China’s car warranty regulation will become effective on 1 October, after eight years in the making. The rule will support customers’ rights to return defective vehicles and seek a refund or replacement.
The third draft of the regulation was released in January 2012, and approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision last June. The new regulation allows buyers to ask for cars to be replaced in the first two years or 50,000 kilometres if serious faults cannot be repaired, reports Shanghai Daily. The second draft had defined the condition as two years or 40,000 kilometres.
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Under the rule, buyers are eligible to return a vehicle within a period of 60 days or 3,000 kilometres if serious quality problems like cracks on the body, dysfunctional brakes or steering and oil leaks are found. Consumers can avail of free repairs in the first three years or 60,000 kilometres if their cars have quality issues.
The third draft also adds a penalty clause under which violators could face a fine of up to CNY30,000 (US$4,778).
The move has been welcomed by car buyers, but market watchers doubt the feasibility of the rule partly because the auto industry still does not have a reliable third-party organisation to resolve conflicts on whether a car has a quality problem, and what the prerequisites for free repairs, replacement or refunds are.
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