Carsome Used Car Reports Have Holes In Them And Their Staff Do Not Care About Making It Better
Is it a manpower issue or just slip-shot work to get as many used car units running through the system to start seeing some profits this year end?
Well, we have seen how Carsome has been bleeding investor cash for years and profits have been non existent as they brought used cars high and sold low to get market share and squeeze out smaller used car dealers in Malaysia. It was worked but at what cost!
This has been great for Malaysian used car buyers as the process is clean, simple and supposedly transparent……. Until now.
However, and there is a HUGE however …….. as the business model has been LOSS making since day one.
This is a game that can only be played with Venture Capital (VC) funds as VC’s are easily fooled into believing in the golden goose egg at the end of the journey (listing and cashing out big), or is it just ‘money laundering’?
With professional run VC’s we have seen how people close to the matter who ‘approved’ and ‘pushed’ the funding through end up leaving the organization after all monies have been disbursed as they do not want to be audited at a later date. Wink wink!
The same people have been known to join another cash rich financial organization and will then approve even more funding to the start-up with them same wink wink!
Well, lets get to the what we want to share here. Is Carsome selling “lemon cars” and or cars with fraudulent reports.
We all know that Carsome has gained prominence in recent years through nationwide marketing campaigns featuring long retired footballer Eric Cantona and this leads many buyers to walk in half blind and accept all the ‘salesman’ talk which traditional used car dealers used to use on buyers. Today, Carsome has resorted to the same ole tactics to sell cars to ‘trusting’ buyers.
True case shared below of a Lexus NX lady buyer
Very good friend wanted to by a used luxury SUV and after weeks of visiting various used car dealers in Klang Valley and test driving a number of SUV’s she wanted to try Carsome at Naza Automall along Federal Highway.
She found the SUV she liked in all areas. Exterior colour, age, mileage, interior colour, specifications and even price was all just right. Being very particular about having the right colour inside and out, she was ‘sold’ from sight.
So with the Carsome ‘inspection report’ all seemed right as there was a very detailed report on the vehicles condition from the ‘experts’ who checked the used Lexus NX at Carsome.
Then she tested the famous Lexus sounds system. Realized it was not working, no sound but display and all other functions working. Just NO sound.
Salesperson did not spot this issue until the buyer pointed it out and the sales person said, small issue. She said NOPE (after she called me on the phone to double check). This must be sent back to Lexus Malaysia to be checked as the Lexus factory audio system is NOT cheap to fix and even repair.
After negotiations it was agreed to send the Lexus NX to Lexus Mutiara Damansara to be checked. After being checked at Lexus Mutiara Damansara it was confirmed that the audio amplifier was not working and needed to be changed. Estimated price was RM13,000 and Carsome only agreed to fix it (estimate was RM5,000) and not change the unit.
Meanwhile, Lexus mechanic mentioned that there was slight steering judder and needs to be checked further.
Sigh, buyer still very very keen to take home this particular Lexus. So agreed to get the audio system fixed and steering judder looked at.
Meanwhile, vehicle transfer and financing done easily and without any hassle at Carsome automall and the buyer was happy with this service (no need to go to JPJ and Puspakom and line-up for hours).
One week later, the NX was sent to ‘private’ audio specialist who fixed the amplifier and fitted it back. Sound system working fine and buyer was happy.
Another week later steering judder got worse and it was diagnosed that the drive shaft (both sides) were worn and needed replacing.
Same week, climate control not so cold. Further checks at our own suggested workshop confirmed that both fans not working properly. Needed to be changed.
So, used Lexus sent in to our preferred workshop for new driveshaft’s and fans and with audio already fixed, new owner happy, but like we always say to used car buyers, please put aside 10 percent of your purchase value to get your used car fixed properly (plus preventive maintenance) after purchase.
Total spent after purchase, about RM15,000 (audio system repair bill NOT included) and so far its all good.
So, can you trust the Carsome vehicle report? We think not and not every buyer has available cash to fix issues with used cars within a month of purchase. So, like the traditional used car dealer who promises a lot and delivers little, is Carsome any different?
