Dealer Sold Me A 2018 Car but Actually 2017!

JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 10:55

Hi all

I bought a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed last year August from a dealer in Melbourne. They claimed that it is 2018 Model. When I checked rego from Vicroad at that time, there was no record. They said that because it was registered under Mitsubishi company not vicroad. After I paid, transferred rego and got the car, the rego on vicroad showed that it is "Mitsubishi white wagon 2017". I called and asked, they explained that it was because its MY was Dec 2017. Model is 2018.

Today I tried a insurance quote from HBF, when I searched my rego, it shows "Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2017 exceed MY16"! I tried PPSR, it showed "Year of manufacture: 2017. Year of compliance: 2017-12".

So my question is, anything went wrong here? How do I determine the exact model and year of the car…

This was my first time buying a "new" car (actually demo car). I thought dealers should be quite trustworthy…

Automotive

Comments

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:14

      Ahh sweet！Thanks!

  • Gronk on 14/03/2019 - 11:12
    +4

    I thought dealers should be quite trustworthy…

    There's your first problem, they're not the enemy but you need to be on your guard with just about any type of salesperson, always remember they get paid to extract as much money out of you as possible.

    Easy rule of thumb - use the compliance plate to define the 'year' of the vehicle, if the compliance plate says 12/17 then you have a 2017 model. Model year more relates to the 'spec' of the vehicle and causes a lot of confusion among buyers.

    The only time I'd really take notice of that sort of thing was if there was some sort of facelift or technical difference between a 2017 and 2018 model, but if that's not the case and you're looking to hold on to the vehicle for a number of years then I wouldn't worry about it.

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:16

      Great will check my compliance plate. Not really bother about the numbers. It is a decent car. Just a bit confusing.

    • pegaxs on 14/03/2019 - 17:57
      +2

      if the compliance plate says 12/17 then you have a 2017 model.

      Incorrect. You can have a 2018 vehicle that was complianced in 2017. The MY denotes shape, trim, accessories, etc. You can have a 17MY car and a 18MY car that look completely different and both be complied withing a week of each other.

      The other side to that coin is slow selling cars that sit around in the docks for a year before they are sold. You can have a 11/16 build car not complianced until 2018. This does not make it an '18MY car. My last new Ducati motorcycle was an '98 model with a '00 compliance plate on it. Didn't magically make it a 2000 model.

      • Gronk on 15/03/2019 - 09:37
        +1

        Those are called edge cases :)

  • zonra on 14/03/2019 - 11:12
    +7

    I thought dealers should be quite trustworthy

    Ahh.. big mistake there. I always walk into a dealership with the mentality of walking into pack of wolves.

    As for your issue, there are a couple of ambiguous/misleading/vague terms dealers like to use:
    (these are my in-a-nut-shell definitions so probably not the most accurate/technical)

    Model Year (MY): The model with features that are standard to that year
    Build Date/Year: self-explanatory, the year the vehicle was built
    Compliance date/year: the date/year it arrives in Australia and is effectively complianced (this can generally be found on a stamp somewhere on the vehicle)

    So you could have a MY2018 that was built in late '16/early '17 and complianced mid '17.
    Really messes with your head right? Well that's the whole idea unintended effect.

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:17

      Thanks! That explained a lot.

  • tanksinatra on 14/03/2019 - 11:23
    +1

    So my question is, anything went wrong here? How do I determine the exact model and year of the car…

    Depends on your perspective. Car manufacturers generally release the '2018 model' around the second half 2017, but the compliance date will be earlier, and the manufacturing date even earlier.

    The 'year' of the car is ambiguous in what it refers to. Generally dealers will quote you the newest number when they are selling the vehicle, but the oldest number at trade-in time.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2019 - 11:38
      +1

      The year is the year of manufacture.

      The MY is the model revision.

      Not ambiguous but you're right, the dealers will try to use the latest numbers but that's fraud.

      • tanksinatra on 14/03/2019 - 13:01

        The year is the year of manufacture.

        Can you cite that? I'm not aware of an official determination that specifies that.

        • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2019 - 13:37
          +1

          No citation. Purely based on how car insurance works.

          We can't try and call a 2016 MY17 a 2017 car so common application should apply to sales.

          • JediJan on 15/03/2019 - 14:43

            @[Deactivated]: My insurance was only interested in the year my old Vectra registration certificate stated. That was 2002 (build year) not the year it was first registered (2003). That was some years ago, but son still drives it. Still registered and insured as 2002.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2019 - 11:43
    +1

    If you can prove that the dealer advertised it as the wrong year, you can get the dealer to take the vehicle back.

    If you want to keep the vehicle and get compensation, find out how much this whole ordeal will cost the dealer and negotiate so they take a slightly smaller hit. If it will cost the dealer $1,000, offer to take a $950 settlement. They're $50 better off and less work.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2019 - 11:52
    +1

    I had a similar problem when I bought an outlander last year. I picked it up before taking delivery, the dealer kept bullshiting me and I refused to take delivery of it until it was sorted.

    The dealer ended up fixing it but they didn't want to.

    • JimB on 20/03/2019 - 14:42

      How did they fix it?

      Give you a different car?

      • [Deactivated] on 20/03/2019 - 14:54

        I'm not sure but they did so when I looked it up it came up correctly.

  • crashloaded on 14/03/2019 - 12:01
    +4

    I imagine you read and signed some sort of contract with all details of the vehicle on it. Anything verbal will be irrelevant if you pursue it in court. Which is about your only option.

    • HighAndDry on 14/03/2019 - 12:21

      OP, this. What does your contract say?

      • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:18

        Will check my contract tonight! I remembered it said "Pajero Sport Exceed 2018" but I will double check.

