Flood warning on soggy car imports

By SCOTT MacLEOD

The car's dashboard was crusted with silt, its carpets were soggy and the musty stink of damp hung over it as it sat on Queen's Wharf in Auckland yesterday.

The imported Mitsubishi Legnum was one of at least 18 flood-ravaged vehicles unloaded from the freighter Kiwi Breeze - sparking a warning from the Consumers' Institute that anybody wanting to buy a used import should specifically ask about water damage.

The shipment also prompted claims from the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association that dozens of similar vehicles have already been sold in New Zealand - with more to come.

The Mitsubishi, already cleared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, need only pass Land Transport Safety Authority checks before it can be sold here - and a buyer may not know its past.

IMVDA chairman John Nicholls said flooding had damaged 100,000 vehicles in Japan, and many were now destined for these shores. He worried that moisture could rust wires in the cars six months after they were sold, causing airbags and anti-lock brakes to fail.

There was also concern that raw sewage in Japanese floodwaters could pose other rust problems and biosecurity risks.

Mr Nicholls said one licensed dealer had bought 46 water-damaged vehicles, and now wanted to import flooded four-wheel-drives. But Mr Nicholls said an even bigger risk was posed by unlicensed dealers selling through auctions, newspapers and magazines.

"There are huge implications," he said. "A dealer, in our opinion, should say the vehicles are flood-damaged - but I don't think very many will."

The LTSA has brought in a testing system that it says will spot flooded imports, but will still let through any that have no safety faults.

Spokesman Andy Knackstedt said some water-damaged cars were sent here after being written off by Japanese insurers. This month, the LTSA had pulled apart three cars it identified as flood-damaged.

"Obviously we don't want people importing unsafe vehicles," he said, "but it's hard to tell if a car has been affected by water, apart from obvious signs such as wet mats."

Consumers' Institute chief executive David Russell said the Auckland shipment showed that used-car buyers had to ask the right questions.

"They may be safe and even work for a little while, but for how long will they work?" he said.

"Anybody buying a used car from now on must ask directly whether it is flood-damaged."

Mr Russell said that under the Fair Trading Act the seller would have to answer truthfully.

A spokesman for Consumer Affairs Minister Phillida Bunkle said that as long as MAF and the LTSA were "comfortable" with the cars, then "we have no problem."

About 135,000 used cars are imported to New Zealand each year.