Accident caused by faulty car - who pays?

[J3R3MYDOTCOM]

• We just bought a second-hand car from a dealer.
• In the first week driving, it developed a fault where it went to full revs when starting, and when put in gear (its an auto) it lurched forward
• This was in a car park.
• It jumped about a metre - just far enough to hit the side of another vehicle driving past - before extra pressure on the foot brake brake stopped our car.
• While getting the fault resolved by the dealer is a question for another day...
• What is the likely situation with our insurance?
• We have full insurance with NRMA - and expect a claim from the driver of the other car
• What might we have to establish with NRMA about the vehicle fault - to secure a no-fault claim without paying an excess?

 

[Wayne Russell]

Certainly require someone with legal background to help answer this question but from my perspective you definitely contributed to the accident result by engaging the transmission of a car that was in a dangerous state of operation to do so (regardless of any prior experience of potentially negating forward movement with brake application).

 

[Tim W]

1. Did you buy the car with a statutory Warranty?
(understand that those "extended warranty"/ "free warranty" etc things are usually insurance products, and not warranties)

2. Your insurers will probably treat this claim as a driver-at-fault accident.
That means that, at least, you'll be paying the excess on your own claim.
And of course, your next premium will be through the roof.

3. As to what you'll need to persuade your insurer that it was not your fault, you'll need to ask them.
If I was handling the claim, then at least, I'd be looking for a report from a Mechanical Engineer - something from a local retail mechanic may not cut it.
They may also want to have the car examined by their own technical people.
But you'll need to ask them first hand.