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Hi I purchased a vehicle end of Sept, I bought it sight unseen from a dealer in the south island who shipped it up to the north island for us, I got a pre purchase inspection done before buying it and there were no red flags but the vehicle has proven to be a complete lemon. Within just a couple of weeks it started having major issues, the dealer has been great about getting it fixed but I only found out after my mechanic did some digging that the car had a major engine failure before we bought it and after they fixed it, it started having problems. It was apparently fixed before the sale but we are having on going problems with it. Every time something gets fixed, another fault pops up. I have owned the car for 3 months and only had use of it for about 3 weeks, if that. When is it acceptable to ask for a refund? I know that I am going to be without a vehicle for the holidays now which is a real pain in the butt.

If a private person buys a vehicle form a registered motor vehicle dealer the vehicle must be the following...

*of acceptable quality – reasonable in look and finish, durable and safe
*fit for purpose – either generally or to meet a specific purpose you told the dealer before you bought the vehicle
*as described – match the description in advertising or anything the dealer said at the time.

If the vehicle has a problem the CGA states the following..

If the problem is minor
The dealer must get any repairs done within a reasonable time. Be sure to tell them when you need the car back by. Ask for a 'courtesy car' while they repair the vehicle, although a dealer is not legally responsible for providing one.

If you agree to repairs and they don't fix the problem properly, or the vehicle develops further faults, your rights continue. You can choose your remedy options again until your problem is sorted. But if you misuse a vehicle, the CGA doesn’t apply.

If the dealer refuses, fails to do the repairs or doesn’t do them in a reasonable time, you can choose to:

have the vehicle repaired elsewhere and claim the cost back from the dealer
reject the vehicle and claim a refund or a replacement of the same type and similar value if it is available in stock.

If the problem is serious
A problem is considered serious if:

it can’t be repaired or fixed
the cost to repair the vehicle is disproportionate to the purchase price, eg if the car was bought for $5,000 and the cost to repair the fault is $4,000.
If the problem is serious, you can:

reject the vehicle and claim a refund or a replacement of the same type and similar value if it is available in stock
keep the vehicle and claim compensation for the drop in value.
If a faulty vehicle has caused damage to your property, you can also claim compensation.

If a dealer doesn’t agree that the fault is serious, get an independent mechanical report in writing and a quote for the repairs. If the report supports your claim that the fault is serious, go back to the dealer to reject the vehicle and choose a refund, replacement or repairs, plus compensation for the cost of your report.

It sounds like the dealer is not refusing to fix the faults however they must complete the repairs in a reasonable amount of time.