My Rights against a Car Inspection Company

[regamaster]

hey guys,

after a while without a set of wheels, having uni starting and having money in the bank was pretty good, gave me a chance to look at other options other than a honda and also teach me that having some cash available for unexpected financial things pop up. Although having no car was all good, being able to use the olds vehicle, and with the above reasons in mind, and the rate of rising fuel prices, i decided to go for another cheap runner, fuel eco honda..

the thing is, i took a look at the vehicle, not too carefully, but I felt happy enough with it when I viewed the car, drove ok, seemed real cheap (yes i know .. thats not always a good thing), and as I've learnt in the past, not to buy a car without getting it inspected by proffessionals.

So as time went by, I arranged to get the car inspected, at this time, I knew it was either most probably going to be the AA or Car Inspection Services as I had heard that CIS was qutie a good alternative to AA, and had heard a few things about the AA. I have also had the AA come around and inspect a vehicle of my own for a potential buyer previously, and had a few faults come up which had no issues or problems at all (total b.s - checked, and double checked by mechanics). Also reading aroudn forums, there were other people who were asking around about inspection companies and who they recommended, same thing, if not AA (i've experienced some b.s from the AA bla bla bla), go for CIS..

So in this case, I decided to try CIS and at a rate of $115 it was sure to be comprehensive, just like any other, mobile, professionals, etc etc etc, all the b.s was listed on their website.

although i was more worried about engine condition, and rust, there were a few faults I did not know about before when i looked at it myself personally that was brought to my attention when I had gone over with my money in hand to finalise the deal. The engine stuff wasn't much of a worry, as a second hand engine/gearbox for the particular type is fairly cheap and parts for a honda are fairly cheap. but the other thing I cant stand is RUST! I sold my last civic that i poured some good money in to because it started rusting, real small tiny bits, and probably easily fixable, although I didn't wanna let it grow and not do anything about it, so instead of handling that problem, I flicked it off to a good home. I then looked at the report, and checked the bits about the body. The body yes, I personally saw what kind of condition the paint was, the front end had repairs done, and was explained by the honest owner, and had a few minor scratches and dings here and there, was all noted on the inspection form.

EXCEPT!!! - the fact that once I had handed over the money and it was all go out of their drive and a long drive home through the peak hour traffic all the way from howick back to the far west, I had a mate with me, stoked as, but when he had closer look, he found a small bit of rust that was growing near the boot (just like my old one, although in a different spot - still near the boot), and it was growing under the paint and had bubbled up (if thats the way to explain it). Furious to find this little bit, and not a mention or marking on the inspection sheet, i swore and swore until we decided to take the car up to his work and he'd give it a good clean as it was pretty filthy from the crappy weather. I soon discovered a larger bit of rust growing under the paint and bubbling just like the other bit near the boot, only this one was bigger and under the tailight, which i assume would be a little big bigger if the tailight was removed. With this in mind, I feel as I've been ripped off, and if I had been notified about this earlier, I would have reconsidered or atleast thought twice before handing over which isn't a huge amount, but well hard earned amount of money, and has me stumped as to what my rights are.

sorry this is a long story, but Im still up with uni in the morning, but this is something I would love to get resolved as its just such a big deal although it may not seem like it to others, and maybe if others saw the rust or the size of it, probably wouldnt matter, but Im a person who hates looking at rust, let alone knowing that my vehicle i planned on having for a while due to uni has rust growing on it and will need attending to later. I dont care that I paid $115 for the inspection, but knowing that the inspection wasn't what I was assured it was, and the make of break decision of handing over a sum of cash for something that was supposedly rust free (if i can say) and wasnt.

If anyone can give me some advice or some opinions then please do post up. I am planning on calling the company tomorrow or the inspector who did the job, but am not too sure how I should deal with it or to go about it, and what the outcome of these situations are.

Thanks

[Jazza]

Private sale im assuming? Im pretty sure theres nothing you can do about it. Same as if you buy a car with money owing on it and it gets towed. Too f*cking bad

[flygt4]

i dont think its the sale he miffed about , its the fact the inspection didnt pick up on some things.
either way , you get what you pay for with old used cars

[Jazza]

Personally, with both the cars ive bought, i made sure they were even insured before i drove them away. Unfortunately all you can do is learn from your mistakes, and if your super keen on a car, go to someone very reputable. Is it enough of a screw up to give fair go a call?

[flat_0ut]

not much you can do , the have clauses for people coming back at them saying it is not their fault if something is missed and it doesn't mean the car will pass a warrant etc.... talk to the company and tell them about it, then at least they might make sure it doesn't happen to someone else and might give you some $$ back.

[solitaire]

Personally, with both the cars ive bought, i made sure they were even insured before i drove them away. Unfortunately all you can do is learn from your mistakes, and if your super keen on a car, go to someone very reputable. Is it enough of a screw up to give fair go a call?

Fair go would probably have a look at this... they havnt done this before so its something new for them to harp on about

[Jazza]

At least it would publicise it a little, as much as i hate to say it, even if you dont benefit from it, youll still raise awareness

[solitaire]

At least it would publicise it a little, as much as i hate to say it, even if you dont benefit from it, youll still raise awareness

Absolutely... do it man....

