DeDera v C&R Motors Ltd - Reference No. MVD 170/2022 [2022] NZMVDT 210 (29 September 2022)

Last Updated: 31 October 2022

IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE DISPUTES TRIBUNAL I TE RŌPŪ TAKE TAUTOHENGA Ā-WAKA MVD 170/2022 [2022] NZMVDT 210 BETWEEN MICHAEL DEDERA Applicant AND C&R MOTORS LTD Respondent

MEMBERS OF TRIBUNAL

B R Carter, Barrister – Adjudicator

S Haynes, Assessor

HEARING at Auckland on 1 September 2022

APPEARANCES

M DeDera, Applicant

R Su, for the Respondent

DATE OF DECISION 29 September 2022

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FINAL DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

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C&R Motors Ltd shall, within 10 working days of the date of this decision, pay $2,530 to Michael DeDera.

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REASONS

Introduction

[1] Michael DeDera purchased a 2017 Audi S5 for $79,195 from C&R Motors Ltd in November 2020. In October 2021, Mr DeDera applied to the Tribunal seeking orders that C&R Motors pay to have various areas of the vehicle’s window and door trims, badges, front grill, rear diffuser and wheels repainted to a professional standard and compensate him for the cost of replacing the vehicle’s tyres.
[2] In a decision dated 20 December 2021[1] (the earlier decision), the Tribunal found that the vehicle was not of acceptable quality and ordered C&R Motors to perform various cosmetic repairs.
[3] Mr DeDera has now filed a new claim, alleging that C&R Motors has failed to adequately rectify the vehicle’s cosmetic defects. Mr DeDera wants to reject the vehicle. C&R Motors says that Mr DeDera should not be entitled to reject the vehicle. It considers that the repairs have been performed to an acceptable standard and that any outstanding issues can be easily fixed.
[4] The Tribunal issued an interim decision on 15 September 2022 (the interim decision), in which it dismissed Mr DeDera’s application to reject the vehicle and found that he was entitled to recover the reasonable cost of:

• (a) stripping, preparing and painting the front grill, passenger side rear door window trim, rear quarter window trim and all areas where black electrical tape has been used to a professional standard; and
• (b) removing the overspray from the front driver’s window molding.

[5] Mr DeDera is also entitled to recover the reasonable cost of securely attaching the rear Audi badge, as the Tribunal considered that the poorly attached badge was a breach of the guarantee of acceptable quality in s 6 of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (the CGA).

The repair estimates

[6] In the interim decision, the Tribunal asked the parties to provide quotations for the reasonable cost of rectifying the vehicle’s defects.
[7] Mr DeDera has since provided three quotations:

• (a) $12,926.70 from Ray Haslar Autohaus;
• (b) $2,500 plus GST ($2,875) from Autoflex Coatings New Zealand; and
• (c) $2,530 from Autocolour Matrix Ltd.

[8] C&R Motors has provided two quotations:

• (a) $630 from S.J Motors Ltd; and
• (b) $713 from DW Panel & Paint.

The Tribunal’s Assessment

[9] In determining the reasonable cost of repair, I disregard the Ray Haslar Autohaus quotation. It is unrealistically high for the relatively minor cosmetic repairs required.
[10] As can be seen from the other quotations provided by the parties, the C&R Motors’ quotations are for much lower amounts than the quotations provided by Mr DeDera. Mr Haynes, the Tribunal’s Assessor, advises that the two lower quotations provided by Mr DeDera are a more realistic estimate of the cost of performing the required repairs to a professional standard, and he doubts whether a repair of the requisite quality can be performed for the cost estimated by C&R Motors’ repairers.
[11] I therefore find that the $2,530 quotation from Autocolour Matrix Ltd, which is the lowest quotation provided by Mr DeDera, is a reasonable estimate of the cost of the required repairs, and that under s 18(2)(b)(ii) of the CGA, Mr DeDera is entitled to recover that cost. The Tribunal therefore orders that C&R Motors shall, within 10 working days of the date of this decision, pay $2,530 to Mr DeDera.

B.R. Carter
Adjudicator

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[1] DeDera v C&R Motors Ltd [2021] NZMVDT 265 (20 December 2021).