Victoria first to adopt ‘Lemon Laws’
September 25, 2007 by Matt Brogan
Victorian motorists could be the first in Australia to benefit from new ‘lemon laws’ to be implemented shortly by the State Government. These laws, although commonplace in many other countries (including parts of the US and Canada), have yet to make it to Australia leaving many of us feeling it is long overdue.
Under the proposed new laws, motorists who purchase vehicles that suffer repeated repairs on the same component, or endure a vehicle which is susceptible to the failure of numerous components over a set period of time, will be entitled to an exchange vehicle or full refund.
A problem must occur within a set time frame from purchase, which is yet to be determined, with the overall aim of the new laws being to limit the chance of a manufacturer repairing the vehicle repeatedly until the end of the warranty period, by which time the repair costs are then at the onus of owner.
It is believed, at this stage, the laws will only apply to personal buyers and the scope of the laws mean circumstances will alter depending on the severity of the problem. For example, if the nature of the fault directly affects a safety aspect of the vehicle, the manufacturer will have two chances to get it right. Should the problem be of lesser consequence, they may be afforded three or four chances to sort it out.
Lemon Laws also prevent the re-sale of dud vehicles without a disclosure of history to the new buyer.
Exact terms of the proposed laws and their passing by parliament have yet to evolve, but Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson agrees that in all, it’s a step in the right direction and anyone (myself included) who has had to battle a big manufacturer to get what they paid for, will welcome the move whole-heartedly.
As always if you have any concerns or issues with your new vehicle, CarAdvice wishes to hear from you through the ‘Warranty Complaints’ tab at the top of the home page.
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Well this should help relieve the pain of all the Lemon Holdenwoo owner’s club, having that sour taste left in the mouth might subside, this call’s for a celebration yipeeee, I will blow up some balloon’s while Ford bake’s the cake, doesn’t mean you can eat though Holdenwoo….
Now if only we could get that in all of the states….
Its the first useful thing I have heard from a state government in a long time, now if only WA would follow suit. But then again I speak from the state with the highest stamp duty on motor vehicles.
I wish this was the law several years ago when my brand new Holden shit itself 25 minutes after picking it up from the dealership. They ‘fixed’ it, but I went on to have 19 warranty claims in 15 months.
Good move by Victorian Gov’t I reckon. This will put a few manufacturers in their place.
Thats Toyota stuffed !
Hey Matt have you driven a Ford lately? lol Sorry couldn’t resist that, I am with you though I am sure you have read my early posts on the dramas with Hubbys BA when it first arrived.Lets all just buy our cars in Victoria ,that could work hey!
Lemon Laws are great, and I am all for them but I reckon the automotive industry is always unfairly protrayed when it comes to reliability. There are plenty of ‘other’ consumer products out there and Lemon Laws should apply to all of them (eg some Plazma/High Def TV’s for a start!!)
Hahaha, funny you should say that BM. I ditched the Holden (after owning seven of them) and bought a Ford. You know what, not one problem.
I know all manufacturers are susceptible to issues, but it was Holden’s reluctance to sort the issue and their attitude each time I went in that shat me more than the car itself.
Very happy with the Ford so far, and the dealership’s attitude.
I agree with Matt,
I bough my xr6 in 2003 and planned to update it after 2 years. But it has been so reliable and is so good to drive that I can’t see the point of getting a new one. After 148000kms, I have no complaints.
Any problems have been minor and the dealers have fixed quickly and explained what they did.
It is a 5 speed manual and is economical on the freeway – I have driven to Sydney on one tank for a hwy 7.2l/100km – and makes me wonder why people are paying so much for second hand 4 cylinder corrollas purely to get a saving on fuel!
But everyone know that you do get your lemons and that applies to all carmakers – We have had ours and still includes a 2001 Nissan Patrol purchased new with endless faults, a peugeot 206CC that has had 3 new roofs seals, faulty auto & dodgy electrics!!!
280zx, thats Toyota stuffed? Interesting. I think this is good for them, all those people buying for example the Holden Epica can now, in Victoria, return their Korean POS and buy a Camry instead. Oh but I forgot Holden already have their money back guarrantee on the Epica, only problem being you have to change it for another Holden of equivlanet or more value. Great deal their Holden!
Ah I don’t think any manufacturer is exempt from producing the occasional lemon, some are worse than others sure, but at least now you and I will have a leg to stand on.
The last time I had a warranty claim I was offered theatre tickets instead of having it properly repaired – what a joke.
QUOTE= ” Oh but I forgot Holden already have their money back guarrantee on the Epica, only problem being you have to change it for another Holden of equivlanet or more value. Great deal their Holden!
Would you rather change it for less value then Paul? Im sure they can arrange that…
Peter said
September 25 2007 @ 11:32 am
Well this should help relieve the pain of all the Lemon Holdenwoo owner’s club, having that sour taste left in the mouth might subside, this call’s for a celebration yipeeee, I will blow up some balloon’s while Ford bake’s the cake, doesn’t mean you can eat though Holdenwoo….
