Read This Before Buying From A Car Yard

[The Max]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/public-defender/i-am-not-a-bad-guy-says-used-car-importer-phil-lee/news-story/3829a0c5b3584762934e9a5869d7726a?sv=5bd9eccdf2c403d7707a39389d4442cc&utm_source=The%20Telegraph&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial

Sums it up nicely as to why I imported my own through an agent.

[colin.ssc]

Yup. Not to mention some compliance workshops in NSW is owned by that idiot. My car got sent to one of them and they charged me for fluid changes etc and scratched up the car a little.....and they said nope, not them, probably the freight service.......right mate, the freight service changed all my fluids to old stuff when they brought my car from NSW to WA....f**king tools.

[Hadouken]

Wooo Edward lees. I'm riding this boat!

[The Max]

...until it sinks.

At least the moderators here can relax about libel and defamation so long as we stick to the gist of the article.

It's amazing though that a business can be so dodgy that they can flirt with the regulations, not to mention fold the company to avoid paying out customers they've screwed over. There's got to be something that can be said for such practitioners which can be broadcast for all the public to know where not to go shopping for their next vehicle ... ever.

I settled for buying the shitbox BA wagon from Australian Fleet Sales back in 2010 because it was a shitbox and dialling the clock back 100,000km on it wouldn't make any difference to such a battleaxe - not to mention a shitload of haggling.

[The Max]

Yup. Not to mention some compliance workshops in NSW is owned by that idiot. My car got sent to one of them and they charged me for fluid changes etc and scratched up the car a little.....and they said nope, not them, probably the freight service.......right mate, the freight service changed all my fluids to old stuff when they brought my car from NSW to WA....f**king tools.

Thankfully my agent, Prestige Motorsports, had a very professional contact in Brisbane to handle my '09 since they hadn't been complied by many so early in 2012. Yes, they did the fluid changes, filters and brake pads as well but that was all part of the $2000 compliance cost. The only thing that was buggered up was the engine serial number on the paperwork but that was quickly rectified. The car was otherwise very well looked after and the headlight modification was made to be completely reversible.

Luck of the draw, I suppose but it's always good to have some kind of list where everyone contributes their experience with which import agent, compliance workshop or dealer. Forewarned is forearmed, after all. The more things like this are discussed, the better for all concerned.

[colin.ssc]

My agent, Prestige Motorsports too, didnt realise that the guys he was using in NSW was utter shit. He stopped using them when I made a big fuss haha....

[The Max]

Poor Geoff. He probably doesn't have many options left in NSW then. Might be better off sending all the vehicles to Brisbane.

[V35_Paul]

Lots of people have caught them out before with tampering with odometers.

But I guess none of them ever went as far as going to the courts.

[The Max]

Hopefully it keeps happening to the point he gets sick of appointing administrators all the time, or the authorities put a stop to it.

[Arycama]

I have a dealer story too, this one took place shortly before the lovely Christmas of 2015.

I nearly bought an imported car from a car dealer in SA. (I won't name it but some of you can probably easily guess who I'm referring to) We had some sort of weird agreement, it was around Christmas time and they said they could register the car for me and have it to me by Christmas, even though a purchase contract had not been signed. They asked for my financial details over the phone to register the car, which I gave. However the finance company who they had been in contact with decided to close early that day, so I did not receive the car within the timeframe they promised. At this stage, I was just going to pick up the car when they reopened after christmas.

Over christmas, I did some research, and found that this dealer had been caught three times selling cars with wound back odometers. After posting a Facebook status asking friends for advice, I had several people I knew personally telling me to absolutely avoid the dealer, and that one of them had bought a wound back car in the past, went through a huge hassle to get the money back, and then immediately saw the car re-listed with the incorrect mileage, which was then soon re-sold. My friend tracked down the buyer, informed him the odometer had been wound back, and when the person contacted the dealer, the dealer threatened legal action against my friend.

After learning all this information, I decided I did not want to do business with this dealer. No purchase agreement had been signed, but the dealer immediately became hostile, told me I would not be getting my money back, and hung up on me. I have tried getting legal advice, but have been very busy with work, and all the advice so far has been unhelpful as "No contract was signed", so for some reason that means they can just have my money for giving me absolutely nothing in return. The most useful advice I received is to write a letter of demand for the money, and if that fails, take them to the Minor Civil Claims Court. Still haven't written the letter yet... luckily you have 3 years to do it. (Though I won't be waiting that long of course)

The dealership in question currently owes me $760.

Anyway, I now have a fantastic car on it's way from Japan thanks to Iron Chef Imports! So at least I learned my lesson.

[The Max]

When you have nothing in writing, not even a receipt from them detailing the $760 transaction, you don't have much of a leg to stand on for getting that money back.

Anything as major as this should always be done in writing. When I asked for a one year registration for the BA at Australian Fleet Sales, I was given a handshake gesture. I told them no paperwork will be signed and no money will be exchanged until I get the one year registration deal in writing because talk is cheap. There's no shame in being a ballbreaker when it comes to business, so long as it's within reason.

[Arycama]

I do have invoices for the total amount of the car, plus a copy of the rego certificate. My bank transaction log also shows the payment to the business.

[The Max]

Does the invoice with the total amount show how much your deposit was and the remaining balance arising from that deposit?

[Arycama]

Nope. Though I do have a text message (backed up) from the dealer saying "You've paid $760".

[The Max]

For what? It's a weak bit of evidence. I'm not trying to shut you down here but you have to think like an arsehole lawyer. I'd still fight the good fight for the sake of saying at least I tried but honestly, it's not looking good when whatever you have in writing is not really strong enough to build a solid case. All you can hope for in the battle is that he slips up at some point and you can nail him on it. Good luck but next time, for any transaction, get it all down in writing beforehand. Get a proforma invoice which shows the deposit amount and thereafter, even if you don't get the actual tax invoice, at least you have the proforma to piece a more solid case with.

[The Max]

The plot thickens and not just for E. Lee either: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/sydney-used-car-dealerships-tampering-odometers-nsw-police/7173646