Problem with car dealer - Christchurch

[ben-jamminn]

My girlfriend is having trouble with 'Stadium Cars' here in Christchurch, has anyone on here had any experience with them?

Long, long story but basically she bought a 2002 Impreza IS Sport hatch in early January, to start with they didn't fulfill the tasks they stated in the 'promise sheet' i.e. fit band expander, fix stone chips and repair curbing to the rims, none of this was done.

Anyway, get the car home, after a few days we notice how the car 'surges' when you after lifting off the throttle then applying throttle again, also terrible fuel economy, yet to get 400km to a full tank, tried 91, 95, 98 no difference.

We took it back to stadium cars, they did a trans flush, replaced o2 sensor. No difference

Took it back again, not sure what they did this time (won't give us any receipts). No difference.

My girlfriend called them again, they accused her of being too picky and "should be thankful she's not in the red zone" (this is emotional black mail, has nothing to do with her car, and little do they know, but she actually lost her house in burwood to the redzone..) After all this I went down there with her and made it really clear that we are finding their service completely un acceptable and that this was their last chance to fix the car, we have really had enough.

This was met with every excuse under the sun, and when I brang up anything to do with the faults with the car they said "we aren't mechanics"... well neither am I

So we left the car with them yet again, they've had it for two and a half weeks, got it back today. They said to her "we've had to spend a lot of money on this car, trying to guilt trip her. she replied with "i spent alot of money on this car" No idea what they have actually done to it. So they've been 'road testing it' (trip meter was at 380km and fuel light on so obviously fuel still no better) and it is STILL surging!

Whats worse is it is under a autosure 6 month mechanical warranty so I don't know why they are being so difficult...

We have absolutely had enough now, she just wants her money back now, they have had enough time to fix it now it's getting out of hand

Has anyone got any advice? surely this is grounds for the consumer guarantees act to come into play?

[gazzy2000]

i'd say knock sensor is crook and/or needs relocating on those cars... asuming they reset the ECU after the 02 snsor install

but yea, get your money back if you can... what d1cks! I'd say to them that you have named and shamed on this subaru forum.. and do they really want that sort of bad press...

Some one on here will know about the consumer GA and your rights etc

good luck

[rex-leggy]

a friend had a similar situation with a tt legacy . ended up going to court and getting some $$$ back . dont know if they got it all or not .

either way id take it back, give them the keys and say i want my $$$ or you will be hearing from my lawer

its not trade me there a business for fucks sake

[ben-jamminn]

I didn't see the garage that did the work but My gf said it looked like something out of the Indian slums..

yeah definitely I wouldn't recommend them to anyone at all, I work for Fairfax Media so I have considered getting a story about them done, "car yard ripping off earthquake victim" I can see the headline now! haha I'd like to leave that as a last resort though..

[ben-jamminn]

 rex-leggy said:

a friend had a similar situation with a tt legacy . ended up going to court and getting some $$$ back . dont know if they got it all or not .

either way id take it back, give them the keys and say i want my $$$ or you will be hearing from my lawer

its not trade me there a business for f***s sake

definitely.. I like this " i want my $$$ or you will be hearing from my lawer"

[Swindog]

Take it back get your money back,

Cars are covered under the CGA. Its obviously not fit for purpose, youve given them due course to fix it and its not fixed.

[rex-leggy]

 ben-jamminn']

[quote name='rex-leggy said:

a friend had a similar situation with a tt legacy . ended up going to court and getting some $$$ back . dont know if they got it all or not .

either way id take it back, give them the keys and say i want my $$$ or you will be hearing from my lawer

its not trade me there a business for f***s sake

/quote]

definitely.. I like this " i want my $$$ or you will be hearing from my lawer"

hopefully wont come to that tho ... more of a scare tactic that might work and stops you from having to .

otherwise just do it anyway they have no leg to stand on.