[pc]

I skim read, But I think you would be alright asking for the inspection money back... you paid for a service and they didn't provide what you paid for.

[gurutasker]

Fair go would probably have a look at this... they havnt done this before so its something new for them to harp on about

They had one on 'Target' a little while ago...

[fangsport]

If anyone can give me some advice or some opinions then please do post up. I am planning on calling the company tomorrow or the inspector who did the job, but am not too sure how I should deal with it or to go about it, and what the outcome of these situations are.

Thanks

sorry, man but has to be said...............if you knew Hondas rusted in those areas, why were you not more vigilant yourself ??
for sure, the inspector should have picked it up, but i believe they have a discalaimer against finding all/any faults, thay may be picked up by other parties.

PS, anyone who believe in the findings of "Target", are probably as delusional as that know it all wanker that bags everyone elses workmanship, even when it is of a professional standard.

[regamaster]

If anyone can give me some advice or some opinions then please do post up. I am planning on calling the company tomorrow or the inspector who did the job, but am not too sure how I should deal with it or to go about it, and what the outcome of these situations are.

Thanks

sorry, man but has to be said...............if you knew Hondas rusted in those areas, why were you not more vigilant yourself ??
for sure, the inspector should have picked it up, but i believe they have a discalaimer against finding all/any faults, thay may be picked up by other parties.

PS, anyone who believe in the findings of "Target", are probably as delusional as that know it all wanker that bags everyone elses workmanship, even when it is of a professional standard.

the common place in the rear is when you lift the bootlid up, in the corners under the rear window, basically in the gutters. But .. this is not where the rust was found, so on a fairly close inspection, the first time, I did not pick up the rust myself, but im not paying myself for a service when people count on you before they hand over huge amounts of money, now its like I've paid for something I didn't want!! thats my exact point, they didn't do their job properly, and now I've wasted my money when I could have spent it on smoething rust free. If not my case, and they let stuff like this go, what if it was a major issue? to me, an issue is an issue if its worth fighting over it, and its not up to the car inspection company to decide whether it is a large problem or something so small they dont wanna deal with it. WTF would I pay someone to look at the car if they weren't even going to note the simple things like rust down?

[Al]

Caveat Emptor.

By all means go and have a chat with the inspection place and raise your issue politely, at the end of the day however if you want a rust free car buy a new one.

[Loudtoy]

PS, anyone who believe in the findings of "Target", are probably as delusional as that know it all wanker that bags everyone elses workmanship, even when it is of a professional standard.

Uh you are quite correct in saying this. How sad is it when a show like target can get away with so much, a mate of mine did a job (sparky) at a place and was on tv for it. Routine repair repacement of a hot point. They edited the tape to make it look as if he worked on the thing live and when he sent a response they choose to say that he hadn't btohered to respond to their letter. So basicly take "Target" as and entertainment show and nothing else.
PS I would say that you haven't really got anything to complain about with them as they will have a clause somewhere that says they can't be held liable for anything not spotted etc etc as a does

[Bling]

bit of bad luck I guess, damn rusty honda aye,

regarding the inspection, I dont think you can expect anyone to pick up every fault on a car, but if it was an obvious fault maybe it should have been picked up....

[snwtoy]

What does it say in their T&C? You "accepted" these when you handed the money over no doubt.

If you think they haven't fulfilled their obligation as an inspection co., I would write (Email) them rather than talking. An email is a lot more authoritive, especially when coming from a younger person if worded correctly.

[flat_0ut]

What does it say in their T&C? You "accepted" these when you handed the money over no doubt.

If you think they haven't fulfilled their obligation as an inspection co., I would write (Email) them rather than talking. An email is a lot more authoritive, especially when coming from a younger person if worded correctly.

it's harder for them to fob you off if you go and see them in person, not sure if that's possible seeing there a mobile mechanic though

[Psycho_Dad]

you bought a honda, made of metal, they rust, just like the toyotas

if your really so paranoid about it, take the car off the road and spend 2 months removing every panel and rust killing it...

or go buy a delorian

cmon the cars japanese, how can you not expect it to be rusty here and their...

the reason cars are cheap is because they are made of cheap materials, due to this they rust, namely because they have to be disposable, so the company can sell new ones...

buy a new huyundai, they have recently discovered a coating(or somthing) that stops the car from rusting for over 10 years

PEace
PSycho_Dad

[summin]

Mate first off you said you bought a cheap 2nd hand runaround etc etc, then a few posts later you're talking about a "huge" some of money...exactly what did you pay for the car, what year is it, what k's etc? I deal with people everyday that get all angry about something they didnt notice before they bought their car, even though they paid peanuts for a 20yr old import etc.

I know most of the guys from CIS from having dealt with them a lot over the last 3 years, and they've always been very good at any inspections done for our customers.

Inspections on older vehicles are done as just that..Its an old car thats going to have some faults, they cant go around trying to find absolutely every little paint chip, scratch, rust spot etc on the entire car. Its rediculous to assume this becuase they'd be there all day.

By all means feel free to have a talk to them about it, but I can promise you you'll be wasting your time. Also they were top rated in the target tests if Im not mistaken, scored higher than any other company including the AA. Ive had checks done by the AA before, and they missed WAY more serious problems than just a rust spot.

My rant....