Buyers Urged To Check First On Warranties For New Cars
By M K Anwar

Bandar Seri Begawan - About 260,000 cars are on the road in Brunei and this figure continues to rise every year. This favourable market climate for motor vehicles has significantly increased earnings for local dealers.

Dealers have been quick to offer attractive prices for new models. This also comes with important warranties. Some are offering free services within a set mileage for new cars and some are giving a three-year warranty.

However, there seems to have been instances where dealers have been reluctant to stand by these warranties especially when problems arise in new cars.

Complaints that have been received through the Borneo Bulletin Hotline include the reluctance of some dealers to fix some of the mechanical glitches that are covered under the warranty. At times, warranties are not defined in clear or proper terms.

It is often quite vague and changing depending on the availability or costs of spare parts, observers noted. There seems to be no clear description of what parts or repair works are covered by warranties.

"I was told when I first bought the car that even the door handle is covered by the warranty. But then when it broke a month later they told it's not," a motorist told the Bulletin.

There are, however, some dealers who are willing to go the extra distance to make their customers happy. But then, there are also a few bad apples that spoil the market.

It is quite frustrating for some car owners, who are given different excuses just to make them pay for the parts that are broken even though they are covered under the warranty.

Some dealers, when asked about this, said sometimes it is the motorists who are at fault.

Normally, to report any defect or failure it is important that motorists approach the dealers first.

But most often they take their cars to some non-authorised mechanics or workshops to fix it first and when the mechanics fail to fix the problem, they come to the dealers pointing out the warranty without knowing that it has become void.

This becomes even more obvious when they bring their cars in and upon checking we realise some parts had already been changed and these parts are not genuine, a dealer said. "Yet they complain that it is still under warranty even though it is already void," he added.

Some of the works done by unauthorised mechanics are said to cause other problems, too.

"It is important that you bring the car to us and let us look at the problem first. We have proper mechanics and parts to fix it," said the dealer.

Buyers of new cars should seek explanation from dealers about the warranty before they collect their cars.

Dealers, on the other hand, should be responsible to provide a clear written term about the warranty.

Some cars come with two or three years warranty, but it doesn't clearly indicate what is covered and what is not. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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