The Consumer Claims Tribunal awards RM6,940 to the used car buyer over false mileage case
The days of Malaysian consumers getting scammed by used car sellers is about to come to an end as a consumer in Malaysia has just won a case against a used car dealer who sold a car with false mileage numbers and the Consumer Claims Tribunal awarded the consumer RM6,940 for decreased valuation and cost of service.
So a civil servant discovered inaccurate odometer readings upon purchasing a car so he took the dealer to the Consumer Claims Tribunal to seek compensation for the pre-owned Honda Accord he bought three months ago which had actually clocked more than twice the mileage shown on its odometer upon purchase.
Moreover, the civil servant sought relief of 50 percent reimbursement from the amount of service cost and purchase price to be reduced by RM5,000. In view of the evidence presented, the tribunal president Haliza Aini Datuk Othman handed down an award of RM6,940.33 to the applicant.
On May 5, the owner purchased the 10-year-old Honda Accord 2.0l VTI-L with an odometer reading of 97,007km. He bought the Accord at the price of RM34,600 after trading-in his 2008 Toyota Camry 2.4l for RM23,000. Little did he know this used car was not what he thought it would be.
He learned the hard way as five days later, he brought the car to an authorised Honda service centre in Seremban for a thorough check and paid RM3,880.66 for parts replacement and service where he was shocked when the customer database showed that the car had apparently clocked 202,671km when it was last serviced in January.
On top of that, the claimant then contacted the previous owner and received confirmation that the Honda Accord had allegedly reached over 200,000km at the time the car was sold to a broker. In response, the representative of the car dealer located in Banting denied allegations of any malpractice.
The claimant also demanded RM20,000 compensation in lieu of a potential warranty void since it is only applicable for a vehicle with an odometer below 180,000km. He explained that upon purchasing the car, the dealer had given a one-year warranty with a coverage value of RM40,000 for repairs to parts.
The car dealer has 14 days to comply with the tribunal’s decision under Section 117 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act 1999 which provides for a fine of up to RM5,000 or jail up to two years, or both, if found guilty.
The Consumer Claims Tribunal is an alternative dispute resolution avenue to civil courts for consumers to speedily file redress claims for purchases of goods and services up to RM50,000 and clearly, they are very good at what they do.
