QLD Government Wants National Lemon Laws..

[csv8]

"The Queensland Government wants to have a national body investigate cars that are "lemons", set up a national "lemon register" and stop dodgy cars from being on-sold to unsuspecting consumers.

It recommends Australian lawmakers set up a national "lemon" register for cars that become problems for motorists.

"Cooling-off" periods for new car purchases should be reviewed and legislation should be specified to clarify the difference between "lemons" and manufacturing defects which need to be recalled.

These are the main recommendations from a Queensland parliamentary committee that handed down its report on Monday evening before state parliament returns for the last time in 2015.

Queensland's Legal Affairs and Community Safety committee, chaired by Labor's Ferny Grove MP Mark Furner, handed down its "lemon laws" report on Monday evening.

The main comments from government MP's are that;

a national motor vehicle consumer dispute resolution scheme be considered;
a national Motor Vehicles and Automotive Services Ombudsman be considered;
a national community 'lemon' motor vehicles register be considered;
that 'lemon' register would monitor problem motor vehicles and enable potential buyers to inform themselves on the issues relating to their proposed purchase;
a dealer, or a manufacturer gets a specified number of times to be able to repair a new car, before the buyer must be offered a refund, or replacement.

The Queensland Government report says it is happy to amend Queensland legislation, but understand the plan would have more impact as part of a national plan.

"The committee recommends that the government appropriately amend existing Queensland legislation to ensure effective implementation of the committee's recommendations included in this report, but do so as part of any national approach to 'lemon' laws for new motor vehicles in Australia."

Mr Furner said the committee received 118 responses from motorists who believed they had been sold "lemons."

"It was clear to the committee that where a consumer has purchased what they perceive is a 'lemon', it is of great significance to that individual, with significant health and financial costs," mr Furner said.

"This is conveyed in this report. Recognising that there is a national legal framework regarding consumer protection, with implementation occurring at the state level, the committee has made a number of recommendations for the government's consideration."

The Queensland Government report says its research, which looked at interstate and international "lemon laws", could not determine how widespread the vehicle "lemon" problem was in Queensland.

"While there was insufficient evidence presented to the committee to enable it to draw a conclusion that 'lemons' are a prevalent issue," the report says.

"What was very clear is that where a consumer has purchased what they perceive is a lemon, it is of great significance to that individual, with significant health and financial costs."

Cars were being on-sold after complaints were made, the report makes clear.

"Further, there is a risk that cars perceived to be lemons are offloaded - for example, sold on - and where the defect is a safety issue, this may place unsuspecting future purchasers of those vehicles and other road users at risk."

The 145-page report warns some dealers try to recover their costs from "lemons" by on-selling them.

"A common theme raised with the committee related to the potential on-selling of defective new cars," it notes.

"If there are serious defects in new cars - and recent recalls and media involving a number of manufacturers suggest that is a very real possibility - then there is an obvious risk of unsafe vehicles being passed on to unsuspecting consumers as the original purchaser attempts to recoup some of their expense, or the dealer, or the dealer re-sells a returned car."

The RACQ asked for a national mechanism for car owners to be able to argue their case vehicle defects with vehicle dealers or manufacturers, who generally have more expertise.

"But I still think there are opportunities to tweak the Queensland legislation to have a more accessible and fairer ways to resolve technical disputes," spokesman Steve Spalding said.

Mr Spalding said many of the recommendations were sensible, including one to increase the dollar amount of repairs that could be taken to civil court from $25,000 to $40,000.

He called for the government to return to a system of statutory warranties for cheaper, second-hand cars, which were removed by the previous LNP state governments.

However the report deals only with new car sales."
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/quee...30-glbw5k.html