Consumer watchdog investigates new car retail industry after wave of complaints

SICK of dodgy car dealers pushing expensive post-sale car service and making misleading claims? The consumer watchdog wants to hear from you.

Have you been screwed over buying a new car?

SICK of dodgy car dealers pushing expensive post-sale car service and making misleading claims? The consumer watchdog wants to hear from you.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is launching an investigation into the new car retailing industry following a “high volume of complaints” about defects.

The study will focus on competition and consumer issues that may be present in the industry.

“A new car is a significant purchase for consumers and more than one million new cars are sold in Australia each year. Consumer issues arising in relation to new car retailing is a priority area for the ACCC,” chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

“The ACCC and other Australian Consumer Law agencies continue to receive a high volume of complaints from consumers about defects with vehicles, covering a broad spectrum of manufacturers.

“These complaints reveal that many consumers are having difficulty enforcing their consumer guarantee rights, which are in addition to the warranties provided by manufacturers.”

The watchdog will look into whether manufacturers and retailers and complying with their obligations under Australian Consumer Law to offer replacement or refund for major defects.

Following the Volkswagen emissions scandal, it will also investigate false, misleading and deceptive practices in performance, fuel efficiency, fuel consumption and emissions.

Post-sale care arrangements such as servicing will also come under the microscope to see whether consumers are being taken for a ride.

The final area of focus will be on access to on-board computer data, which the ACCC believes could become a bigger issue as cars become more advanced.

Mr Sims told news.com.au after the recent recall of thousands of Fiat Chrysler Jeeps, the ACCC decided to investigate the broader issue of consumer guarantees.

“You had people calling for ‘lemon laws’, and our position was, we’ve got a lemon law — it’s called Australia’s consumer guarantees,” he said.

“For too long the focus has been on manufacturer’s warranty, when in fact if it’s a minor fault you’re allowed to get a repair, and if it’s a major fault you’re entitled to a refund or a replacement.

“So the question is, if you buy a car and you have a problem with the clutch three times in a row, when does that minor fault become a major one?”

Mr Sims said he suspected the problem was widespread, with many manufacturers shirking their obligations under the law.

“That’s our concern,” he said. “We don’t have the proof of that yet, but we have a concern that’s the case — and we’re going to find out. If we find out that it is the case, we’re going to be taking enforcement action.”

Mr Sims said the watchdog had received a small number of complaints about car owners not being given access to their car’s data.

“That Audi you’re driving around, any modern car these days more and more has its own set of data that you rely on to fix it,” he said. “The question becomes, is that data yours? Are there restrictions on where you can take it?

“It’s still low level, but that’s one where we want to get ahead of the curve.”

The ACCC has investigated a string of car makers recently, including Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Kia. The Kia and Fiat Chrysler Australia probes ended last year.

Fiat Chrysler agreed to a consumer redress program and to an internal review of its handling of complaints, while Kia agreed to amend its terms and conditions of its capped price servicing offer. The VW investigation is ongoing.

The ACCC will be inviting written submissions from the public later this year after it releases and issues paper providing more detail on the study. A draft report will be launched in early 2017.

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— with AAP