We bought a second hand Mitsubishi Pajero from a dealer on the sunny coast.
We said to them straight up at first meeting we wanted a 4x4 with 3t towing capacity as we will be towing a caravan and doing the big lap. Only reason for the purchase.
He said there was nothing onsite suitable but there was a vehicle at another site that could be sent over for us to test drive. We agree to come back 2 days later.
On arriving back for the test drive we were advised the vehicle was in "as traded " condition and had not been cleaned yet. That was fine as long as the cleaning was done prior to us taking possession of new to us car.
We discussed the warranty and if we needed any defects repaired on the road were advised verbally that it could be done.
On arriving to collect the vehicle sales guy said he noticed a button missing on the media player/sat nav unit. He assured us a new one would be put in all no issues the following week and to call on the Monday to arrange a time.
Then we were informed that the warranty would only apply If all servicing was done by their own service unit. If anyone in any capacity worked on the car without their prior approval the warranty was null invoid, also the service area only included South eastern qld. We felt we had to take the car as we had no option and just had to hope nothing serious went wrong. It didnât thankfully!
On following up the following week about the button, sales guy refused to speak to us, management told us media unit not covered. I pushed for a replacement as car was not in same condition as was presented at test drive. Eventually after threatening taking to consumer affairs QLD, they replaced with another secondhand unit.
Will never buy from Cricks auto Group again, and have never recommended them either.
The moral is that anything not written in a contract usually does not matter in law. You were fortunate they replaced the unit.
As for warranties and servicing, many used car warranties (beyond the short statutory one) have the requirement to have it serviced at the dealer. It is a rort and you seem to have recognised it as one. Capped servicing is another - the capped service prices on our vehicle were more than the independent shops normally charge. When we decided the dealer was too inconvenient (they relocated too far away) and went to a local independent, we saved about $200 against the capped price. Capped service is marketing at its best.
Extended warranties are worse having similar requirements for servicing while covering only very specific faults that arise, and from some reports, rarely arising.
Caveat emptor.
They may have problems with trying to impose tbis on a buyer of a used car, unless they have an Exclusive Dealing Notification. See
It states in relation to information for the car dealer the following."If you wish to seek to restrict a consumerâs freedom to choose, for example, who they use as a repairer, you should get legal advice on the prohibitions on âexclusive dealingâ found in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Exclusive dealing broadly involves a trader imposing restrictions on a personâs freedom to choose with whom, in what or where they deal. For more information, see âExclusive dealing notificationsâ on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) website."
I would be asking them for their Exclusive Dealing Notification/Approval. If this is not available or forthcoming, then their requirement in relation to restricting the warranty would be unlawful.
Is this the outfit you dealt with? If so, their Product Review rating says it all.
Back in the early 1970âs, a person who had previously worked as a salesman at a shonky Sydney used car dealer told me about their warranty scam.
They would attach a sticker promoting their business on the rear window of each vehicle they sold, but they would always ensure that it was not centred and level so that the buyers would invariably remove the stickers.
When anyone tried to claim a problem under warranty, they would point out that removing the sticker voided the warranty.
No wonder the Trade Practices Act was legislated around that time.
Searching the Exclusive dealing notifications register, it doesnât appear they have one.
Was the comment about where warranty work would be performed rather than servicing per say. I can imagine a dealer asking for a defect/warranty claim to be done at their own dealership as it is this dealership that the warranty is attached.
Restricting servicing to their dealership to ensure currency of a warranty is a completely different matter. Apple got into strife a few years ago about claims of warranty being voided because a non-Apple service centre performed work on their phonesâŠwhen the problem with the phones was a Apple issue.
Hereâs a short VICE article about owners jailbreaking their secondhand Teslas. I wonder if anyone has resorted to that in Australia yet ?
It is quite interesting. It appear see that Telsa possibly take the position that the original owner holds the software user licence and these licences canât be transferable. If you did buy a Telsa, one would be in for a shockâŠ
This is what their Privacy and Legal clauses say about superchargingâŠ
Pay Per Use
All vehicles ordered after January 15, 2017, and vehicles ordered by January 15, 2017 but built after April 15, 2017, are enabled for Supercharging on a pay per use basis. Any credits for free Supercharging that are given with the purchase of a vehicle, including any annual renewal of credits, expire upon the sale or transfer of the vehicle and are not transferable to any subsequent vehicle owner, or to any other vehicle. Credits for Supercharging expire after a set period of time and do not rollover into future periods.
Looks like âsuperchargingâ is a user pay basis and if one hasnât paid Telsa directly, it get removed from the second hand vehicle (inc. Any remaining credits).
Premium Connectivity Subscription Agreement
You cannot transfer the Service to another person or another Vehicle without our prior consent, use it for commercial purposes or re-sell it
This gets deleted too as it is not transferableâŠ
4. Termination, Suspension, Reactivation, Change and Transfer of Service
Transfer of Service, Sale of Vehicle, Termination of Lease
The Service is not transferrable to any future owner of the Vehicle.
You must notify us if you sell or transfer your Vehicle or end its lease. If you fail to notify us, you will remain responsible for all charges for any Service incurred in connection with such Vehicle. It is your responsibility to remove all data and content (including any personal information), if any, that you may have stored on your system before you sell or transfer your Vehicle.
An owner is contractually obliged to notify Telsa of ahy change in ownership/sale of a vehicle. This is possibly so that they can remotely remove software which one hasnât paid Telsa a licence forâŠbut may be installed on the car by the previous owner.
I wonder how may Telsa owners are aware of there restrictionsâŠdo they care as after selling the car it isnât their problem⊠however in Australia is could be if the car is sold through a business/second hand dealer and it is advertised with the features which are later removed by Telsa.
This personally would be show stopper for me buying a second hand Telsa as one would not really know what one is buying. One day one could wake up to find they they have in effect bought a car which has in most part had its software removed.
The Privacy statements are also âinterestingâ as Telsa collects considerable information on the drivers of its vehicles. Maybe Telsa wants the information on the second hand car buyer so that they can start collecting information (on the new person rather than thinking it was still the former driver). It looks like the Google or Apple of the Automotive industry, with the difference being the manufacture has remote control over oneâs software licences and potentially consumer rights.
I canât see myself being in the market for a Tesla, but that would kill it for me also.
Imagine if Samsung or Sony did this with a smart TV.
âSorry sir, when you gave the TV to your son you broke your contract and the next time it was on line we deactivated the software as your son had not paid for the licence. This is explained in the terms of use; Book 4, Chapter 6, Paragraph 213, Part 11(e)â
There were 60+ second hand Teslaâs for sale on CarSales website when I looked. Some with lowish kms and 2/3 years old. Various price options, and little re software status. Private and dealer listings so someone must know the answer, or be about to find out.
One sample a 2018 Model S P100D AWD 22,000km was listed at $155,000. Listed with all the features software features, you would need to be confident when:
The current Model S long range (700+km) is listing around $150,000 plus options in Australia. Add not quite an extra $20,000 for the performance upgrade.
