Why are we increasing the number of used-reconditioned Approved Permit (AP) holders in the country when franchised car brands are required to invest in factories and labour training for local assembly (CKD) to get tax incentives to sell their new vehicles?
This is a hard question that needs answered as we see the mushrooming of new ‘futsal’ stadium sized reconditioned AP car showrooms opening up in Klang Valley with no proper after sales offered to its customers, recall options and no manufacturers warranty.
Yes, they will all say they have a warranty, but do you (the recon car buyer) ever take the trouble to read the warranty document that they give you to see what ‘REAL’ services are being rendered in their warranty document?
Just saying they have a warranty seems enough for most buyers who till today walk into these showrooms and buy premium vehicles with a long 7-9-year loan with no checks done at all.
Note: There are an increasing number of full electric vehicles (EV) and hybrids being imported into Malaysia by AP holders and what about spare parts and technology updates?
All they get is the quick talking sales person and the promise of being looked after if their recon premium car breaks down.
This industry is not completely regulated by the government and so, some (NOT ALL) AP holders continue to sell vehicles imported in from United Kingdom and Japan with no previous records shared, no accident/insurance reports shared and no previous maintenance/recall reports shared.
They can continue to earn their healthy profits without investing in after-sales, dealer warranty and breakdown services whilst authorized premium brand dealers like Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Toyota and Audi (to name a few) have to invest heavily in showrooms with a global corporate identity, after sales, spare parts, 5-year warranties and more.
There are already enough established AP holders running their business in Malaysia and some of these established businesses have invested in some form of after-sales and proper vehicle history to keep their repeat business and bring new customers to their showrooms without worrying about breakdowns and technical failures.
We hope that the relevant Ministries will look into AP holders and have them accountable for the vehicles they sell and offer a decent warranty and some form of professional after sales to reduce consumer burden and the ‘milking’ of the many innocent and less informed buyers who have 5-9 years’ loan re-payment on their recon premium cars.
So, why are we highlighting this?
- To have AP holders accountable for some form of after sales and warranty when there is an issue in the early months of ownership.
- To prevent recon car buyers from getting duped into buying a written off accident vehicle or a vehicle that has been plagued with issues in its home country.
- To have the relevant government organizations check and make sure that these AP holders are not selling their documents to used car dealers.
- New cars are getting ever more complicated and filled with technology wizardry and it needs proper after sales maintenance.
There are many professional run AP dealers who are providing the right levels of services and ‘sticking’ to a trusted business model and the rest should follow suit.
