car yard purchase agreements

[arcon 3]

i've seen a few purchase agreements from car-yards and it seems to be standard practice to have on the bottom "for business use and not covered by consumer guarantuees act". would anyone consider buying such a car even if BMW service centre had declared it excellent condition? (my last bmw was private so would not have even been covered...?) also what is a supplier information notice and would the info on it apply to a jap import?

one last stoopid newb question - how is registration of an import usually handled when buying? assuming the buyer has to pay it does the dealer arrange it all?

[arcon 3]

If the vehicle is purchased for business use then the statement is correct. It is NOT avoidance by the vendor merely a clarification. Consumers Guarantee act is for consumer sales not commercial transactions

lol i know, what i was saying was car dealers seem to do this with ALL transactions, even for vehicles that are for private use.

RE registration / compliance i'm talking about import vehicles that are here in NZ on a car yard, and awaiting a first kiwi buyer. they never mention compliance though so i'll have to ask them. i saw a sample SIN and its just that card in the window

[oldskool 4]

Hey,

In regards to the consumer guarantees act, no LMVD can contract out of the act, it is there to cover all consumers regardless of the product, this I think you will find applys to any area of purchasing, business commercial or private, if the product fails to perform to the level or standard it was promised or implied to do then you have right to make claim under the CGA.

Again if a LMVD is selling you a vehicle that they maintain is able to be registered in this country, then you have full right to claim if their advice has been misleading or incorrect, even if it has been a genuine mistake on their part.

It would be very rare to find a vehicle on a car yard that had not been through some level of compliance as the rules governing the industry spell out pretty clearly the LMVD's obligations and responsibilities in regard to selling road worthy vehicles to the public.

Most of the time you can expect that the vehicle will be vinned woffed & regged as part of the sale, if unsure make it a condition of the sale and ensure that it is done prior to paying the balance of the purchase price, if you are using finance they generally won't provide the finance untill the vehicle is fully complied and road worthy anyway.

Some yards will claim that paying for the proccess of complying the car is your expense ( + $350.00 on road costs ) Negotiate your deal on the car accordingly, and above all don't be railroaded into anything your not 100% happy with.

Happy Hunting

Grant

[my_e36 43]

purchasing, business commercial or private, if the product fails to perform to the level or standard it was promised or implied to do then you have right to make claim under the CGA.

The wordings under the CGA specifically exclude anything purchased for business use. But if a seller is misleading, be it the performance or description, then it would be a violation under Fair Trading Act regardless of what the goods are used for by the buyer.

[arcon 3]

The wordings under the CGA specifically exclude anything purchased for business use. But if a seller is misleading, be it the performance or description, then it would be a violation under Fair Trading Act regardless of what the goods are used for by the buyer.

basically i put a deposit with a member of IMVDA (don't know if they are LMVD, didn't know about that at the time and i assumed the CGA would apply to all registered companies). doesn't matter though in the contract it says "nothing in the *preceeding* section will extinguish rights under the CGA" (or words to that effect), but then like the last clause in a place that harder to notice it says; business use, CGA doesn't apply etc. so basically it was my fault for rushing it through and not reading carefully enough.

i could afford to lose the deposit and not go through with it but don't think its worth going down that road, probly not much of a risk considering the good marks its been given from BMW....?

[M3_Power 636]

If when you purchased the vehicle you made it clear to the dealership that it was to be used for business purposes then CGA would not cover you. That doesn't mean to say that you can't before the completion of purchase ask the dealer to change the purpose that the vehicle was purchased for back to private use.

Those standard forms issued by the MTA will usually have a clause (or similar) which states:

"I agree that I am acquiring the vehicle for business purposes in terms of section 2 and 43 of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and that the provisions of the Act will not apply according"

If the vehicle is one of private use the dealership is obliged to cross that clause out - if they don't and you never told them that the vehicle was acquired for business use, private use is automatically assumed unless evidence to the contrary is shown (for eg. if the vehicle was to be registered under a company's name).

The motor vehicle trade is covered by 3 basic legislation:

Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003

Consumer Guarantees Act 2003

Fair Trading Act

The last two were amended in 2003 to update protection for consumers buying from a dealer. Basically giving consumers a 6 year time frame window to bring a claim against a Motor Vehicle Dealer.

Also the FTA applies to anyone in "trade" so it doesn't matter if the vehicle is sold for private or business use - it will apply as long as the person selling is considered in trade under the Act.

Some useful links and light reading:

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/businessinfo/mvsa.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/busines...orvehicles.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/businessinfo/fta.html

http://www.motortraders.med.govt.nz/pls/we...031AE98ABA97CEB

Edited February 20, 2007 by M3_Power

[arcon 3]

If when you purchased the vehicle you made it clear to the dealership that it was to be used for business purposes then CGA would not cover you. That doesn't mean to say that you can't before the completion of purchase ask the dealer to change the purpose that the vehicle was purchased for back to private use.

If the vehicle is one of private use the dealership is obliged to cross that clause out - if they don't and you never told them that the vehicle was acquired for business use, private use is automatically assumed unless evidence to the contrary is shown (for eg. if the vehicle was to be registered under a company's name).

ur a legend dude - thanks for those links, i will read over them. basically the subject of business and private use never came up, i assumed it would be private.

technically it was my fault for not reading it thoroughly but you're right i could always ask them to change back to private in writing, if they refuse they'll keep 2 grand but miss out on close to 20.... and have to wait to make profit on an ever-depreciating vehicle.... hmmm. it would suck to lose the car though... spent ages finding one in good condition that i like... :/

i'm still trying to find out what sort of issue the CGA would cover to see if its worth risking the conversation, it can't possibly be used for normal mechanical wear/operating issues, or things like faulty window regulators for example (heh i checked those).

[arcon 3]

1) If you purchase a vehicle you are covered by one or more act as outlined by M3 power so relax.

2) Get your facts straight decide how you want to buy the car and get the paperwork set up accordingly including items like compliance etc if they apply otherwise they may try and load them on later. Some dealers will even try to charge you a fee if you do not conclude a deal.

3) If you mis-represent the facts to the dealer you are in breach and could jepardise any future dispute you may have.

None of the business sales and purchase I have done in the last 10 years have been covered by CGA but FTA and others apply so it is just a case of knowing and using the right mechanism if there is an issue.

turns out the car is complied, and they'll handle registration i definitely havn't misrepresented anything.... i'll probably let the deal conclude as i'm fairly confident in the car and inspection, still annoyed that they slipped in the business vehicle clause.