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We recently bought a grandvilla motor home that came with…

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Hi we recently bought a...

Hi we recently bought a grandvilla motor home that came with safety certificates to say the approval of the motor home was up to the standards of safety through out. We soon discovered on the way from the sunshine coast to Central Coast the brakes were failing the steering had gone and the gas was leaking, just to mention a few (we have the list and a report on all of these with pictures) we had to get these items and more fixed reaching our destination, the motor started to catch fire, the stabilizers were not working, the electrical side is still yet to be corrected after a quick fix to get us on our way. These are just a few thus far. the lights failed not long after purchasing the motor home on the 30th May 2015. The battery needed replacing the wipers looked like they were still the original wipers from1988. WE bought this from a private purchased advertised in the motor home on line section, and even though we had left a substantial amount of deposit the left it advertised also to our disappointment. We have spoken to the people in question to explain what has gone wrong and also the Vehicle safety inspection person that wrote the report out, they both will not take any reasonability towards this. We have just gotten a report on the gas and he as all so far was totally disgusted as we could have blown ourselves up on top of killing someone or ourselves! with steering and brakes failing. Please Help us just recover the money that is costing us to repair the main item that are a consumers right to have covered in the safety certificates, after all isn't that why we are to have them? please help with this distressing situation

Submitted: 7 years ago.Category: Australia Law

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Answered in 55 minutes by:

7/1/2015

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Leon, Solicitor

Category: Australia Law

Satisfied Customers: 52,733

Experience: BEc Dip Ed, Dip Law (SAB) MTax (UNSW)

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Good Morning,My name is ***** ***** I am a NSW Solicitor. Thank you for your question, and will do my best to assist you with your question. Please understand this is not legal advise Please understand this is not legal advise but a guide to assist you.Can I assume that you purchase this second-hand through private seller?Did you order the vehicle safety report yourself or was this provided to you by the Seller and how recent was it?

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

We bought it through a private seller from Marsden QLD second hand, the vehicle Certificate of inspection was given to use by them (the sellers) HV-A(###) ###-####was the authority no, date of approval 13/11/14 then reapproved 14/11/14. gas Certificate of approval was also approved on the 9/5/15 also given to us by them. NO 068784. We have reports and photos of the work completed after purchased.

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

Hi Leon
sorry! and thank you, ***** ***** purchased the motor home on the 30th May 2015.To our dismay the reversing camera was not fixed as asked before we picked it up, they gave use $70 to get a new one. On driving from Marsden to the sunshine coast were we live in Kureelpa QLD. It was on dusk and we needed the lights on, that's when we discovered the lights were not functioning! we rang them and the comment was they worked fine and were approved with lights working fine! the mileage read 69240,
When we picked it up it had 69282 Miles on the speedometer, arriving at the mechanics on the way down to the central coast to see why the brakes worn't functioning and the steering was so bad read 70085 on the Mileage count. date being the 5/6/15.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Good Morning,being from a private buyer they owe you know guarantees and you cannot easily recover the money unless you can show that they had knowledge of the issues and they misled you are providing you with the report.The saying buyer beware applies to all private sales and you take the risk when you purchase privately and do not undertake the appropriate inspections yourself.Who we should these 3 certificates? did you check to see whether they had done any repairs that you had requested before you collected the vehicle? is your mechanic able to say whether these problems existed long term and whether the certificates you relied on should not have been issued?