    • JediJan on 28/03/2019 - 13:11

      That's what I assumed. It was when it came to contract date the rego year became apparent. By that stage I think most are mentally fairly comitted to purchasing. The build year seems mostly irrelevant after you have ticked all your purchase requirements (RACV vehicle checks etc.). I may be different than most people … I absolutely hate going used car shopping.

  • Euphemistic on 14/03/2019 - 12:22
    +2

    don’t rely on victors records of the insurance company interpretation to give you an accurate model description, typos are common. The dealer description is a best a good description and at worst outright lies to seal the deal, depends on the integrity and accuracy of the salesman.

    The plates on the car are the accurate bit.

    End of the day it will take a fair bit of time to try and get some sort of recompense if you have taken delivery. Is t worth it? The resale value won’t change much as there are lots of other factors when it comes time to sell and model year is only one of them, the condition and kms are the two biggest factors.

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:20
      +1

      Cool thanks! I dont worry a lot about numbers. Just felt confusing. Wanted to figure out what exactly happened. Now I kind of get the idea.

  • spackbace on 14/03/2019 - 12:50
    +2

    Physically look at your car's compliance and build plates. Will be inside the doors and/or under the bonnet.

    PPSR info can be wrong sometimes, and registration info will show build date, not compliance.

    Just see what your car says, and what your contract stated.

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:20
      +1

      Great! Thanks for the advice!

  • Some Human on 14/03/2019 - 12:57
    -1

    Honest question: does it matter?
    My car is a (runout) 2006 model with 2007 compliance date. Rego shows year as 06. Insurance shows year as 07. I have exactly 0 issues with this.
    I genuinely want to know why you think it's an issue. Is it something to do with resale value?

    • [Deactivated] on 14/03/2019 - 13:38

      What if OP said yes?

      • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:23

        Not a big issue for me. I am very happy with the car and not gonna sell in next couple years. Just got confused about the number from different places (vicroad, dealer, PPSR, insurance company database..).

    • JediJan on 15/03/2019 - 07:57

      My insurance company followed what the registration papers said, even after I stated my car was not registered until early the following year. Generally speaking your insurance premium may be a little higher with a later model vehicle, but a possible payout could be more. Check black book car valuations.

  • justaperson on 14/03/2019 - 13:17
    +1

    What does it say on your invoice, if it says 2018 and nothing about different build/compliance dates etc then I would be bringing this up with the dealer.

    • JavaTheDog on 14/03/2019 - 14:24

      I will double check. From my memory it was 2018. I still remember the salesman mentioned one of the differences between 2018 and 2017 model.

  • whooah1979 on 14/03/2019 - 16:50
    +1

    The 10th character in the 17-character VIN represents the vehicle model-year.

  • pegaxs on 14/03/2019 - 17:36
    +1

    A car can be a 18MY but built in '17.

    It could very well be a car that was built late in '17 and didn't get compliance until '18. New year models are typically available from about Sept/Oct.

    Unless it's a facelift/complete new model, it will make very little difference in the long term.

    As others have said above, there will be a build plate and a compliance plate. The other, as mentioned above, is the VIN.

    While you are basically getting what you wanted, the dealer in this case has been as shifty as a shit house rat and gotten away with selling an old stock vehicle for more than its probable worth.

    Definitely take it up with them. Let them know you're not happy and it will be reflected in the new owner survey. They should come to the party with some form of good will gesture. Just don't expect thousands of dollars of compensation nor for them to just take the car back without a fight.

  • bloom on 14/03/2019 - 18:53
    +1

    So when you get insurance which year do you use? They never say whether they want MY, built or first registered

  • JediJan on 15/03/2019 - 07:39

    Similar thing happened to me many years ago when dealer sold me a Vectra advertised as 2003 model and it turned out it was manufactured in late 2002, so was registered and insured as a 2002; same as a 2003 though. Still think the dealer should have advertised it as a 2002 and told him so ("oh, but that was when it was built; late 2002 … wasn't reg until 2003."); very misleading! Should ask to see the rego transfer papers before committing. Decent car though and my son still drives it. Never trust a car dealer though; salespeople will tell you most anything to get a sale. Have any dealership vehicle checked over by a trusted mechanic or at least the RAC.

  • MrBear on 15/03/2019 - 09:12
    +1

    FYI:

    Model Year can be different to Production Year (or Production Build Date).

    The Production Build Date (which will be stamped on your VIN plate) is the date the vehicle came off the production line.

    The Model Year is different and usually ranges 3-6 months before the actual year (e.g. 2019 MY may start in August 2018 and run til July 2019) but there are no rules.

    The Model Year can be based on a number of things and varies between manufacturer and regions (and even factory):
    * Factory fitout (when the factory was setup for the new model year design)
    * Stock
    * Marketing
    * plus more

    In North America, Model Year is used exclusively to describe a vehicle's date (a "2015 Mustang" means a 2015 MY). Most of the rest of the world used the production year, however, in the last 10 years or so, the Model Year is being used more an more because it helps with sales and marketing (it is easier to sell a 2019 in 2018, than to sell a 2018 in 2019).

    In the US mid-2000s, some of the new style Mustangs which were designed for 2007 MY were actually built at the end of 2015!

    I hope this helps your understanding of vehicle dates…

  • andyhui01 on 15/03/2019 - 09:37

    Wouldn't demo cars already have the VIN in the contract? Most sales system will auto load the MY into the name of the model. If your sales contact shows MY18 and you are positive you have a MY16 (read articles about the car to find out the changes between MY16 and 18), you can take it back.

    If it shows MY16 on the contract, it doesn't matter what the sales person says, just cough it up as experience. If you keep your car for more than 5-7 years, it isn't going to make a huge difference.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join