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masteroftheburger

I bought a car (2008 Ford Mondeo, 217,529km) from a dealer on the 13th of July, at the time noting a fault in a rear parklight cover, of which I was assured was in a condition to pass a Warrant of Fitness (which the vehicle had, issued in late June). After collecting the car the following Monday, upon turning on the headlights the car displayed a warning that the right hand low beam bulb was blown, and I had a closer look over the car, noticing that the rear tyres were siginificantly worn, both under 1.5mm in a channel with a wear indicator, and the boot was not opening freely.
The Wednesday after this I took the car to my mechanic to look over it, and he noted that along with the tyres, a shock absorber was leaking and the engine was leaking oil. Additionally he suggested that the park light cover was not in a condition to recieve a WoF.
I emailed the dealer the next day outling the issues, and I took the car in the following Tuesday.
I collected the car the Monday after this, having been told that the car would be ready for collection on the Saturday, however it was not.
The tyres were replaced with second hand tyres, which are scalloped, and have substantial noise and vibration, while the boot latch was adjusted and now rattles. The dealer said that the light was up to a WoF, and refused to deal with it, and told me that the garage had 'sorted' the shock and replaced the rocker cover gasket, and the headlight was replaced. I took the car to my mechanic to have a look and have a WoF check, and he diagnosed the scallop on the tyres, and could not find any evidence of any work on the shock beyond a wipe, nor on the rocker cover. The car failed the WoF on the park light cover and the number plate light being too dim.
I have contacted the dealer again and he says that if I can bring the car back on Tuesday he will have his garage look into the WoF failure, though he is refusing to do anything about the tyres.
Given the time it took and low quality of the repairs provided last time, I am hesitant take the car back to him especially given the resistance he had to looking into my concerns about the light.
As the car has failed a Warrant of Fitness, it is illegal to drive it on the road - this would suggest to me that the fault is serious, dispite being easily corrected, while the other issues such as the tyres and boot do not meet the requirement for acceptable quality.
At this point I am wondering what my options are, and would appreciate any input.

Anon

Hi there,
Information on your rights and remedies when buying a car from a dealer can be found here: https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/help-product-service/cars/solving-issues-car-dealer/
The Consumer Protection website states:
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: a/have the vehicle repaired elsewhere and claim the cost back from the dealer or
b/reject the vehicle and claim a refund or a replacement of the same type and similar value if it is available in stock.
A problem is considered serious if:
a/it can’t be repaired or fixed or
b/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.