Statutory Warranty on My Newly Purchased Second Hand Car

Lbigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 10:42
Last edited 19/11/2021 - 10:44

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a second-hand 2009 Honda City (with 104,200km mileage) early last month from a car dealership that is also an independent Honda Service Specialist. This car used to be a courtesy car for their panel shop before it closed down. The car has a full service history and was really well-maintained when I took it for a test drive. After negotiating with the salesman, he offered to include a 3-month statutory warranty although the car was more than 10 years old.

Two weeks after purchasing the car, I noticed my car started having this "scraping sound" coming from the hood whenever my car travels at 30-50km/h from stationary. I took it to their service centre to get it inspected/fixed and according to their service team, the problem lies within the auto transmission itself and would require a replacement in order to fix it. They mentioned that the problem is not major and wouldn't require any replacement any time soon (>1 year). In their service report, they stated "Operational noise in transmission - sound and serviceable" and when asked if the statutory warranty covers this issue, they said no as the transmission is still operational.

I brought my car to a Honda transmission specialist workshop to get a second opinion and they claimed that there is an internal part that has failed. Once again, they said that the issue is not major and it should last at least a year before considering a reconditioned transmission replacement which would cost about $1900.

Now, I am still unclear whether statutory warranty covers this issue after reading the Consumers Affairs Victoria website. If anyone could provide some advice as to how I should move forward from here, I’d be really grateful.

Thank you !

Automotive

Comments

  • 87percent on 19/11/2021 - 10:57
    +1

    Did you do any pre-inspection (professional) checks?

    • coffeeinmyveins on 19/11/2021 - 11:52
      +2

      That stuff doesn't guarantee that this would be picked up if it's an internal item.

      Either way, if the OP did do a check, they still opted to proceed with the car.

    • bigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 17:03

      Unfortunately, I didn't as I assumed that the car was really well-maintained as it had a full service history (which most of the cars I inspected didn't have with the budget that I had). This is also my first time buying a car here in Australia as I am an international graduate so I guess that lack of experience played a part in deciding to purchase this car :(

  • Muzeeb on 19/11/2021 - 11:10
    +1

    After negotiating with the salesman, he offered to include a 3-month statutory warranty although the car was more than 10 years old.

    Do you have that written on the contract of sale?

    Yes - that's a good start
    No - you are bang out of luck Chad

    • bigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 17:08

      Yes, I do have the statutory warranty written together with the contract of sale.

      • Muzeeb on 19/11/2021 - 17:20

        Awesome

  • weezlebub on 19/11/2021 - 11:30
    +4

    if you get a computer monitor and it has a big line across the middle of the screen, you take it back under warranty …

    go back and tell them that you want it fixed under warranty before the warranty expires, you want it noted that there is a fault with the part and while it 'may' work fine for the next 12 months, the fact is that it's not working properly (hence the noise and the looming failure) …

    if they say no, ask for a refund as the car isn't fit for purpose … if they say yes, next step is to get a good mechanic to go over everything and provide an inspection report …

    another way of thinking about it, if you order a steak from a fancy restaurant and they drop it on the floor, can you expect it to be replaced for a new one, or should you just eat the steak and pay full price because you ordered a steak and they served you a steak :)

    • weezlebub on 19/11/2021 - 11:33
      +2

      you're basically going to have to push the issue REALLY hard, dealership warranty is almost never actually does anything unless courts get involved …

      yes, it's "operational" but it's also "faulty" … if you have bald tyres, the cops won't say "you've got tires, they've got no tread, but i can see that they exist, so we can't fine you"

    • Quantumcat on 19/11/2021 - 12:21

      To further your analogy what if the restaurant gave you chicken that hasn't been stored properly and you start vomiting a few hours after eating it. They claim no responsibility as you weren't vomiting while you were still in the restaurant

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 19/11/2021 - 12:45
        +2

        chicken that hasn't been stored properly and you start vomiting

        Take it back. They'll give you your money back to get you out of there with your regurgitated meal.

    • bigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 18:01

      Thanks guys, those are some really good analogies :)

      I do have the contract of sale along with the warranty contract. Correct me if I am wrong, does statutory warranty cover every defect/issue (unless stated prior to sale which in this case, they didn’t) that arise after the sale?

      I just want to clarify before I go full Karen, do I have a legal leg to stand on this issue before I press them for a warranty replacement?

  • Euphemistic on 19/11/2021 - 11:34
    +1

    They can’t off ‘statutory warranty’ that will stand up to legal scrutiny if it doesn’t meet the criteria.

    They can tell you they’ll look after you with a statutory warranty equivalent, but unless you have something in writing it’s gonna be a hard slog to get hem to honour it.

    If it is really under warranty, get them to fix it now.

    • bigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 17:14

      Yeah, I do have the statutory warranty written on the contract of sale. It will expire end of next month and I got a feeling that they were trying to wait it out by telling me that this issue isn't major so that I don't have to get it fixed immediately. This is why I felt like I was getting conned by them.

      Thanks for the advice, will definitely go back there next week.

      • Euphemistic on 20/11/2021 - 05:24

        You might have it written on the contract, but if they want to ply hardball they could certainly stuff you around because the vehicle doesn’t meet the requirements.

  • apsilon on 19/11/2021 - 12:23
    +1

    It should be covered but they're obviously not intending to so you can try whatever consumer affairs process VIC has or engage a solicitor.

  • deme on 19/11/2021 - 13:18
    +1

    https://www.choice.com.au/transport/cars/used/buying-guides/…

    Look for "What warranty do I get when buying a used car? Is there a cooling off period?"

    My advice to you, become a member of Choice and then ask for their assistance.

  • Muzeeb on 19/11/2021 - 13:41
    +3

    This car used to be a courtesy car for their panel shop before it closed down.

    So basically an ex rental vehicle that's done a million short trips and driven like it was stolen.

    Nice!

    • Bid Sniper on 19/11/2021 - 14:19

      Rentals are the fastest cars on the road, won Bathurst countless times

  • anglais on 19/11/2021 - 14:01
    +1

    Dealership warranty often does not include transmission. We got conned with a Golf. Lesson learned.

    • Euphemistic on 19/11/2021 - 15:02

      Gotta read the fine print. Dealer warranty usually covers very little.

  • Cave Fire on 19/11/2021 - 14:07

    Seems like a common problem with jazz models from 2003 - 2005, with some later models reporting the same issue. The CVT needs to be serviced more than the Honda recommendation because of this. Described as a rumble from stationary to around 20km/h. Solution is a cvt flush. You can check if your fluid is dirty beforehand. There is also a "stall test" that can help http://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=94.msg20148#msg201…

    • bigboichad on 19/11/2021 - 17:25

      Yeah, I would think so too. The mechanic from their service centre claimed that the problem is with the CVT Transmission belt and said that its nothing to worry about in the near future.

      Thanks I'll will definitely take a look at this website !

      • SirFaffer on 16/04/2024 - 02:22

        at the risk of getting slammed for a thread necro, did you ever get a resolution to this?

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