The Consumer Protection Act (the ''CPA'') provides protection for consumers against the purchase of second hand defective goods. This position was re-affirmed in a recent Eastern Cape High Court. The CPA allows consumers a 6 (six) month window to exploit the remedies provided for in the CPA.
As example, one of the remedies as per the CPA allows the consumer to claim for rescission of the sale agreement, to return the defective goods and reclaim the value of the purchase price. However, for the CPA to be applicable, the sale must be in the 'ordinary course of business' of the seller and not be a 'once-off' transaction.
Should the remedies as per the CPA not be available to the purchaser of second hand goods, the consumer may rely on the common law remedies in respect claims for damages or losses suffered due to latent defects. The test for common law remedies is whether a reasonable consumer would have declined to enter into the transaction had he / she known about the defects.