Opinion: Are buyers of local vehicles protected?

The need to protect consumers against some unscrupulous used car dealers prompted the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to come up with a series of new measures for this sector.

While the initiative is welcomed, one might ask what is being done to protect buyers of local used vehicles. Regarding imported vehicles, there are so many conditions designed to protect buyers, but when it comes to sale of local used vehicles, buyers are simply left on their own. Every week, hundreds of damaged vehicles are auctioned and most of them are refurbished and resold. Most often, buyers would not have a clue about what they are buying because there is no proper mechanism to check the history of a used vehicle advertised in the classified ads, on facebook or displayed in used car showrooms. A few years back, the country was hit by devastating floods and hundreds of vehicles were seriously affected, yet most of those vehicles were resold to unsuspecting buyers. Where is consumer protection in such cases? We indeed need a verification system at the level of the National Transport Authority, perhaps itself fed by data from insurance companies to allow potential buyers to check upon a vehicle history. Second important point. The new private vehicle examination centres (fitness) will soon start their operations in full mode. These modern centres are equipped with state of the art technology that can even shy their European counterparts. However, are our motorists and vehicles ready to undergo EU norms verification? Given that at least 30% of our fleet of vehicles is aged more than 10 years, thousands are likely to fail stringent tests. This will cause another outcry among vehicle owners and it is highly likely that truck, bus and van owners demonstrate against the system and seek government intervention to remediate the situation. We have seen precedent cases where people took to the streets to protest against measures introduced (such as installing speedometers on bikes and wearing reflective jackets during day time, etc). To spare the country another such turmoil, it would be wise if the transition is smooth and that flexibility is allowed initially, laying emphasis on education and sensitisation rather than repression, thus giving the population time to adapt to the changes. We must realise that some types of vehicles would not be able to be 100% compliant overnight, but this does not mean they pose a hazard on our roads. The new examination system should not be perceived as an additional burden on common people, else the purpose would be defeated.