage to engine. Customer comes back with nah you pay the whole thing or we're off to stand in front of the judge. The dealer chose to stand infront of the judge and won. customer had to come up with the whole $800. Should have taken the half but who was to know aye.
Someone should have check the car before it went onto the yard and if not clearly marked the question should have been asked. My suggestion would be if you can be stuffed with the hassle and cost have a go in front of the judge, you just never know ya luck.
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 12:02am
Yes, but the dealer may not know what kind of engine is under the bonnet. The dealer may have thought it had a chain drive engine, who knows!
hydroman08,
Apr 6, 12:03am
Thats a cop out.They should have an idea about what they are selling
hydroman08,
Apr 6, 12:03am
Something that hasnt been asked (either that or im blind) but how many kms has the OP covered in these last four months!If its 5000, then sure the dealer should take some of the responsibility.But what if they've done 50,000.Different story.
tgray,
Apr 6, 12:08am
I think if the dealer said the belt had been done, it would be their responsibility, but I don't think legally a dealer would be required to discuss cambelts on each and every car they sell and then be financially responsible to fix them if they happen to break. Kaz are you out there!
mugenb20b,
Apr 6, 12:10am
Yes, but, I recently bought car from a dealer, and he had no idea what kind of engine was under the bonnet, or how many cylinders it had. However, he knew exactly how the seats folded away.
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