Consumer Action will campaign for better protections for people who purchase faulty or ‘lemon’ cars. Motor vehicles are protected by consumer guarantees, but too often Victorians cannot enforce their consumer rights when sold a lemon car because seeking justice through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is costly, time consuming, and inaccessible.
We will campaign for a specialist, free alternative dispute resolution scheme – a Motor Vehicle Ombudsman – that is:
ACCESSIBLE – so that all Victorians can access justice, no matter their background or circumstances
AFFORDABLE – so that people don’t need to find thousands of dollars for an expert report, which is beyond the means of most, particularly with the rising cost-of-living
TIMELY – so that people can access justice, recover financially and get back on the road in weeks, not years.
Motor vehicles are protected by consumer guarantees, but too often Victorians cannot enforce their consumer rights because seeking justice through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is costly, time consuming, and inaccessible.
THE CAMPAIGN ON LEMON CARS
STORIES (about lemon cars)
HELP FOR CONSUMERS
OTHER RESOURCES
‘Lemon’ laws – An inquiry into consumer protections and remedies for buyers of new motor vehicles
Submission: Regulatory Review of the Motor Car Traders Act (MTCA) 1986
- Detours and Roadblocks – The consumer experience of faulty cars in Victoria Webinar – YouTube
- Lemon cars and consumer law | CHOICE
- Remote Indigenous communities left with broken cars and no redress | CHOICE
- Dodgy cars sold to Indigenous communities without redress | CHOICE
- Consumer issues in Victoria – CPRC
- Calls for car ombudsman to resolve ‘lemon’ vehicle disputes | CHOICE
- Consumer Action Law Centre legal experts are calling for dispute resolution alternatives after a flood of complaints (nine.com.au)
- Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Consumer Experiences in the New Car Market | CHOICE
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- Consumer Action Law Centre, ‘Can I Get out of a Contract to Buy a Car from a Car Trader? – Your Cooling-off Rights’, 30 June 2013.
- DemandARefund.Com.
- Consumer Action Law Centre, ‘Legal Help’.
- CHOICE, ‘Lemon Cars and Consumer Law’, 26 April 2019.
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ‘Cars: Buying or Rental’.
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ‘Where to Go for Consumer Help’.
- Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria, ‘Cars’.
- New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading, ‘Cars & Other Vehicles’.
- Queensland: Office of Fair Trading (Qld), ‘Buying a Used Car’.
- South Australia: Consumer and Business Services, ‘Buying a Used Car?’.
- Western Australia: Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Western Australia, ‘Buying a Car: A Buyer’s Checklist’.
- Tasmania: Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (Tasmania), ‘Buying a Used Car’.
- Northern Territory: Northern Territory Consumer Affairs, ‘Cars’.
- Australian Capital Territory: Australian Capital Territory, Access Canberra, ‘Fair Trading and Consumer Rights’
- Handle My Complaint – this online service can help you lodge a complaint
- Vehicle Recalls – Find out if your car or component has been recalled
- Check the safety ratings of your car before buying
- Check if your car is free from debt, not stolen or written off
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- Productivity Commission, ‘Right to Repair’, Draft Report, 11 June 2021.
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ‘New Car Retailing Industry Market Study 2016-17’, 14 December 2017.
- Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation, ‘Access to Justice Review : Report and Recommendations’, 2016.
- Parliament of Queensland, ‘‘Lemon’ Laws – An Inquiry into Consumer Protections and Remedies for Buyers of New Motor Vehicles’, 8 October 2015.
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