Dealing with duds: The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan
Last Updated November 30, 2006
CBC News
So that new dream vehicle of yours is turning into a bit of a nightmare. You know there"s a problem with it and you"ve had it into the dealer half a dozen times, but they insist the vehicle checks out just fine.
You"ve been polite through the entire process but can"t seem to get the dealer"s repair department to understand. You take your case to the manufacturer, but get the same results.
Stuck with a lemon?
Dawn MacNeil (CBC Photo) Dawn MacNeil of Marion Bridge, N.S., was beginning to think she might be. With two young children, she and her husband figured it was time to move up to a van, so they shelled out more than $40,000 for a brand new Kia Sedona, which had earned a five-star safety rating in crash tests conducted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A week after taking delivery they discovered they had a problem.
The side door slid open while MacNeil was driving — and it kept happening. The door opened at least 16 times, often with her children inside.
MacNeil took the car to the dealer to get fixed six times, but the problem persisted, causing her to resort to using bungee cords to keep the door closed.
One day she was driving home from the grocery store and the door slid open yet again, spilling her groceries on a busy highway. All she could think was that could"ve been her kids.
MacNeil called Kia once again and was shocked by their response.
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"The reaction of the Kia people to that incident on the highway is that it couldn’t happen," she told CBC-TV"s Underdogs. "It was just a figment of my imagination or I did something wrong."
MacNeil was furious — but not ready to give up.
"I was willing to put lemons on my van and park it in front of their dealership," she said. "I was willing to test drive a vehicle and maybe not bring it back in the same condition I left it in. I was willing to do whatever it took to let them know how I felt."
Before MacNeil headed the 2,000 kilometres from Cape Breton to Kia’s head office to confront them herself, she found an answer in her owner"s manual: CAMVAP. The Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan was set up in 1994 to help consumers resolve their complaints with car manufacturers.
The program won"t help you get out of leases or sales agreements or resolve disputes with dealers. It will deal with your complaint about an automobile manufacturer and the quality of the vehicle you have bought — or how the manufacturer is interpreting or implementing its new vehicle warranty.
Most cars, light trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans that are bought or leased in Canada are covered by CAMVAP. Two notable exceptions are BMW, which never joined the program, and Mitsubishi, which pulled out as of September 2006.
Your vehicle is eligible, if it"s from the current or the previous four model years 7#8212; and has less than 160,000 kilometres on it.
CAMVAP is run by an 11-person board of directors made up of four representatives of the provinces, four representatives of automobile manufacturers and distributors, two from the Consumers Association of Canada and one from automobile dealers.
If you go the CAMVAP route, you must agree to abide by the arbitration panel"s decision and not pursue the matter through any other route, including the courts.
Arbitrators can make a variety of rulings:
They can order repairs to your vehicle.
They can order the manufacturer to buy back your vehicle.
They can order the manufacturer to reimburse you for repairs done to your vehicle.
They can order the manufacturer to reimburse you for out-of-pocket expenses up to $500.
They can order the manufacturer to reimburse you for costs to obtain a summons for a witness up to $100 in certain circumstances.
They can rule that there is no liability on the part of the manufacturer.
They can rule that CAMVAP has no jurisdiction to hear your case.
In 2004 — the latest year for which statistics are available — 558 claims were filed to CAMVAP. Half those claims were filed in Ontario. There were 80 claims filed in Alberta, the next highest total in the country. Of those 558 cases, 468 went to arbitration.
CAMVAP reports that 60 per cent of cases were settled in favour of consumers. Twenty-one per cent of the orders required manufacturers to buy back vehicles — some with no reduction in the value of the vehicle. The average amount paid out in buy-backs was $29,356.
The plan bills itself as fair, fast, friendly and free. Its goal is to resolve complaints within 70 days.
But it"s not without its critics. The Automobile Protection Association says the plan"s statistics are misleading. The association points out that while CAMVAP says 60 per cent of rulings come down in favour of consumers, many of those cases are ordered back to the dealer for yet another repair, which may not be a satisfactory outcome for the consumer.
The APA would rather see the provinces adopt "lemon laws" similar to those passed in several American states that force car manufacturers to replace vehicles that have been declared lemons.
CAMVAP says 74 per cent of the people who used the service in 2004 rated their experience as either very good or excellent.
Dawn MacNeil was worried as she entered the arbitration process.
"The arbitrator looked at our van. He saw how difficult it was to close the door. He saw how improperly it was lining up … He saw the bungee cord."
In the end, he ruled in her favour. Kia was ordered to pay MacNeil all but about a thousand dollars of what she had paid for the van.
"It was more than the money. It was [about] the safety of my children," MacNeil said. "The one piece of advice that I can give people is the importance of [documenting your case]."
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Quick facts
Tips on preparing your case:
Keep detailed records of repair work done to your vehicle.
Note the number of days you are without your vehicle.
Give your dealer a second chance to resolve your problem. If that fails, go to another dealer, then to the manufacturer.
Never lose your cool. Do not swear or be abusive to service staff. It won"t help your case at all.
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