Obligation of dealer to repair certain defects
168 Obligation of dealer to repair certain defects
Where:
(a) a dealer sells a motor vehicle, and a defect in the vehicle (including a defect existing or potentially existing at the time of the sale) subsequently appears or occurs; and
the circumstances fall within Case 1 or 2 in subsection (2);
the dealer is, subject to sections 169 and 171 and regulations referred to in section 170, liable in respect of the defect to the extent specified in subsection (3).
Cases 1 and 2 are as follows:
Case 1 The vehicle was sold:
otherwise than as a second-hand vehicle; or
(ii) as a second-hand vehicle which the dealer represented to the purchaser as being a demonstration vehicle.
The defect appeared or occurred:
(i) where the vehicle was sold subject to an unexpired manufacturer's warranty – before the expiry of the warranty; or
(ii) in any other case – before the vehicle had been driven 5000 km after the sale or (if earlier) the expiry of 3 months after the sale.
Case 2 The vehicle was sold as a second-hand vehicle, and:
(i) the sale was effected not more than 10 years (or in the case of a motor cycle, not more than 5 years) after the date of manufacture of the vehicle; and
(ii) the vehicle had, at the time of the sale, been driven for less than 160 000 km (or, in the case of a motor cycle, less than 30 000 km).
The defect appeared or occurred before the vehicle had been driven 5000 km after the sale or (if earlier) the expiry of 3 months after the date on which the purchaser took possession of the vehicle.
(3) The liability of a dealer in respect of a defect is, at the dealer's own expense, to repair and make good the defect (or cause the defect to be repaired and made good) so as to place the vehicle in a reasonable condition having regard to its age and the distance it has travelled.
(4) The liability imposed on a dealer by this section shall be treated as arising under an express term of the contract of sale relating to the vehicle.
(5) For the purposes of Case 2 in subsection (2), the date of manufacture of a vehicle is the date indicated as such by the manufacturer on the body of the vehicle or, if no date is so indicated, the date specified in the vehicle's certificate plate within the meaning of the Motor Vehicles Act 1949.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that:
(a) this section applies to the sale of a motor vehicle by a dealer notwithstanding that it is a sale on consignment; and
(b) nothing in this section derogates from the application of sections 54 and 55 of the Australian Consumer Law (NT) to the sale of a motor vehicle by a dealer.
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.