The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019 will come into effect on 1 September 2019. From this date, as motor dealers and chattel auctioneers you will need to provide a ‘class B’ statutory warranty when you sell older used vehicles. This increase in consumer protections will give your customers added peace of mind. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will raise awareness of this change so car buyers will know they get an automatic extra safeguard when they choose to purchase from a licensed dealer or auctioneer.

Reinstatement of ‘class B’ statutory warranty

From 1 September 2019 licensed motor dealers and chattel auctioneers must provide a ‘class B’ statutory warranty when a vehicle:

  • has an odometer reading of 160,000 or more, or
  • has a built date of more than 10 years before the day of its sale.

The ‘class B’ warranty expires after one month or the first 1,000km, whichever occurs first.

‘Class B’ statutory warranties were provided under the previous Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000, but were removed in 2014.

The existing obligations for statutory warranties for used vehicles are still in place, and these will now be called ‘class A’ statutory warranties. A ‘class A’ statutory warranty applies when a vehicle:

  • has an odometer reading of less than 160,000km, and
  • has a built date of no more than 10 years before the day of its sale.

The ‘class A’ warranty expires after three months or the first 5,000km, whichever occurs first.

You will not be required to provide a statutory warranty with:

  • motorcycles
  • caravans, meaning a trailer fitted, equipped, or used mainly
    • for camping
    • as a dwelling
    • for carrying on any trade or business
  • commercial vehicles
  • vehicles being sold on consignment, unless the owner of the vehicle is a licensee
  • an unregistered motor vehicle that is either
    • not capable of being registered in Queensland because of its design
    • a written-off vehicle.

A statutory warranty will not cover defects in:

  • tyres or tyre tubes, batteries, fitted airbags or radiator hoses
  • lights (other than a warning light or a turn indicator light used as a hazard light)
  • an installed radio, tape recorder or CD player
  • an aerial, spark plug, wiper rubber, distributor point, oil or oil filter, heater hose, fuel or air filter
  • paintwork or upholstery
  • air conditioning (‘class B’ statutory warranties only).

Restorable vehicles

A restorable vehicle is one that is more than 20 years old and for sale to be restored.

When a restorable vehicle is sold by a motor dealer, the buyer can choose to waive the ‘class B’ statutory warranty.

Restorable vehicles sold at auction are not covered by any statutory warranty. Chattel auctioneers must announce at the beginning of an auction for a restorable vehicle that buyers are taken to have waived the vehicle’s statutory warranty.

Use the updated form from 1 September 2019

The approved form, Form 12 – Cooling-off period and statutory warranty (motor dealer or chattel auctioneer to buyer) has been updated and is available on the OFT’s Motor industry forms and fees page.

Other changes

Also from 1 September 2019, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s jurisdictional limit will be raised from $25,000 to $100,000 for motor vehicle matters. This includes both old and new cars, motorhomes and caravans. More information on this change is available at www.qcat.qld.gov.au.

More information

Detailed information about the statutory warranty changes for motor dealers and chattel auctioneers is available on the OFT website.

 

For more information please contact the AVAA at natsec@avaa.com.au