Steve Downes, Executive Director of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Institute announced today that the Institute will take a
firm line with dealers who import and sell flood damaged vehicles without disclosing their condition to prospective
purchasers.
“Members have a responsibility to their customers to acquaint them fully with all the features of the vehicle so a
fully informed buying decision can be made’ said Mr Downes. “The Institute will not tolerate breaches of consumer
regulation by dealers looking to make a quick dollar by selling products will undisclosed faults”.
Downes stated that “Members of the Institute have worked very hard over the last few years to lift their image and
despite a popular perception, most car dealers operate their businesses with high degrees of integrity and honesty. A
small group of unprincipled dealers will not be allowed to undermine the growing credibility of the rest”.
The Institute has already embarked on an investigation in an attempt to establish which, if any of its members are
importing damaged vehicles. If any are discovered pressure will be brought to bear on those dealers to ensure that full
disclosure of the vehicles’ condition is made known. “Customers have an absolute right to know what they are
purchasing,’ said Mr Downes.
“Government agencies, including Customs and MAF, also have a major role to play in this process” said Mr Downes. “The
Land Transport Safety Authority also has a critical role to play and it is hoped that its certification process (an
inspection applied to all imports) is robust enough to capture any defects in these vehicles prior to their being
registered and allowed into the national fleet”.
Fur further comment please call:
Steve Downes
MVDI Executive Director
04 389 5071 or
025 371 542