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

Hi Leon
They told use that they had all safety Certificates and it was in perfect running order they went through everything verbally.
Yes the brakes were crossed off as needing repairs and one day later approved!
We also have reports by the repairers to say that these should never have been passed and people like these give them a bad name they should not be operational . We being Vicki (myself) and Lindsay (my husband)We could have killed ourselves or someone else.
Isn't that why we get official road worthy Certificates, and isn't it against the law to write and not check the safety before approving it?The Certificates should not have been issued, both reports show the findings and we have photos also.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Good Morning, The issue you have is that you didn't request safety certificate yourself. It appears to me that whoever prepared the safety certificate was negligent. Have you requested the inspection yourself and paid for the certificate then you would be able to sue the party that issue the certificates for negligence.But because you did not order the certificates you have no claim against the party that issued them.Being a private sale you are not protected by the consumer protection laws. My concern is whether the certificate is a legitimate, and if so why were they issued if the vehicle was not roadworthy. You will need to obtain a report from your mechanic to confirm the issues with the brakes and in their opinion whether or not they were repaired and would have met the requirements to issue the certificate. If the report says that the certificate should not have been issued then that there is some Avenue for you to follow against the person issuing the certificate.If the sellers were aware at the certificate should not have been issued then you would have an action against them as well as they provided a false certificate knowing it was false, and misled you.Your only action against the sellers is for breach of contract, but you will need to establish, through your mechanic, that they would have been aware that the vehicle was not roadworthy yet they proceeded to sell it and breached the contract which was for a roadworthy vehicle.The following link is what the law says about private purchases in Queensland at the law is the same in all states.https://www.qld.gov.au/law/your-rights/consumer-rights-complaints-and-scams/buying-products-and-services/buying-products/buying-a-used-car/buying-privately/ Only if you can show that the certificates were issued illegally and that there was full knowledge that the vehicle was not roadworthy can you take action against the person issuing the certificate, and if you can show that the seller was aware at the vehicle was not roadworthy and the certificate false can you join them. It is not a simple matter and unfortunately it is going to be a very difficult road. Does this make sense?

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

Hi Leon
Just to mention when we went to register the motor home in our name, it was disallowed as the gas certificate was a copy and needed to be an original. When we asked for the original the one given to use on the day of purchase came with no of fair trading as written above as 068784 date 9/5/15.
When asking them to send the original as stated by the RTA, it came in the mail 1/7/15, with a differed approval date being 26/6/15 and a different approval no 087043 can this happen without being in their posesion to inspect?

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Good Morning,it appears that these people have misled you and provide you with false certificates to get the sale.I'm not sure who has issued the certificates but this does not seem correct to me and I would suggest that you contact the issuer of the certificates and ask them about the certificate and what they can tell you about the vehicle.I think you may have a case but is going to be a difficult one. This case will have to be running Queensland as these certificates have all been issued in Queensland and the contract was entered into in Queensland.I assume you did not get a history of the service of the vehicle when you purchase it deceitfully been serviced correctly?

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

HI Leon
as written prior, we have the written reports from the mechanic and also the gas that we have had repaired now done by them.
We did speak to the inspection guy his name was Jay, he said the front brakes were in need of repair and sent it away as one was leaking oil and the other was greased? one day later it returned he said they had gurney it and he then passed it, We had a lot of questions to follow that comment,
Our report follows from Wyong truck and Bus Repairs
After accessing the brakes on vehicle 873VEP foretravel Grandvilla I conclude that the handbrake and footbrake of this vehicle to be ineffective.
The cause of this would most likely be due to the following factors:
1. the hub seals on the front is leaking
2. the shoes are contaminated
3.the rear shoes are on the rivets
to repair this, the whole brake system will need to be overhauled. Also, the steering box is severely leaking oil and will also need to be overhauled.
In my opinion this vehicle is dangerous and should not be driven Craig George
ph(###) ###-####Also the gas report reads
We were asked to investigate gas leaks under the Foretravel Grandvilla Motorhome: Registration NO: 873VEP QLD and we found three substantial leaks on pipe work under the van. We have repaired these leaks and pressure test is now ok
As this vehicle had a gas certificate issued recently it appears likely that no pressure test was detected. Also, no safety stickers were present in the vehicle
Royce Perrett Wahoo Plumbing PTY LTD ph:(###) ###-####

Customer reply replied 7 years ago

Hi Leon we also videoed all that was spoken when handing the motor home over so we did not forget anything, this was for our convenience at the time but now proving very binding in what was actually said and what is.Are you still there

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Good Afternoon,My apologies for the delay.The issue is how they obtained certificates if there was a problem with the brakes and this is of great concern to me. If they had simply claimed the brakes the problem would not have gone away and their repairer should not have issued the certificate.Further I understand that you have had the vehicle repaired, but can your repairer provide details and estimate the time that the vehicle had problems?In order for you to be able to commence any proceedings against them you need to collect evidence that they were aware there were problems and that they deliberately misled you and provided false documents to get the sale. You are going to need assistance from their repairer and your repairer about what issues they were and if you can show the certificates were fraudulently obtained then you have an action.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 7 years ago

Good Morning
I'm just following up our discussion earlier this week and seeing whether there is anything else I can assist you with.
If I have missed anything, or you have any further questions please let me know.
If there is anything else in the future please do not hesitate to ask.
Please do not forget to leave positive feedback.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Leon

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