May apply when
- A fault that appears well inside the car’s expected life
- A known defect, recall or service bulletin
- The same fault returning after repairs
Usually doesn’t help
- Wear items such as tyres, brake pads and wiper blades
- Damage from an accident, a modification or missed servicing
- A car bought privately or overseas
Two different things with similar names
When a dealership says the warranty has expired, they’re talking about the manufacturer’s written warranty. That’s a promise the manufacturer chose to make, for a period they chose, with conditions they wrote.
The consumer guarantees are different. They come from Australian Consumer Law, apply to every car sold by a dealership, and nobody gets to opt out of them. They say the car has to be of acceptable quality for a reasonable period. Nothing about them expires on a date printed in a booklet.
What a reasonable period may mean for a car
The law doesn’t put a number on it. It’s judged on what a reasonable person would expect given the price paid, the type of car and how it has been used. A few things tend to shape that
- the more a car cost, the longer it may reasonably be expected to last
- a fault in a part that should last the life of the car carries more weight than ordinary wear
- high kilometres or hard use can shorten what’s reasonable
- a good service history helps show the car was looked after
For many cars that period may run past the written warranty, sometimes well past it. Whether it does in your situation depends on the facts, and this is general information rather than advice.
Faults that tend to matter after warranty
Not every problem on an older car is a guarantee issue. Tyres, brake pads and wiper blades wear out and nobody expects otherwise. We’ve set out what counts as a defective vehicle in more detail. The faults that tend to matter are the ones a car shouldn’t have at that age and price, such as
- an engine or transmission failure on a car with sensible kilometres
- a known defect the manufacturer has issued a recall or service bulletin for
- the same fault returning after repeated repairs
- a hybrid or EV battery degrading well beyond what was claimed
What the dealership may say, and what it means
"The warranty has run out" is the most common thing people hear, and it’s usually said as if it ends the conversation. It doesn’t. It answers a question about the warranty. It says nothing about whether the consumer guarantees were met. Those are the words to use when you reply, in writing. If what you want is to hand the car back rather than have it fixed, see returning a car to a dealer after purchase.
Not sure where you stand? Send us the paperwork and we’ll take a look.
What to do next
- Ask the dealership, in writing, whether they’re saying the consumer guarantees have been met and why
- Gather the invoice, the service history and every record of the fault
- Note the kilometres and the date the fault first appeared
- Don’t pay for a repair you think they should cover without saying so in writing first
Where brokencar fits
Out-of-warranty faults are the most common reason people come to us. We read your paperwork and tell you honestly whether there may be a claim worth making, then put it in writing to the dealership and the manufacturer. It costs nothing to find out where you stand, and nothing is attached to it. See what counts as a broken car.
Further reading. the ACCC on consumer guarantees, which explains why a warranty and a guarantee aren’t the same thing.