I would not keep this up Peter, You stick to your Jap Crap or Fords which have the worst record in Australia and need to rely on a lot of parts from Mazda oh and don’t forget Ford Australia was the first to go down the Korean path with their first Focus which came after the Laser. Remember the Kia Rio which was badged as a Ford. What a heap that was. While we get people who put down Holden which brings many jobs and lots of money to our economy(actually people is not the word, turd is more like it) I will start up a alternative site with the all latest technology through Yahoo7. I will spend big with advertising and anyone who breaches terms and conditions will automatically be banned for good because we need to Support Australian industry not defame it. I think Japan and Korea do make some good cars and have even been to assemble plants in different countries but that does not mean it gives me or anyone the right to blast Australian workers. You are a real jerk Paul and you will cause lots of potential car enthusiasts to blackban this site and the word will get around. I am sure the webmasters would not want that. So how about some constructive comments instead of defaming Holden which is Australia’s largest motorcar exporter with Europe and Britain being added to the already expanding list of countries importing the VE/WM which Ford Australia wont achieve because they have missed their chance and Toyota Australia wont achieve because those markets already have their distributors. Commodore was always a car which was started in Australia, Camry was not as its always been a world car initially designed in Japan. Ford cannot even do it either because of the 1st Falcons background just like the FJ etc. Mitsubishi are the only other company that can compare with Holden after the redesigning of the Sigma into the Magna which was widened and sold only in Australia in that form. Anyway had enough of these car snobs. Everyday I check the news on this even when I don’t contribute. That is now finishing and I will spread the word that carpoint, Carsguide and Drive are better sites to check until my zero defamation policy website is complete. Having studied cars for over 30 years gives me knowledge of many cars and there is not a car on Aussie roads that I do not know. I also have inside contacts in many car companies in Australia and could always get scoops through my sources. So goodbye car advice its one thing ensuring all car companies are accountable its another to allow writers who defame car companies just because they dont like them eg. Holden vs Ford.
No 250zx… you are obviousy unaware of their ‘deal’. The point is if it was of any real value to customers, theyd be able to give the car back and GET THEIR MONEY BACK. That would show faith in their product… not accepting it back as long as you purchase another Holden for the same or more value. Get it now?
Hahahah Johnno your a joke mate, I dont think we need your kind here… ‘defaming Holden’. What your talking about is trying to restrict peoples freedom of speech, what makes this site great is that you get people of varying opinions come together and share it, giving perspective on issues. If we were to have it your way, it would be Holden Holden Holden… and this site would then be up shyte creek. Go and tell people carpoint, drive and co are better… becaue they just have to go their and then here and realise themselves how full of sh*t you are. This place is one of the best automotive resources on the net, what some bogan like yourself says isnt going to change that.
Oh and btw you really are a joke, you talk about defamation of Holden, which I doubt you even know means…. yet you start your comment off by saing ‘You stick to your jap crap’. You lack any crediblity and its certainly hard to beleieve given your post, that you have 30 years automotive experience let alone contacts in the industry.
Oh one more reply Paul
Paul said
September 25 2007 @ 3:10 pm
280zx, thats Toyota stuffed? Interesting. I think this is good for them, all those people buying for example the Holden Epica can now, in Victoria, return their Korean POS and buy a Camry instead. Oh but I forgot Holden already have their money back guarrantee on the Epica, only problem being you have to change it for another Holden of equivlanet or more value. Great deal their Holden!
Fistly youhave just proven your mentality with your last sentence in te above. The word their. For example
“are you going to go to their party this weekend” and ” Will you go there as well”.
Now if you read Australia’s no.1 selling motoring magazine you will see you are totally wrong. Go to the comparo of Epica, Camry and Sebring on page 102. Make sure you read the whole comparo from start to finish otherwise you will just claim that Holden bias crap you seem to enjoy saying. You name one really bad report on the Epica. Not bad for a car which is one generation behind the Camry and will only get better when the next generation is released. I have already seen the next generation Viva which was built after GM bought Daewoo. Its a stunner and a really good product as well. Barina is also due to be overhauled in the very near future as well so just wait till the next generation arrives.
Paul, is that how you reply by claiming people who drive Holdens are Bogans. Maybe its you who is the Bogan not Holden drivers. As the saying goes it takes one to know one.
Oh my cousin is married to a very highly paid engineer with Toyota and travels the world at their expense, and I do know many contacts. I reviewed cars for a living in the 80’s and 90’s so I have that many years experience and I was also around when motor manuel, Modern Motor and Wheels were the three motor Magazines until Modern Motor and Motor Manuel merged to become Motor. So grow up, I will go now because I have read your replies to me up to now and cant be bothered responding to you or your crap anymore. If you cant say anything nice don’t say anything at all.
