Responding to a Faulty-Car Claim in the WA Magistrates Court: a Motor Dealer’s Defence Guide

A buyer says the car you sold was faulty, and they are talking about taking you to a tribunal. In Western Australia there is a detail worth knowing straight away: there is no consumer tribunal here. A faulty-car claim against a licensed dealer is decided by the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. This page explains, in plain terms, what the law actually requires of you, how the court process works, and how a dealer who responds properly protects the business. It will not help you dodge a genuine obligation, because that is against the law and it loses cases. What it will do is help you work out whether the claim is really made out, meet any obligation you do owe, and put a clear, honest case.

Know your obligations first

Two separate sets of rules can apply to the same used car, and they run alongside each other. Getting clear on both is the foundation of any sound response.

The first is the Australian Consumer Law (the ACL). Every buyer who is a “consumer” gets automatic guarantees when you supply goods in trade. For a car, the key one is the guarantee of acceptable quality in section 54: the vehicle must be as fit for purpose, free from defects, safe and durable as a reasonable person would regard as acceptable, judged against its nature, its price, anything you represented, and all the circumstances. For a used car, age, kilometres and price matter a great deal. As the ACCC puts it, “a new vehicle would be expected to last longer than a used vehicle.” A buyer is generally a consumer if the car cost $100,000 or less, or is of a kind ordinarily bought for personal or domestic use (ACL s 3). A trader buying stock to resell is not a consumer (s 3(2)), and a genuine sale by auction sits outside the acceptable quality guarantee (s 54(1)(b)).

The second is Western Australia’s own used-car statutory warranty under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973 (WA). Under section 34, a dealer who sells a covered vehicle “shall at his own expense repair or make good” a defect the dealer is responsible for, so as to make the vehicle roadworthy and place it in a reasonable condition having regard to its age. It covers a second-hand vehicle sold to a non-trade buyer at a cash price of at least $4,000 (motor cycle $3,500) that, on the day of sale, is not more than 12 years old and has travelled not more than 180,000 km, and that the buyer did not already hold for three months or more (s 34A). The warranty period (s 34C) is the earlier of 5,000 km or three months for a newer, lower-kilometre “category 1” car, or 1,500 km or one month for an older or higher-kilometre “category 2” car. Days you hold the vehicle to assess or repair it do not count towards that period (s 34E). As WA’s Consumer Protection sums it up: “All cars are covered by the consumer guarantees. Only some cars are covered by the statutory warranty.”

Repair first: the remedy structure usually favours a dealer who acts

What a buyer can demand depends on whether the failure is major or minor. For a non-major failure that can be fixed, the buyer must give you a reasonable opportunity to remedy it, and it is you, the supplier, who chooses whether to repair, replace or refund (ACL s 259(2) and s 261). The buyer cannot insist on a refund for a minor fault. Only for a major failure, or one that cannot be remedied, does the buyer get to choose between rejecting the car and keeping it with compensation (s 259(3), s 260). That is why offering promptly to inspect and, if a covered defect is found, to repair it, is so often the right first move: it meets your obligation and preserves your position at the same time. The ACCC’s own examples bear this out: a slight rattle a dealer offers to fix in a couple of days “would most likely be considered a minor failure”, and an intermittent fault that took three attempts to diagnose was still remedied in a reasonable time given its nature.

Is the claim actually made out?

Meeting a genuine obligation is not the same as accepting every claim at face value. You are entitled to test the claim against the facts and the law. Lawful defences and limits include: a defect you specifically disclosed in writing before the sale (ACL s 54(4)-(5), or the prescribed WA defect notice under s 35); a pre-sale examination that ought reasonably to have revealed the problem (s 54(7), though the ACCC says a buyer need not detect hidden engine, brake or gearbox faults); damage the buyer caused or abnormal use (s 54(6), for example putting petrol in a diesel); normal wear and tear; the loss of the right to reject once the rejection period has passed (s 262); and the statutory-warranty limits on price, age, kilometres and period. Where a fault is attributable to the manufacturer, you are still the buyer’s first port of call, but the manufacturer may have to indemnify your costs (s 274).

Just as important is knowing what is not a defence, because reaching for these is what gets dealers into trouble. An “as is” or “no refunds” sign is void against the guarantees (s 64). You cannot tell the buyer to go to the manufacturer; the ACCC says the dealer must assist. An expired manufacturer’s warranty, or an expired statutory warranty, does not end your ACL obligations, which can outlast both. Making a false or misleading statement about a buyer’s rights breaches s 29 and can carry a penalty. And insisting on a confidentiality clause as the price of a remedy may itself put you at risk. When you decline a remedy, the ACCC’s best practice is to give the buyer written reasons.

The Magistrates Court process and your 14-day deadline

A faulty-car claim runs on one of two tracks. A minor case covers claims up to $10,000 where the claimant elects the minor cases procedure; lawyers are generally not allowed and costs are limited. A general procedure consumer/trader claim runs up to $75,000 on Form 7, with lawyers permitted. In a minor case you are served a Form 4 containing a Form 15A response; on the general procedure the response is Form 15D.

Your deadline is short. You must lodge a response in the approved form within 14 days after the claim is served (21 days if your address for service is outside WA, per the court’s forms). Lodgment is electronic, through the eCourts Portal, and there is no fee to respond. If you ignore the claim, the claimant can obtain default judgment against you for the claim, costs and interest. After you respond to a minor case, a registrar lists the matter for a status conference within 14 days; you must attend in person, and a dealer company appears through a director or an employee carrying written authority from an officer. Things said to settle at a status, pre-trial or mediation conference are “without prejudice”. At trial the claimant goes first, then you open, give evidence, tender your documents and call witnesses. Keep in mind that an appeal from a minor case is limited to jurisdiction or a denial of natural justice, so your trial is where your full case must be put.

Evidence wins faulty-car cases

Build your bundle early: the contract and invoice; any written disclosure or prescribed defect notice; odometer and age records; service and repair records, including the dates you held the car; pre-sale inspection reports; dated photographs; and a complete timeline of your correspondence with the buyer. Where cause or seriousness is genuinely in dispute, an independent mechanic’s report helps, but note that in the Magistrates Court you need the court’s leave to rely on expert evidence. Keep a numbered document register. Everything you file is shared with the buyer, and everything must be true: in a WA court, knowingly giving false testimony on a material matter is perjury, carrying up to 14 years imprisonment (Criminal Code ss 124-125). Your credibility is your strongest asset.

Settle sensibly where that is the right outcome

Where a covered defect is genuinely in play, settling is often the best commercial and legal result. The court makes it simple: you can record agreed terms in a Form 49 memorandum of consent order signed by both parties, and a registrar turns it into an enforceable judgment. Because it is a court judgment, there is no separate enforcement step. A buyer can also go through WA’s Commissioner or Consumer Protection’s voluntary conciliation before court, and engaging early and honestly often resolves a matter before it is ever defended.

The full guide walks through every step: your obligations under both schemes, the complete list of lawful defences and the limits on each, the court process and deadlines, an evidence checklist and register, adaptable response and settlement templates, consent orders, and how to run the hearing honestly and well.

Get the full WA Defence Guide – $29

This is general information, not legal advice; Claim Done is not a law firm.

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