Purchaser guidance 6 Dec 2021

Before you buy agricultural machinery

If you are looking to buy a piece of agricultural machinery, there are some important questions that you should ask yourself before you buy.

Agriculture machinery - Purchaser guidance brochure ( PDF 180.51 KB )

Faults with your agricultural machinery

If there is a fault with a piece of agricultural machinery that you have bought, you may be able to seek a remedy if you have a warranty from the dealer or manufacturer.

In limited circumstances, you may also be able to rely on the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law, although these guarantees usually will not apply to agricultural machinery.

Warranties

A warranty is a contractual promise offered by a dealer or manufacturer who sold the piece of agricultural machinery to you. Once you make a purchase, the promise becomes a contractual right that you can enforce.

Warranties against defects

A common type of warranty is a warranty against defects, also called a manufacturer’s warranty when it is made by the manufacturer. This is a promise from a manufacturer or a dealer that if the machine (or part of it) is defective, the manufacturer or dealer will:

  • repair or replace the machine (or part of it), and/or
  • compensate you.

Warranties against defects often have different conditions and coverage with inclusions, limitations, and exclusions depending on the dealer or manufacturer. In the agricultural machinery sector, these warranties typically do not cover:

  • depreciation caused by normal wear and tear, and sometimes even faults caused to particular parts by normal wear and tear.
  • the cost of items used to conduct maintenance and repairs, such as lubricants and filters.
  • problems caused by misuse, abuse or improper maintenance.
  • problems caused by certain types of alterations or modifications, such as performance tuning or 'chipping'.
  • problems with parts made by another manufacturer (which may come with a warranty from the other manufacturer), such as tyres, radios and batteries.
  • problems caused by repairs carried out other than by authorised dealers, or by use of non-OEM parts.
  • travel, transport and freight costs associated with warranty work.
  • economic losses caused by machine downtime, or damage to property.

A warranty against defects is usually limited by time, with most warranties in the agricultural machinery sector lasting around 12 months.

Express warranties

A manufacturer or dealer may verbally or in writing make extra promises or representations regarding the standard or quality of the machinery. This is known as an express warranty.

Express warranties can include promises about your machine, such as that your machine can generate up to a certain amount of horsepower, or can store a certain amount of produce.

Extended warranties

Manufacturers or dealers may offer to sell you an extended warranty or care package to extend the length of time of the warranty against defects for a period of time or hours of use, whichever comes first, such as 24 months or 2,000 hours. Extended warranties are optional, so you do not need to purchase one.

Some dealers or manufacturers may tell you that your extended warranty will provide extra protections you wouldn’t usually get. This isn’t necessarily true, if the consumer guarantees also apply to your piece of agricultural machinery.

However, these guarantees generally do not apply to the purchase of agricultural machinery. Therefore, extended warranties may provide extra protection for longer when purchasing agricultural machinery. You should find out whether consumer guarantees will apply to you purchase before considering an extended warranty.

It is important that you understand the limitations associated with your warranty prior to purchase. Read more about warranties.

Consumer guarantees

Under the Australian Consumer Law, when you buy a piece of agricultural machinery, it may come with mandatory consumer guarantees.

The consumer guarantees will apply to pieces of agricultural machinery if:

  • they cost less than $100,000
  • they cost more than $100,000 and are of a kind ordinarily acquired for domestic, household or personal use or consumption, or
  • they are a vehicle or trailer for use mainly for transporting goods.

The consumer guarantees cannot be replaced, limited, or removed by any agreement, contract, or warranty, or made subject to non-disclosure conditions.

However, consumer guarantees generally will not apply to agricultural machinery because most agricultural machinery costs more than $100,000, and is not of a kind ordinarily acquired for domestic use or consumption.

Visit our consumer guarantees page for further information about the consumer guarantees, including what remedies may be available to you.

Warranties and consumer guarantees – an example

If your piece of agricultural machinery is covered by the consumer guarantees, any warranty offered by the manufacturer or dealer operates alongside these guarantees.

For example, you may buy a piece of equipment for $80,000. Under Australian law, there is a guarantee that your machine is of acceptable quality (amongst other guarantees).

The manufacturer or dealer of your machine may also give a warranty against defects in the form of a promise that they will repair or replace any part of your machine if it becomes defective over the 12 months after you buy it.

The manufacturer or dealer of your machine may also offer you the option to purchase an additional 24 months of cover as an extended warranty, where they will repair or replace any part of your machine if it becomes defective.

If there is a failure to comply with any of these guarantees or warranties, you can enforce your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

However, the scope of your rights under these guarantees or warranties may be different.

For example:

  • The consumer guarantee that your machine is of acceptable quality does not end just because the 12- or 36-month period of the manufacturer’s warranty has ended. If something goes wrong with your machine after a warranty has expired, you may still have rights under the consumer guarantees.
  • The manufacturer or dealer of your machine may say that the manufacturer’s warranty is void if you get an independent repairer to service your machine. They are usually within their rights to say this. However, the consumer guarantees will continue to apply to your machine, and you can continue to enforce your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
  • If your machine becomes unsafe because of a failure to comply with the guarantee as to acceptable quality, this constitutes a major failure and you can choose between a repair, a replacement machine, a refund, or compensation for the drop in value of the machine. You have these rights even if the defect is also covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

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