Car owner faces $4500 bill from substandard inspection

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Owners of vehicles found to have substandard repairs passed by a suspended repair certifier are out of luck if they are hoping the NZ Transport Agency will help pay to fix the damage. (File photo)

Aucklander car owner Sue Sefo is angry the NZ Transport Agency's poor monitoring of vehicle inspectors has left her $4500 out of pocket.

That is how much it will cost to fix the substandard repairs signed off by vehicle repair certifier Dale Barlass who was suspended as part of a Transport Agency (NZTA) crackdown that has seen more than 54,000 vehicles recalled.

Sefo said the agency had agreed to pay for the recertification of her car once the necessary remedial work was done, but it would not cover the $4500 re-repair cost.

This is in contrast to the agency's decision to pay for recertifying and repairing more than 1400 heavy vehicle towbars passed by suspended certifiers, and the bill for that was expected to reach between $1m and $1.5m.

Sue Sefo got a nasty surprise when she discovered her Japanese imported Mazda Axela was not roadworthy because of substandard repairs to historic crash damage.

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About 160,000 second hand vehicles a year are imported from Japan and must undergo inspections on arrival to ensure they meet New Zealand standards.

* Truckies blame regulators for inadequate oversight of towbar certification**

When Barlass was suspended in November, the NZTA said there had been 'consistent concerns' about the quality of his work and he admitted failing to follow accepted standards, not using manufacturers' repair processes, and certifying a vehicle that was still damaged.

Almost 200 vehicles passed by Barlass were traced. Three were deemed unroadworthy and their certification was revoked because they could not be repaired to the required standard. A further eight needed re-inspection.

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All used vehicles entering New Zealand must be checked and certified before they can be registered for use on the road.

If a vehicle is found to have been damaged or repaired before it arrived, a specialist repair certifier may be asked to inspect the repairs.

Sefo had no idea the Japanese import she bought in 2016 had even been in an accident until she took it in for a compliance check in March after the registration lapsed while she was overseas.

'They told me that either the vehicle was involved in a car crash which damaged the back half of the vehicle and it was fixed overseas before it was imported, or [it was] damaged on its way to New Zealand and fixed here. Either way the repair certifier passed the repairs when clearly it was of unsafe standard.'

She was told the welding was substandard and a damaged part had not been replaced.

The NZTA advised her to seek compensation for the repairs from the dealer she bought the car from, or through Barlass' public liability insurance, but Sefo said that wasn't good enough because the agency had failed to properly monitor Barlass.

'I feel like I shouldn't have to do that because if they hadn't registered the individual, he wouldn't have been able to do the work.'

She could not afford the $4500 repair bill and coping without a vehicle for three months while she was job hunting had been very difficult.

Sefo said an agency representative had assured her the NZTA had paid for repairs or bought replacement vehicles for other affected owners.

But the Transport Agency denied this.

'[We are] not covering the cost of repairs to vehicles incorrectly certified by Dale Barlass, however we have arranged for the inspection of a number of vehicles and we are covering these costs.

'We recommend that owners of affected vehicles seek independent legal advice. If the vehicle was purchased from a dealer the issue may be covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act.'