An updated version of the Motor vehicle sales & repairs guide has been published by Australian consumer protection regulators, including the Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The guide is a collection of essential information about the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), tailored to meet the needs of motor professionals in their day to day business.

This information is relevant to:

• vehicle dealers (including caravans and motorcycles)
• mechanics and vehicle servicers and repairers
• vehicle manufacturers, distributors and importers.

The update includes more detailed guidance requested by industry bodies and more information about issues which consumers frequently queried with consumer protection agencies.

A key focus of the guide is defects and failures (both one-off and repeated), in new and used vehicles.

In particular, it provides guidance on consumer’s legal rights and trader’s obligations created by the consumer guarantee provisions under the ACL. Remedies are available to consumers when there is a:

• major failure to comply with a consumer guarantee
• minor failure to comply with a consumer guarantee that cannot be fixed within a reasonable time, or
• minor failure to comply with a consumer guarantee that can be fixed (whether or not it is capable of being fixed within a reasonable time).

This guide is part of a suite of ACL guides for business and legal practitioners which is available from the Australian Consumer Law website.

An electronic copy of the guide can be found on the OFT’s website.

More information on the ACL is available from www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading or by calling 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

ENDS

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Source: Updated ACL guide to assist vehicle professionals

4 Sept 2018