Adjusted mileage and Consumer Protection Commission

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

Some time I ago I bought a car with the help of AC Taiwan ( viewtopic.php?f=75&t=79306 ).

In a previous thread I wrote how I found out later that the car’s mileage had been adjusted ( Auto Checkers. The Vehicle Inspection Centre - #17 by John ).

This is not something that can be seen during a car inspection and is only possible when doing a records search (if you’re lucky).

I took the case to the Consumer Protection Commission.
website: cpc.gov.tw/english/index.asp
complaints: back.cpc.gov.tw/FrontAddEvent/F … ventType=2

After a lot of letters they finally arranged a meeting between the car dealer and I.

The car dealer did not go to the meeting.

I had two options:

  1. take it to court
  2. take it to the media
  3. forget about it

I chose #3, because I did not have a contract.

Now, my husband argued that this should have been the responsibility of AC Taiwan as part of their full service.
I disagreed, and said that as the buyer it is my responsibility to make sure I have all the paper work in hand before handing over $$$.

However, even with a contract it would have been difficult.

IF the contract states that the car had an unadjusted mileage of XXX then I could have had a good case, but if the contract only states the recorded mileage than this would have been a difficult one to win.

The Consumer Protection Commission agent did say that prosecutors love this type of stuff (especially when it comes with the support of the Consumer Protection Commission), so I could have had a chance to get some compensation.

BUT…The Consumer Protection Commission agent ALSO told me that:

  1. Most 2nd hand car dealers in Taiwan are owned by, or affiliated with, gangs.
  2. Consumer Protection Commission agents are threatened on a regular basis.
  3. Many 2nd hand car dealers are listed as being owned by a person who is handicapped, so that they cannot be made to go to court??? ( I still have difficulty believing this one, even in Taiwan). :doh:

What I have learned:

  1. Check mileage through service centers, if possible, before buying.
  2. Get a contract
  3. Get the contract wording changed to unadjusted mileage (although it would be impossible to find a car dealer in taiwan who would agree to that).
  4. The Consumer Protection Commission has VERY little actual power, although they do work closely with prosecutors.
    5. Get the car checked out mechanically and pay a realistic price without worrying about resale value. Jamie found me a good, mechanically sound, little car. The resale value is probably a bit lower then expected, but not much.

The result of the ‘meeting’:

Two months ago The Consumer Protection Commission listed the car dealer in question on their (hard to find Chinese website): law.taipei.gov.tw/msgboard/list_exp.pdf

This is complete bullshit, because if you clicked on the link you probably discovered that it no longer works :roflmao:

2

Is buying an “approved” used car from a dealer a better bet? Or are they a complete shower as well?

3

Unfortunately, there are simply no full proof ways of proving a vehicle’s true mileage period.
Even if a vehicle’s mileage seems to be accurately reflected through a manufacturer’s service centre there are still ways in which is can be false.

In one situation which is known a dealer or the service centre itself will change the records to match the mileage.

In another situation as I had recently, a vehicle can be driven since its last service at a manufacturer’s service centre and can be serviced elsewhere. Before reselling the vehicle it has its clock turned back and then goes for another service at a manufacturer’s service centre.

There is no proof of accurate mileage at all at present. Until the government implements a yearly inspection and odometer logging, there is nothing at all to presently discourage dealers or individuals from tampering with their clocks.

As a side note; since the dealer Jands mentioned was not cooperative I have struck them from my list of dealers which I will source from.

I will remind and recommend to people to only source vehicles according to their condition and not by mileage figures. It is not even because odometer readings may be false that I recommend people ignore them, but mainly that no matter how accurate the odometer reading may be, it does not reflect the condition of a car or its components in any way. All components should be inspected accordingly without regards to the total number of times a vehicle’s wheels may have rotated in its lifetime. It is the policy of A.C. that we don’t even offer a mileage criteria in our sourcing requests and forms which customers fill in when requesting vehicles.

Thank you Jands for sharing your experience. I’m sure it will add as another good eye opener for others.
I have of course altered the way in which a vehicle is presented to my clients since your case as I don’t wish for any confusion in regards to odometer readings and reality. I am now more specific when letting people know that their odometer reading may not always be accurate.

For people still wishing to check odometer readings with service centres for what its worth, you will need the vehicle’s license paper to take along and sometimes additional proof of who the vehicle belongs to.

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[quote=“sulavaca”]There is no proof of accurate mileage at all at present. Until the government implements a yearly inspection and odometer logging, there is nothing at all to presently discourage dealers or individuals from tampering with their clocks.
…
I will remind and recommend to people to only source vehicles according to their condition and not by mileage figures. It is not even because odometer readings may be false that I recommend people ignore them, but mainly that no matter how accurate the odometer reading may be, it does not reflect the condition of a car or its components in any way. [/quote]
Good advice with which I totally agree.

I learned the car I bought from a used car dealer had had the mileage rolled back when I took it to the Benz dealer for service. Their records showed that the car was there 4 years earlier with 160K km but the odometer showed 120K km. I forgot I wasn’t in Kansas anymore and the rules I expected didn’t apply, or at least were not enforced.

At the end of the day, however, I am still happy with my car. The car was still in relatively good shape for the price paid, with reasonable repair and renovation required for a 23 year old car. The engine purrs like a kitten.

So as sulavaca suggests, focus on the condition. If I had known of his service before, I would have taken the car to him for a thorough check-up before completing the purchase.Instead, I took it to 2 Benz service departments who only gave it a cursory glance, pointing out only the most obvious issues. I guess they’ve not heard of pre-purchase inspections before.

5

However changing the mileage is not only a Taiwanese problem. Back home the Mitsubishi dealer changed 200.000km to 135.000km or sometimes even 115.000km for mini van station wagon thingies and my BMW 3 got 113.000 instead of 135.000km. That was a very sleazy small town dealer, not only for the odometer. His business broke down during the crisis. Heard it was a messy painful breakdown :stuck_out_tongue:

6

Yeah, like I said in my long post “Get the car checked out mechanically and pay a realistic price without worrying about resale value.”

Anyway, contacted the Consumer bureau and apparently they updated their list’s location.

Here is the link to the site: law.taipei.gov.tw/ct.asp?xIt … &mp=120041
Here is the PDF link: laws.taipei.gov.tw/msgboard/list_exp.pdf

My case is " 高昇車業 J.H. 981019 詐欺 "