Legal for car dealers to sell "as is, where is"?

bluespam, Jun 15, 12:27am
As the title state, is it legal for used car dealers to sell cars as "as is, where is" and bypass the consumer guarantees act?

long story short, my friend brought a car sign all the paper work, but didn't read the fine print, . in the fine print, it say, all car sold as "as is, where is" and the seller take no responsibility after its sold. didn't think it was legal myself,. but can't seem to find an answer surrounding this question
shaun16, Jun 15, 12:45am
pretty sure its not legal. but someone with more knowledge will hopefully confirm
jmma, Jun 15, 12:48am
tamarillo, Jun 15, 1:53am
As brap says lots of old threads. Basically no unless they use the new long clause about end of life blah blah blah. As is where is don't work no more we are told.
tony9, Jun 15, 2:10am
It is quite legal for the car dealer to use that term.

But they cannot bypass the CGA, no matter what they say.

If something breaks and a reasonable person would not expect that to happen, bearing in mind the age and condition of the vehicle, and how it is described, then a claim could be valid.

The problem with "As Is, Where Is" is that it tells you nothing about the condition of the vehicle.
franc123, Jun 15, 2:21am
And this sale was preceeded by a competent PPI was it? Regardless of who is selling it to who and the legalities, you need to be damn sure of what you are buying if anyone uses that term in connection with a transfer of goods, simple as that.
kazbanz, Jun 15, 2:57am
Short version -as you describe the cop out clause-NO it is not legal
That dealer cannot contract out of the CGA
gman35, Jun 15, 4:46am
It should be possible for a dealer (or ANYONE) to sell somthing with NO warranty.
As long as a buyer is wiiling to sign a form (hell, with their lawyer present if need be) saying they understand what is or is not covered.
As a retailer of bicycles and parts, someone may want my lowest possible "no comeback" price, if they are willing to take a punt, are taking whatever they purchase overseas with no intention of returning it if fails, or WHATEVER, it
should be able to be purchased clearly with "no warranty" (Obviously that would reflect on the used value the item may have if they decide to sell also.)
tony9, Jun 15, 5:14am
No, that is not effectively possible. You cannot contract out of the CGA. Does not matter what is said or signed. Which is why As Is Where Is is just wasted words.

You can mitigate the impact by being very clear in the description of the goods, their current state (clearly) and fit for purpose.
franc123, Jun 15, 5:31am
So, this being the case why are the dealers who are offering product for sale with their own illegal 'inhouse' rules, declarations and disclaimers, allowed to do so? This place is littered with listings containing these clauses, its plain that they are trying to mislead consumers into thinking they have no comeback, and all of them I've seen avoid making any direct reference to the CGA, and sure as hell don't mention it. It appears to be business as usual. Who, if anybody, is supposed to be policing this?
pico42, Jun 15, 6:11am
The primary way these things are stamped out is consumer education - because the consumer is the most likely to come across it.
There are not really any teams of enforcement agent trawling auctions for 15 year old corollas to see if the FTA or CGA have been breached.
And these forums are an excellent demonstration of that.
franc123, Jun 15, 6:41am
So all a bit of a joke then, like a lot of our laws. That answers the question.
tgray, Jun 15, 3:43pm
It IS legally possible for a dealer to contract out of the CGA, if the vehicle is to be used for work/commercial purposes and both buyer and seller agree and have it in writing.
Dealer to dealer sales are automatically excluded from the CGA.
It should be noted, this is not the same as selling as is where is.
Dealers cannot legally do this, but often do it anyway, playing on the ignorance of the buyer, to 'minimise comebacks'.
kazbanz, Jun 15, 4:16pm
Mate--it ain't no joke. wait a few months and have a look through the MVDT decisions.
What you will see is the guys selling cars that should be good reliable cars due to their age,milage etc (but they know are foobarred) will be hauled up. Stuff like a 10 year old 150k corolla for example.
The people buying 30 year old 400000km cars will find they are likely out of luck if they try it on.
It comes down to the simple question "what remaining lifespan would a reasonable person expect from this item?"
There is also the fact that a person can't claim for a fault that was clearly stated in an advert. So If the trader states "car overheats suspect blown headgasket" the buyer can't later come back for a refund due to a blown head gasket.
tony9, Jun 15, 4:33pm
It is certainly not a joke, but it is important that buyers are aware of their rights. Most or all of what the suspect dealers are saying or writing is correct. What they are not saying is that buyers have other rights.

There was a lot of advertising about the CGA when it was introduced, and various agencies are continuing to advertise buyers rights. I guess the next step would be to require people in trade to explicitly remind people that they do have rights under the CGA and that the reminder is in the same text style as other promotional statements. Some countries require this.
gman35, Jun 15, 5:09pm
I know you (or I as a retailer) CAN'T, but am saying it SHOULD be able to be done, with appropriate paperwork etc, for the likes of reasons that I have mentioned.
Yes I know it could get awkward for a 2nd person buying a car from someone that originally bought it "no warranty" (unlikely I admit) and they would have to know the score before buying , but for bicycles any warranty only covers the original new purchaser anyway.
kazbanz, Jun 10, 10:05pm
Could you imagine how big the advert would be? -the purely practical issues are why that's not the case.
However car buying is unlike say a bicycle pedal where you get a GST receipt and everything else is assumed.
Buying a car (from a dealer) means you get both a VOSA and a CIN card.
The dealer is required BY LAW to explain the CIN and VOSA including the CGA etc. You can't just say "sighn here ".Well I soppose you can but you aren't legally soposed to.