Friend bought a vehicle about 6 months ago on condition it had a brand new WOF. Since buying it the car hasn't been used a lot, Maybe under 1000 K's till the next warrant. On the next warrant it was found to be so rusty as to be a danger on the road, Namely both A pillars, door hinges,rear shackle mounts, B pillars etc. The WOF Issuer has been contacted and told the buyer wants a total refund on the car. The cost of repair to the vehicle by far outweighs the value of it. As yet NZTA hasn't been contacted but will be if no compensation is offered. This of course will probably mean the removal of the issuer's certificate, but what compensation can be expected if NZTA is contacted. I would have thought the issuer would have been only to happy to pay out,( under $5000) which would be a small cost to save his WOF certificate. Your views please.
curlcrown,
Apr 4, 6:28pm
The WOF was six months ago. A WOf is issued on the condition of the vehicle at that time and is a visual inspection. A great deal can change in six months depending on many factors. Rust which looks very minor can quickly appear as a major problem, and rust would spread more quickly in a car that was rarely used than in one that was used frequently, especially if the way the car was stored was far from ideal. My view is you are dreaming.
franc123,
Apr 4, 6:28pm
And what has the seller had to say about it?
woody1946,
Apr 4, 6:31pm
sounds like blackmail to me----did your 'friend ' check the vehicle before purchase ?
clark20,
Apr 4, 6:33pm
Hope it is not an MG
reggienz,
Apr 4, 6:39pm
The rust in the vehicle is not a 6 month rust. This is definitly very old rotten metal. At the last check the guy who did the check was horrified at the amount of rust and couldn't understand how it passed the last warrant. This issuer is very experianced and has been doing warrants most of his life Probably 40 or so years
curlcrown,
Apr 4, 6:41pm
Is the car parked inside or outside?
reggienz,
Apr 4, 6:42pm
Unfortunately that wasnt able to be done as it was bought on line but on condition it had a new warrant
rbd,
Apr 4, 6:57pm
What proof do you have that the rust was there at the last warrant?
Did the seller provide the buyer with a written statement that the vehicle would be in warrantable condition in six months?
I think the buyer may learn a good lesson here.
xs1100,
Apr 4, 7:22pm
yeh never seen rust go from a non wof issue to a wof issue inside 6 months without a note on the check sheet especially on the likes of a A pillar
franc123,
Apr 4, 7:23pm
For what reason exactly, was an independent check refused? Not the same thing as a WOF.
snoopy221,
Apr 4, 7:29pm
Seen these go down before. If? the wof is still current-then if the issuer buys and then owns the vehicle and their warrant-has been known to happen.
a.woodrow,
Apr 4, 7:47pm
Not very likely that the issuer will lose their AVI authority for issues 6 months after they last issued a wof. Very hard to prove that it wasn't visually a pass at the time, rust can make quite sudden appearances. Just because a car passed the last wof doesn't mean it would make it to the next, that's the whole point of regular inspections. Have heard it many times - "but it passed last time" yes, but rust never sleeps.
trouser,
Apr 4, 7:59pm
If you know there is major rust it can be quite easy to patch it over to pass a wof. Sucks for the buyer.
designerliving,
Apr 4, 8:14pm
So if, as your post assumes the rust was there the whole time and the first WOF issuer done a dodgy, why wouldnt you have gone back to the seller who has just sold you a rusty vehicle? instead of excluding the seller and waiting 6 months before laying fault with the WOF issuer?
reggienz,
Apr 4, 10:12pm
The rust was brought to the owners attention when he took it for a new warrant. The seller is now aware of the rust but denies any knowledge of it at time of sale
ladatrouble,
Apr 4, 10:53pm
Rust never sleeps. You should go to the seller first, then the NZTA before hitting up the AVIC, certainly sounds like blackmail to me.
motorboy2011,
Apr 5, 2:01am
Even if the rust was present last wof, I fail to see how this is the sellers problem unless he issued the wof. You Need to prove they knew about it to have any chance in court. Your friend should have gotten a full mechanical check.
peja,
Apr 5, 5:18am
What sort of car is it? And was this a VTNZ the first time around the car was WOF'd or the seond time when it failed? I had a VTNZ "inspector" fail a ute for structural rust. which was in the tray. Which bolts onto the chassis with four bolts. Thought of going home, unbolting it and taking it off and then going back for a reinspection. That would have been hilarious. Decided I could be bothered so didnt touch it, just waited 28 days and took it to someone who knew what they were doing.
If the inspector the first time round was VTNZ it wouldnt surprise me all that much if they missed major rust. or described rust as major the second time around that clearly wasnt
timbo69,
Apr 5, 5:25am
Mate your dreaming, car had WOF at time of sale. six months later its you problem. Leave the WOF guy alone.
tamarillo,
Apr 5, 6:14am
Knowing what car is would help. Is this a 'classic' from days when cars rusted normally? If so that would make me suspect seller simply hid it and got away with it. Any arguement would be with seller though be difficult one. If they stated in advert it had no rust and you could get a experts report saying rust was of certain age, you might try small claims. But lot of 'ifs' and maybes. If it's a newer car, well you gotta wonder what the hell is going on!
daryl14,
Apr 5, 6:41am
How did the tool not see his rust every time he opened the door? I'll bet theres clearly visible holes and nice orange stains all over it. He hasn't got a hope in hell. All you can do is give him a loan for his rust repairs.
bjmh,
Apr 5, 7:53am
there is a complaints procedure for you to follow,contact your wof issuer and he will give you an 0800 number. let them decide rather than have a slanging match.
llortmt,
Apr 5, 8:56am
Prior to that give the WoF issuer the chance to comment/reinspect (which is the first part of said complaint procedure). I too would like to know make, model, year and post a photo if possible.
tweake,
Apr 5, 9:42am
i've had vehicles rust out before. its not that fast that it goes from nothing to fail-able in 6 months. get a copy of the last wof sheet, it should have comments about the minor rust. if it hasn't then its dodgy wof and inspector will go for a slide.
a mate had the same thing, bought camper van. did it up for a trip. 4 weeks after he bought it, he got local mechanic to service it. and he took it off the road as it was so bad. no idea if he was compensated or not.
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