[MercuryFree]

http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/motor-vehicle-disputes-tribunal

Would be your best bet if you want to return the car... generally speaking they're required to fix the car if they told you that they would (otherwise it's false representation) but have no obligation to take it back unless a court orders them to

Before someone ninjas me, yes there is a "right to reject" but because it's been such a relatively long period of time the right to reject has potentially lapsed...which is why I made the above recommendation

 Swindog said:

Take it back get your money back,

Cars are covered under the CGA. Its obviously not fit for purpose, youve given them due course to fix it and its not fixed.

Technically sub-par fuel economy doesn't make it "not fit for purpose" unless they specifically quoted/represented that it would give a reasonable amount more than it does.

[ben-jamminn]

just found this

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-consumers/motor-vehicles/got-a-problem/faulty-or-defective-vehicles

Remedies for a serious fault

Where there is a serious fault, or one that cannot be fixed, you can choose between:

rejecting the vehicle and claiming a refund

rejecting the vehicle and claiming a replacement of the same type and similar value (if one is available in the trader’s stock)

keeping the vehicle but getting some of your money back.

Often where there is a serious fault, the trader will offer to repair it. It is your choice whether to accept this offer. If you agree to a repair and it does not fix the problem properly, or if the vehicle develops further faults, you will still have the same rights under the Act.

[MercuryFree]

 ben-jamminn said:

just found this

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/for-consumers/motor-vehicles/got-a-problem/faulty-or-defective-vehicles

Remedies for a serious fault

Where there is a serious fault, or one that cannot be fixed, you can choose between:

rejecting the vehicle and claiming a refund

rejecting the vehicle and claiming a replacement of the same type and similar value (if one is available in the trader’s stock)

keeping the vehicle but getting some of your money back.

Often where there is a serious fault, the trader will offer to repair it. It is your choice whether to accept this offer. If you agree to a repair and it does not fix the problem properly, or if the vehicle develops further faults, you will still have the same rights under the Act.

The act itself says the following:

 

Options against suppliers where goods do not comply with guarantees

(1) Where a consumer has a right of redress against the supplier in accordance with this Part in respect of the failure of any goods to comply with a guarantee, the consumer may exercise the following remedies.

(2) Where the failure can be remedied, the consumer may—

(a) require the supplier to remedy the failure within a reasonable time in accordance with section 19:

(b) where a supplier who has been required to remedy a failure refuses or neglects to do so, or does not succeed in doing so within a reasonable time,—

(i) have the failure remedied elsewhere and obtain from the supplier all reasonable costs incurred in having the failure remedied; or

(ii) subject to section 20, reject the goods in accordance with section 22.

(3) Where the failure cannot be remedied or is of a substantial character within the meaning of section 21, the consumer may—

(a) subject to section 20, reject the goods in accordance with section 22; or

(b) obtain from the supplier damages in compensation for any reduction in value of the goods below the price paid or payable by the consumer for the goods.

(4) In addition to the remedies set out in subsection (2) and subsection (3), the consumer may obtain from the supplier damages for any loss or damage to the consumer resulting from the failure (other than loss or damage through reduction in value of the goods) which was reasonably foreseeable as liable to result from the failure.

Consumer affairs have made it sound a bit more sunshine and daisies than it actually is. Best bet from a non-taking-it-back approach would be to get it fixed elsewhere by someone who knows what they're doing and make them pay the bill as above

[newsuba]

Lodge a complaint with the MTA, these clowns appear to be a member.

[ryn]

 newsuba said:

Lodge a complaint with the MTA, these clowns appear to be a member.

This.. would certainly perk their ears up a bit when they came calling.

[ben-jamminn]

It had a 4.5 star fuel economy rating sticker in the window when it was on the yard, she specified she wanted an economical car. The last car she had was also an absolute lemon, also from a dealer. Ironically, the salesman at stadium cars said "you don't want to get stung by another dodgy dealer" when she mentioned another car she was looking at

[Stoffa]

does anyone know what the Motor Vehicle Dealers Liciencing Board is called now?

you need to get hold of them, they can remove a car dealers licience to sell, I threatened to go to them once with a car sale, I ended up getting everything I asked for in just a few days

[newsuba]

They had had their balls cut off when the govt repealed the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1975.

Licensing is now done by the Ministry of Economic (Un)Development.