Mate please done nit pick spelling, this isnt an english class. As for the Epica, honestly how can you be defending Holdens ploy to bring in budget cars under their badge and sell them at the same prices as others. A budget car has budget quality. Not only this, the Koreans dont exactly have great relaibility. These are two issues which time will show up, not a 1 day review of a car. Negatives, Ive read that in 6 cylinder form it still lacks punch and it doesnt have stability control. You make reference to the Barina, it has a 2 star safety rating, are you going to defend this as well? Holden really is giving it to the Australian public, a vehicle like that is unsafe and shouldnt be on our roads. Go have a lack at the video on this site somewhere of its crash test, its a scary thing to watch.
Lol Johnno its hard to believe you have all this experience and connections, Im sorry… your first post was not the quality of someone who has such knowledge and your conclusion to the last post ‘im taking my bat and ball home’ doesnt sound like something from an adult let alone someone with all this experience.
Paul mate you are right about JOHNNO. He is a self proclaimed guru in everything doing more education, more life skills, more common sense and more careers then all = DIPSTICK AND MOST OVERATED VISITOR TO CARADVICE
Gotta admit Johnny, if it came to Epicawoo and Camry / Aurion – the majority would not notice anything bar the later as Epica is in this form not at same level as cars in the field it competes against. This is why Toyota are good as they have cars like the Corolla (Camry is doing well too) that sell in excess of one million since inception worldwide and as for people saying Corolla is boring and for old people – well that is too funny as the style rocks and Iam a Ford Supporter and mate!
Although this is a step in the right direction, I can see dealers/manufactures finding loopholes.
Either that or they’ll just change the ’specification’ to something that is so loosly written that they can twist it anyway they want.
“It’s within spec” I dare say no-one here has ever heard that chestnut before. (sarcasm)
I have a new car, I will never buy another of any brand.
The experience has soured me for life.
I am within my rights to sue the manufacturer of my car.
The ACCC even said what I had done was more than anyone should have too and that I should speak to a lawyer about a magistrates court case.
Problem is, I can’t afford it.
Maybe this lemon law will help others to come.
I won’t hold my breath though….
Just like to say that our Aussie Fords have been ultra reliable, in view of the stoush that Paul and Holden johnno (I can’t see how you reviewed cars with spelling like that!) had above.
Also, I was lucky enough to drive many new mainstream cars up to 5000km for work stints, and the only one without fault was a BF XR6 4sp auto. And 8.6L/100km. When shopping for our new family wagon, I kept this in mind. Resultantly we have another ultra reliable Ford, a SY wagon getting 10L/100km on 6 sp auto, a best of 8.4L/100km on ultimate! It is a great product.
I do not work for them, merely a happy customer.
Oh, and johnno, when you say “Commodore was always a car which was started in Australia,” NO! NO! NO! NO! It was foreign, through and through! It was the reason our family switched, and not a patch on the Australian Kingswood. Go read your history, son! Since 1972 the Falcon has had more local design, content and engineering than any other car produced in Australia. We’re lucky to have it at such affordable prices.
Paul…
The offer that Holden had going on the epica was…
It was a limited offer at launch and it involved taking the epica back to Holden and either…
Buying another Holden for equal/greater value
or…
proving that your purchasing another make and model from another brand, they didn’t make you purchase another Holden…
Thast the truth.
Adam, it’s not fair of you to refute my arguments with facts.
I won’t be able to live anymore if you keep that up.
Yes nice one Adam using my name, the above post isnt me, although Im sure its obvious.
In regards to your post Adam, yes I was wrong you could purchase another vehicle and provide proof of purchase, BUT this doesnt make it any less of a joke. You have a deal like that, money back guarrantee… that shows faith in your product. This was just a marketing stunt, which judging by the lack of Epicas on the road… failured miserably.
Paul…
I agree the promotion didn’t work as well as expected.
Epica is just not selling regardless.
I’m hanging out to see the new mondeo, not long now…
Yes well the Mondeo will offer someting reasonable I think… I doubt they will have money back guarrantees on it either lol. When you have a quality product, you dont need to!
We have a large lemon:
Winnebago LONGREACH.
It has been problems ongoing since we got it in July 2008.
We are living in the shop now! In Melbourne.
Getting on with the workers and managers, first-name basis.
They have a nice dog…old.
WInnebago: should be YELLOW.
We also have a HUGE lemon in a Winnebago Bundaleer
Bought new in 2004 ,it has had continual major problems
Cracked sidewalls -4 times W/bago tried to fix it and gave up
Huge electrical problems from day one -took 18 months to fix that
Gearbox and Cummins engine problems
It just continues on -it would have cost W/bago well over $100k for repairs so far and we have been without the use of the M/H for many months It is so unreliable that we expect a major breakdown at each trip
It is not reliable and Winnebago or their dealers DONT CARE
I wish HMB good luck with their Longreach
Whats the latest with this law?
I am about to go to war with FOMOCO for only minor issues, but issues nonetheless which they have NOT fixed to my satisfaction.
Like all things, if you make a good product you have nothing to fear, so all the Japanese [except Mitsu.] will continue to sleep well at night…
Cheers
F-0
LATEST??
It is quite hilarious to learn that the law makes are seeking advice from the car makers. Come on are we so stupid? It is like asking a serial killer if he wants to go to jail.