Consumer rights and the implications of buying a 'non runner' vehicle

IF A purchaser is willing to buy a motor vehicle as a “non-runner’, although it can be driven and indeed tested, the consumer accepts that he or she can expect no more of the vehicle than would be the case if it were not running at all.

- ZELDA VENTER

On the face of it, such a purchase would be unwise, but the purchaser's judgment on that issue would depend on the price being asked and perhaps also the consumer's belief as to his or her capacity to deal with the problem if something went wrong.

These were the words of a Pietermaritzburg High Court judge, who found that while the Consumer Protection Act does provide that every consumer has the right to receive goods that are of good quality, and they may return them within six months if this was not the case, there is an exception.

Judge Peter Olsen said there is a section in the Act that provides that if the consumer has been expressly informed that the goods were being offered in a certain condition, and the consumer accepted this, the consumer is not protected under the Act.