The OP may find some useful info here;

http://www.howtolaw.co.nz/html/ml124.asp

[ODB]

Take car back quoting consumer guarantees act.

Demand your money back.

It obviously isnt fit for purpose and hasnt been remedied.

If the above course of action is met with resistance then threaten:

1. Complaint to the MTA

2. Fair Go

3. Fairfax media connections - you will go to media.

4. Litigation.

They will pay out.

[boon]

As above, if you're really fed up, go in and state that the vehicle is not what it was represented to you as being (economical) and has unresolved faults - they have acknowledged there is a fault by undertaking to repair it, they have not succeeded so you can reject the vehicle and insist upon a refund.

If they give you any grief after that, ask them what their respondant name is for the Disputes Tribunal - although that's only good up to 10k if I recall correctly.

[Divine]

Got my RSB from there, paid 8k for it and it's rocker cover deals were fucked

[STiNGR]

Yer man, ring fair go! They love this type of shit. Cambelt may be a tooth out???

[Prodrivebugeye]

I've also had problems with a chch caryard. It all worked out in the end, but sometimes you just needa let them know your serious. I got blown off 3 or 4 times before I threw the cga with the specific quote at them and then telling them dead serious that it won't end there and then they pulled their heads in and sorted it.

I'd let them know just how far your willing to take this and i wouldn't be suprised if the problem is sorted, especially with your connections

[ben-jamminn]

Ok so here is the latest,

She got a letter from stadium cars, with it was receipts for work done :

Stadium cars said "from 36.81 litres of 95 fuel, they got 38 litres = 10.32 litres per 100kms

bearing in mind that this is a 1500cc 2 wheel drive, is this good or bad?

My STi gets around 550 kms to a 60 litre tank so that = 10.90 litres per 100kms

Aceomatic transmission services said:

"carried out extensive road testing, shudder detected under a particular combination of driving cinditions when lockup clutch remains on. Connect scanner and monitor all live data while symptom occurs. Computer found to be controlling transmission in an unusual way at lower speeds. Remove torque converter from car as requested, cut open for inspection, all ok. Reassemble and refit to car. Obtain identical vehicle for road testing and checking with scanner. Both cars found to have same symptom when driven in a particular way. This symptom in our view is because of the way the computer is programmed and not an actual fault.

Note: This symptom could be reduced by the installation of a custom built interface module"

Could it be a coincidence that the second car they tested had the same fault? We went to another dealer last weekend and bluffed that we were interested in an identical car, and test drove it and it didn't have the same shuddering symptom. I don't think after 10 years of making Imprezas that subaru would make that big of a cock up..

Vanatge Automotive & Auto Electrical

"Apply engine conditioner, replace air fuel ratio sensor, change transmission oil, replace trans filter add shudder fix, test drive, get trans fully flushed and cleaned, fuel consumption is correct for this car

All up they have spent $2300 on the car and we are still no better off.

Lauren is driving to Winton this weekend for a funeral, will be interesting to see what its open road consumption will be like, definitely not happy :-\

[rex-leggy]

engine conditioner rofl

[Swindog]

Look up the specs for that car mate it'll tell you the milage. Or ring wingers they'll help OR take it to a subaru dealership / mechanic and get them to do an appraise of mechanical worthiness. That report would stand up in arbitration more than their own mechanics cos its independent then claim back the cost of that aswell. Or just demand your money.back or its off to mediation.

[ben-jamminn]

Can't seem to find much about it on the net, being a jap model. It's a 2002 Impreza IS Sport.

Yes I'm going to contact the local Subaru dealer and present them with all the info so far and get an independent appraisal like you have mentioned.

Cheers!

[ben-jamminn]

Ok so we wrote a refusal letter, they have come back requesting us to get an independent inspection done on the car,

I am taking it to armstrong subaru tomorrow so fingers crossed for a good outcome!

I found the factory fuel consumption specs here http://specs.amayama.com/specs-subaru-impreza-wagon-2001-november/27726/

and it's way off the figure that stadium cars quoted from their own 'test'