Unlicensed vehicle dealers have been put on notice following a successful three-month investigation by Consumer and Business Services (CBS) inspecting 2034 vehicles and 92 car yards.

“South Australian consumers can generally feel very confident when buying a second-hand vehicle through licensed dealers— this investigation found the overall level of compliance with the Act to be high, with many of the breaches being relatively minor,” said Acting Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services, Anne Gale.

“Sadly there will always be those few traders who flout the law.

“19 car yards were found to have missing or incomplete schedules displayed, in breach of section 16 of the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act. The worst offender had 16 cars without schedules.

“Other dealers found in breach of the Act had vehicles for sale outside their registered premises, and one was found selling vehicles disguised as private sales.

“The CBS investigators issued 17 warning letters, two expiation notices, and entered into three assurances with dealers that no further unauthorised trading would be undertaken.”

The Port Augusta office of CBS is still running two investigations into second-hand vehicle dealing.

CBS will now be turning its attention to ‘backyarder’ car dealers, those people who sell multiple vehicles from their backyards or from the side of the road.

“Backyard car dealers are unlicensed, avoid warranty requirements, and often on-sell vehicles bought as wrecks, repaired, and on-sold as private sales to unsuspecting consumers.

“’Backyarders often falsely represent the history of vehicles and may adjust odometer readings to inflate the selling price” said Ms Gale.

Check if a second-hand vehicle dealer is licensed by searching the CBS Licensing Public Register.

Anyone with complaints or concerns about second-hand vehicle dealers should contact Consumer and Business Services on 131 882 or visit the website at https://www.cbs.sa.gov.au