AADA offers a timely reminder for all Australian franchise dealers of the importance of sales staff advising purchasers of new motor vehicles of their consumer rights under the auspices of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Consumer guarantees are automatic rights under the ACL and cannot be restricted or excluded by the manufacturer or the supplier (i.e. the dealer).
Many dealers rely on the statements made in the manufacturer’s handbook, or on terms articulated on the many differing versions of motor vehicle sale contracts to inform consumers of their rights. While in many cases this may be considered to be sufficient enough guidance for a consumer, the most complete and thorough procedure to follow to ensure a consumer is advised of their ACL rights is via the provision to the consumer of the Australian Competition and Consumer and Commission (ACCC) fact sheet; ‘Just bought a new car?’.
AADA recommends that the ‘Just bought a new car?’ factsheet be provided in hard copy to all purchasing consumers. You can download copies from the link below. It is good practice to also provide a link to the fact sheet on any online transaction you are completing with a purchaser.
Although the provision of the ACCC factsheet is not considered to be a prescribed document for inclusion in any deal pack, it will go a long way to assisting the consumer should a claim arise. Importantly, the practice will reinforce with the various state and federal government consumer agencies that dealers take the ACL and rectification of consumer facing issues seriously.
Consumer guarantee rights apply not only to new vehicles but also to demonstrator and used vehicles. Manufacturers and dealers must honour any consumer guarantee rights regardless of any express or implied commercial warranties they provide to consumers. This includes the sale of new, used and demonstrator motor vehicles. On this basis, it is also good practice to provide a copy of the ACCC factsheet to a purchaser of a demonstrator or used vehicle.