By Tracy Neal, Open Justice multimedia journalist, Nelson-Marlborough of 
File image Photo: 123rf
The agency in charge of the country's land transport system has confirmed investigations are ongoing into vehicles which have likely been in crashes, badly repaired, warranted and sold without the purchaser knowing.
Open Justice has reported in recent weeks the efforts of two buyers, in particular, to get compensation after finding out the expensive Toyota Hilux utes they had bought had been damaged in accidents and poorly repaired.
One had been rebuilt using a stolen engine.
A spokesperson for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency told Open Justice an investigation is underway into the poor repair work on vehicles which resulted in their warrant of fitness being revoked.
It was unable to provide further information in relation to the investigation as a criminal case was proceeding.
Waka Kotahi would not elaborate on the criminal case and when police were approached by Open Justice twice on the matter, they did not respond.
The transport agency has the power to prosecute a person or company for breaches of legislation it is responsible for.
It said decisions about whether or not to prosecute are made fairly, consistently, and proportionately to the seriousness of the alleged behaviour or offence.
The transport agency was also not able to say if part of its investigation was around the possibility of a "chop shop" operation because these were matters outside its jurisdiction as a regulator.
It said its focus is on vehicles which came to its attention mid-last year.
"Waka Kotahi began investigating several vehicles that were reported to have been involved in accidents and not repaired properly around July 2021," the spokesperson said.
Jeremy (Russell) Jane paid $38,000 for his "nearly new" Hilux which he drove for almost 18 months before discovering it had been built using parts from many other vehicles, including a stolen engine.
He was successful with a claim lodged with the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal, which this year ordered Hamilton dealer Steve Milo to refund the money. This has only recently been repaid following reporting by Open Justice.
Jay Keophila paid $45,000 for his 2018 Toyota Hilux three years ago, only to later find out it had been in a serious crash and had been poorly repaired, leaving it with numerous faults.
He also lodged a claim with the tribunal and is now happy to have received the compensation after resigning himself to the possibility he'd have to shoulder the repair costs.
Steve Milo, who said he never would have sold the utes to Jane and Keophila if he'd known the vehicles' history, says he is pleased to hear Waka Kotahi is investigating and that a criminal case is proceeding.
He recently issued a warning that more of these damaged and dangerous vehicles could be on our roads.
Jane and Keophila were alerted to the problem with their vehicles by a letter from Waka Kotahi, for whom a red flag was raised when it discovered the vehicles had been in an accident and needed substantial repairs as a result.
The vehicle bought by Jane was bad enough that it posed a "serious safety risk" so Waka Kotahi revoked its warrant of fitness and placed an immediate safety flag on it.
Earlier this year the transport agency revoked the roadworthiness of the Ford Ranger due to poorly repaired pre-existing accident damage, the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal noted in its February 15 decision.
Waka Kotahi said it investigated the vehicles after receiving information indicating there was a potential risk.
It said it worked closely with vehicle owners and the specialist repair certification industry to conduct the inspections.
"Unfortunately, these vehicles were repaired in ways that meant they were likely to pass a warrant of fitness, but in many cases had structural integrity issues that could only be found in an in-depth specialist repair certification inspection," a transport agency spokesperson said.
While Waka Kotahi could not elaborate on the investigation, it did outline how it gets alerted to problems with vehicles.
The transport agency might inspect vehicles following accidents and crashes at the request of the police but did not capture data on every car involved in a crash as it did not typically inspect vehicles following an accident.
"Our investigations deem whether there is a matter concerning a regulated party, and/or whether the safety of the vehicle is an ongoing concern," Waka Kotahi said.
For regulatory matters, Waka Kotahi has a number of intervention options to manage non-compliance, including education, engagement, and enforcement.
Non-regulatory matters may be civil issues that sit outside its regulatory jurisdiction.
"When we are notified of a potential risk, the outcome of an investigation may result in a warrant of fitness being revoked [for light motor vehicles].
"This occurs when we find a potentially serious safety risk.
"We may also apply a safety flag in our system and notify the vehicle owner this has occurred."
This meant a vehicle could still be operated but it would not pass its next warrant of fitness inspection unless it had met specific Waka Kotahi requirements, such as being inspected by a repair certifier.
"Waka Kotahi may receive information from several avenues regarding vehicles that may not have met the standard of repair."
This might include information received from insurance companies, complaints from vehicle owners, inspection organisations and the police.
* This story was first published in the NZ Herald.
