Opinion piece by MTA SA/NT CEO Darrell Jacobs, publish in the NT News Sunday 29 June, page 18
Think about the last time you bought a car. Was it from a dealer?
In the Northern Territory today, two out of every three used vehicles are sold privately on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. Buyer beware is the mantra, consumers are left wide open to dodgy sellers preying on those who can least afford it.
The private market has exploded since COVID when supply constraints saw used car prices skyrocket. While there is nothing wrong with selling your car online, dodgy vehicle sellers have found the perfect legal loophole to flip dozens of bombs, odometer wind backs and written off vehicles.
It is tax free money at your expense, and they know that there is little that can stop them.
In the Northern Territory, if you sell more than four vehicles a year, you must get a licence. This means protections for the buyer like statutory warranty and meeting the requirements of Australian Consumer Law.
It’s not hard to find online sellers flouting these laws, many with nefarious aims. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
This is what makes the NT Government’s vehicle inspections announcement all the more perplexing.
Reducing costs-of-living pressures on Territorians is an admirable goal and one which should be broadly supported. But the decision to remove the five-year inspection requirement and annual inspection requirement for vehicles greater than ten years of age raises questions.
Fewer vehicles will be inspected less often. More Territorians will get stung when buying their next vehicle.
The Motor Trade Association SA/NT and our members were not consulted in the lead up to the announcement. If asked, we would have highlighted that the online sale of vehicles has turned into the wild west.
Our preferred model is not for the current periodic inspection regime, but rather for inspections at change of ownership for privately sold used cars, paid for by the seller.
The NT Government is almost there. But limiting the change of ownership inspection requirement to only vehicles over ten years of age will mean motorists will miss out.
While seven and ten year warranties have emerged, a five-year warranty is by far the most common offered by manufacturers. That’s why it makes sense to mandate change of ownership inspections for vehicles greater than five years of age.
The benefits to buyers are obvious. In the murky world of online sales, they will be presented with more reliable information about the condition of the vehicle. Has it been written off? Has it been stolen? Is there finance owing on it? Is it safe to drive on our roads?
For a window into what might be coming if we proceed as proposed, we just need to look south of the border to South Australia where there are no inspection requirements.
In South Australia, three out of four used vehicles are sold privately. It has become a dumping ground for vehicles on the east coast which cannot pass inspection regimes in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Legislation to introduce vehicle inspections at change of ownership has been tabled in South Australian Parliament and the State Government is looking at cracking down on rogue vehicle sellers.
Before racing to reform, we need to stop to ask ourselves whether we are leaving the door open to dodgy sellers. If we get this wrong, it might just cost us more than we bargained for.
