December 1, 2014
The RACQ has warned secondhand car buyers they now have less consumer protection from being sold a lemon.
The motoring body says the State Parliament has scrapped the requirement for licensed dealers to provide a one month statutory warranty for vehicles more than 10 years old or those with more than 160,000km on the clock.
RACQ Executive Manager Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding said it was a bad decision that effectively left some of Queensland’s most vulnerable motorists with limited consumer protection.
“People who purchase older vehicles or those with higher mileages are typically young drivers and those with limited budgets,” Mr Spalding said.
“The people buying those sorts of cars can least afford to have something go wrong.
“Previously, they were protected against costly mechanical defects by a one-month warranty. Now this protection has been wiped away.”
Mr Spalding said the State Government’s justification that the removal of the warranty would reduce red-tape was ludicrous.
“This protection had been in place for more than a decade and had served car buyers well,” he said.
“The only people who benefit from the removal of the statutory warranty are the car dealers as they will no longer have to pay for repairs to cars they have just sold.”
Mr Spalding advised motorists it was now essential that they have an independent inspection to help protect them from buying a car with potentially expensive defects.
“The message is simple. If you are looking at a secondhand car, make sure you are satisfied with its condition before agreeing to buy it.”
