montie wrote:

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Caravans purchased at a public auction are not covered under the ACA.

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 Mmm!

So virtually no protection at all.

Rob Driver wrote:

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My thoughts are when someone goes to the auction and buys the flood damaged van, brings it home, gives it a *lick and a spit* and then presents it for sale on
Ghost Gum and sells it to an unsuspecting buyer who thinks he is getting a deal and a van without the 9 month wait.

Is it just Buyer Beware?

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 Buy privately or at a public auction......caveat emptor.

Even if there is some recourse. Is it really worth years of stress & expense, & possibly drop dead from the whole nightmare.

Buy something better & save elsewhere & enjoy your life. It's too short as it is.

DMaxer wrote:

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There are two types of defects in the sale of goods. There are patent defects that are defects that can be discovered by an ordinary inspection and then there are latent defects that would not be discoverable by an ordinary inspection.

If the seller disposes of goods to a buyer and at the time of the sale is aware of the latent defect, such as being in a flood or faulty workmanship, he will be liable to the buyer at common law. If a seller proceeds in the sale and either does not disclose the defect of which he was aware or feigns ignorance then the buyer will have an action.

In certain cases, the seller is also liable even if he didn't know of the latent defects, but should haver known, 

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 The auctioneer clearly states in his pre auction statement that the van's are water damaged plus the ACA states that auction or private sales are not covered.

The QLD Tribunal QCat cannot rule on auction or private sales.

Whenarewethere wrote:

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Even if there is some recourse. Is it really worth years of stress & expense, & possibly drop dead from the whole nightmare.

Buy something better & save elsewhere & enjoy your life. It's too short as it is.

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 I think once again you missed the point.

It is not the buyer that gets it from the auction where everyone knows the van has been damaged by floods, it is the poor second or third hand buyer who becomes stuck with a faulty unit.

Those lining up to purchase at the auction are probably mainly two types.

Those who are or want to be the end user and take the gamble and those unscrupulous groups that will gain profit from the sale of damaged goods and are prepared to pass on these hidden faults to unsuspecting buyers. 

I wonder what the law is for a dealer to purchase these vans and then on sell them to walk up customers without disclosure.

DMaxer wrote:

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If the auctioneer states that it is flood damaged then it is not a latent defect and therefore the buyer is on notice. Certain bodies or tribunals exist and can make decisions based on statute law, the laws made by parliament. Unless that particular statute rules that the common law, the law that courts have made, is excluded, there remains a common law action.

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 QCat do not have the power to decide or hear claims resulting from private or auction sales.

I agree, I guess you could always lodge a claim in the magistrates court if the amount of the claim would justify the cost involved in the litigation.

QCat can only hear and  decide claims up to $100,000 anyway so any claim above that would have to go to a Magistrates court.

Unfortunately a few $000's of dollars doesn't go very far in a Magistrates court, especially if the claim goes to a full hearing.

I found this out the hard way just recently.

Flood damaged vehicles of any kind, caravans included, are considered a "Statutory Write-Off" and can never be re-registered in any state or territory.
It is illegal in all states to sell a write-off vehicle without declaring this to the prospective purchaser.
Their value is for scrap or parts

If I can ask a question.

Is the caravan or any vehicle for that matter listed as a *permanent write off* if the owner is smart enough not to mention it to his or her insurance company and just tows it home and does his own lick and spit and waits till it dries out and then sells it as you would any other van?
I might suggest that the money the owner of the flood damaged van stands to get from a normal private sale would be of higher value as opposed to the insurance company loss figure which I would imagine would be a lot lower than the potential sale price.

A *smart* owner might opt not to even talk to his insurance company.

yobarr wrote:

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Hylife wrote:

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Flood damaged vehicles of any kind, caravans included, are considered a "Statutory Write-Off" and can never be re-registered in any state or territory.
It is illegal in all states to sell a write-off vehicle without declaring this to the prospective purchaser.
Their value is for scrap or parts

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 New tags? Nah, we won't go there. Cheers

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 All manufacturers decals gone, a new tag and ID plate and voila we have a home made van.

A fitter where I worked got one that had water through it when the creek flooded out near Marian. He cleaned it inside and out and took it to Bundaberg and sold it.
He said he was happy with the price he got for the van.
I alway wonder how happy the new owner was.