New car dramas. (consumers act)

huffpuff01, Apr 21, 1:38am
Hi guys,
I bought a second hand car from a respectable car dealer, for 20k.
Shortly after getting it I popped around to my mechanic for him to have a quick look.
He found some damage on the floor pan.
I took it back to the car dealers for repair, but they did a real poor job fixing the damage. I can actually see the carpet through the floor pan.
I'm really unhappy now, and would like to reject the car.
Do you guys think i have reasonable case to request a full refund!
Thank you.

trdbzr, Apr 21, 2:14am
Best to take it back to the dealer and tell them of your concerns and get them to do a proper job on it. What car is it by the way!

And did you buy a $20k second hand car before getting it checked out!

tonyrockyhorror, Apr 21, 3:28am
They didn't do a repair at all.

You should first follow up on who issued the WoF and complain to the NZTA.

tigra, Apr 21, 7:53am
What caused the floor damage on a $20K car.

kcc55a, Apr 21, 7:55am
And if it isa fault of the WoF issuer the NZTA will require them to fix the damage under threat of losing their WoF Issuing licence

huffpuff01, Apr 21, 8:19am
HI Its an XR6 . Not sure what caused the floor damage. but it was a pretty good whack. maybe ran over a rock or something.
To be honest. i don't really want the car now. Im not happy spending this much money for a car. and having this sort of problem. If they had of fixed it the 1st time. that would have been it. But now they half a55 repaired it and tried to hide the poor repair with the black tar stuff.
I would really prefer to reject the car. and buy another XR6. without damage. This time i will get every square inch inspected.
My mechanic said he has a NZTA person coming over on Monday. So drop the car off on Monday, they will take a proper look.
But i really would like to reject this car now. How do i go about doing it!

tonyrockyhorror, Apr 21, 9:04am
You simply inform the car yard you're rejecting the vehicle on the grounds of failure of substantial character in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. Had you known such a fault existed you would never have purchased the vehicle and you are concerned as to the nature of the damage.

tonyrockyhorror, Apr 21, 9:07am

wasser61, Apr 21, 4:57pm
Nice try but that only relates to the failure of the guarantee, and as such the dealer does have the option of either try and repair the damage in a workmanship like manner or this clause can be invoked.
Only once the dealer has confirmed that they will do no more work on the vehicle then this clause may be used. But not until that point.

kazbanz, Apr 21, 9:02pm
Huffpuff I'd STRONGLY suggest you make contact with the MVDT regarding the specifics of this issue.
The problem I have is that without seeing the damage I honestly can't tell you if the damage is bad enough to successfully reject the car.

Because of this I can't in all concience offer you advice on how to proceed -BUT for now I wouldn't be pulling the "reject" card

kazbanz, Apr 21, 10:55pm
Sorry wasser but you are wrong. If the fault is of a substantial enough nature the MVDT can uphold a buyers decision to reject the vehicle.
The challenge in this case is none of us know how substantial this "ding" in the floor actually is.
My gut feeling is that it isn't big enough and if sent to a panelbeater for professional repair wouly be concidered correct remedial action.

tonyrockyhorror, Apr 21, 11:00pm
Can't you read! They've had the opportunity to repair. And it's the consumer's choice whether to reject the vehicle, not the dealer's choice whether to accept that rejection.

If the dealer refuses they'll get hammered in the MVDT as the fault meets the definition of failure of substantial character - they'd have no chance in hell of convincing the MVDT that anyone would buy the vehicle knowing about that fault.

huffpuff01, Apr 22, 1:26am
My mechanic said it was bad enough that i would not get a WOF.
I got a second opinion from a panel beater , he said the only way to fix it was to cut the section of floor pan our, and weld another bit in.
The damage part isunder the drivers seat mounting point.
so, to me its also a safety issue too.
Had a good read of the CGA Today. looks like I can reject on the grounds of acceptable quality. and on the grounds that the work carried out was not at a reasonable care & skill.