VIC Defective Secondhand Car Purchased from Honda Dealer - What to Do?

[LeilaMaly]

My partner and I have purchased a second hand Honda Civic 2008 from Northway Honda dealer with 104000km and the cost was $9991 which it's been paid off.

It was due to a service and we took the car to Yarra Honda for the service, to find out that there were some issues with: power steering leakage, engine mount and there was no pollen filter. We called Northway Honda and they said because those were wear and tear defects and they wouldn't cover the costs. Fixing those problems came to a total of $1872 (18% of the car value within 2 months of purchase).

Northway Honda has not given us a defect notice nor mentioned about it at any time. If we knew about the massive extra cost, we would not have purchased it.

What can be done?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Avinash L]

Hi Leila,

A car dealer is required to provide a statutory warranty if the car is less than 10 years old (you purchased a 2008 Honda Civic) and has travelled less than 160,000 kilometres (Your car has travelled more 104000 kilometres). Furthermore, the statutory warranty is valid for either three months from date of purchase or 5000 kilometres after purchase, whichever occurs first. As part of the warranty, the dealer is required to repair any defects that occur during the statutory warranty period subject to some exceptions that are listed on Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

After the expiration of the statutory warranty, a consumer still has the protections provided by the Australian Consumer Law. Furthermore, it is possible for ask for a refund under the ACL, if the vehicle has a major defect.

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