Car dealer ordered to pay $41,999 after Chevrolet Corvette shows defects during first road trip

NZ Herald

22 May, 2018 04:18 AM2 mins to read

Graham Williamson X Factor Cars Limited was ordered to pay John Neale $41,999 after the Chevrolet Corvette he purchased showed defects. Photo / AP

An Invercargill car dealer has been ordered to pay $41,999 after a Chevrolet Corvette it sold failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality.

The Motor Vehicle Dispute Tribunal upheld John Neale's rejection of a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette C6 purchased from Graham Williamson X Factor Cars Limited in September 2016.

Prior to purchasing the vehicle Neale told Graham Williamson, the company's director, that he wanted to drive it from Bluff to Tauranga return, monthly, at least six times.

However, during Neale's first journey he found the car had a number of defects including an exhaust leak, water ingress, faulty electronics, air bag warning lamp and main engine seal leaking.

In its determination, the tribunal said the vehicle failed to comply with the guarantee of fitness for particular purpose in section 8 of the Act.

"The vehicle proved to be unsuitable for its stated purpose of being used as a vehicle for long-distance journeys up to the North Island and back," the tribunal said.

"Neale has established that the vehicle was not reasonably fit for the purpose that he made known to the trader."

Under the Act, a purchaser must give the trader reasonable opportunity to remedy a vehicle's defects.

And while evidence provided by Graham Williamson X Factor Cars Limited showed repairs were carried out in December 2016 and August 2017, evidence provided by Neale, who had obtained an expert report from Rakiura Motors in Bluff in February 2018, showed there was still ongoing defects.

The tribunal agreed that the issues had not been remedied.

"The consequence of Graham Williamson X Factor Cars' failure to remedy the defects in the vehicle is that Mr Neale is entitled to reject the vehicle, as long as he has not otherwise lost his right of rejection under s 20 of the Act," the tribunal said.

In addition to paying Neale $41,999, Graham Williamson X Factor Cars Limited were ordered to collect the Corvette at its cost and pay costs of $650 to the Crown.