Recently, the Beijing Consumers Association has carried out a survey on the "consumption problem of used car transactions". The investigation found that the "RenrenChe" platform was suspected of concealing the real vehicle condition, and the "First Automobile Network" and "People's Network" platforms were suspected of illegal operation.
Question 1
Allegedly concealing the true condition of the car
In the experience survey, a total of 14 platforms were selected, including 10 online trading websites and 4 second-hand car trading markets.
In the car selling experience, the experiencer contacted the "Renren Car" platform to sell a baic motor BJEV second-hand vehicle, the platform sent an appraiser to conduct on-site vehicle testing, and "Renren Car" released the car sales information on its platform. Subsequently, the experiencer found that the content of the public information was different from the actual test results, and the platform was suspected of concealing the true situation of the vehicle and suspected of false publicity.
There are two main aspects to the publicity of vehicle detection information on the "Renren Car" platform:
First, the number of vehicle transfers was concealed, and the experiencer clearly informed the appraiser that the car had been transferred and was already a second-hand car, but the public information was "the owner dictated 0 transfers, and the car was a new car brought back by the 4S shop";
The second is to conceal the problem of car damage, the sale of the vehicle has obvious scratches in appearance, the appraiser also took photos to collect evidence during the test, but the public information shows that "the appearance is flawless", which is inconsistent with the actual situation.
Question 2
Disclosure of personal information
In the experience survey, the experiencer used a new mobile phone card to register the contact information on a second-hand car platform and filled in the brief information of the vehicle sales. Subsequently, the experience staff did not register again on other platforms, but there were still car dealers on multiple platforms such as "Autohome", "Uxin Used Car", "Daily Car Shooting" and other platforms who took the initiative to contact the experience staff to ask for details of car sales.
The experiencer asked car dealers on other platforms how they knew their mobile phone numbers:
The car dealer's explanation is the customer information pushed by the platform.
Question 3
Suspected violations
The experiencer found on a platform that the merchant released the information that "a large number of Beijing brands can be handled, including Beijing A, rental and lifelong use". The "First Automobile Network" platform sales said that it can be bought and sold with a number and rented a Beijing brand.
When browsing the second-hand car column information on the "People's Network" platform, the experiencer found a lot of content about "acquisition of Beijing brand indicators" and "marriage transfer", and found a page selling Land Rover Range Rover 2018 second-hand vehicles, and the page details were marked with the words "buy a car and send Beijing brand". The experiencer communicated with the merchant and learned that this car is "back to the house", which means that the merchant signed an agreement with the original owner to sell the right to use the Beijing license plate of the vehicle for a fee by means of risk control such as video and contract. This practice is an illegal operation, and there is a transaction risk for both buyers and sellers.
Questionnaires
More than 40% of respondents said they bought problem used cars
In the questionnaire survey, the actual consumption survey results showed:
- 34.18% of the respondents had encountered the problem of the overlord clause in the contract;
- Secondly, the contract terms are not clear, accounting for 32.36%;
- 45.64% of the respondents said that there were quality problems with the used cars they bought.
The survey results on the satisfaction of the service quality of the second-hand trading platform show that:
- 36.91% of the respondents were satisfied with the service quality provided by the used car trading platform;
- 29.27% of the respondents thought it was average;
- 22.18% of the respondents expressed great satisfaction;
- The number of people who are less satisfied and very dissatisfied are smaller, accounting for 11.09% and 0.55% respectively.
The survey results on factors affecting car purchase show that:
- More than half of consumers buy used cars because of the high quality and low price, which can avoid the risk of price reduction of new cars;
- Nearly 60% of the respondents mainly focused on the price of used cars.
In the course of the in-depth survey, some respondents believed that some second-hand car dealers had the problem of concealing the true condition of their vehicles. Some consumers believe that a lot of the information given by the second-hand car trading platform is to describe some obvious vehicle conditions such as the appearance and interior of the vehicle, and most of the important parts such as the vehicle engine and gearbox have not been tested in detail. If there is a problem with important parts of the vehicle, in order to promote sales, the merchant may choose to conceal the true condition of the vehicle.
In addition, many consumers complained about the cash reward withdrawal problem of the Autohome Express App, saying that they received rewards by inviting friends, but the platform refused to operate for various reasons when withdrawing. Consumers believe the platform is suspected of false propaganda.
Produced by the Editorial Department of China Consumer Daily New Media
Source/ China Consumer Daily, China Consumer Network Reporter/ Wan Xiaodong
Editor/Ying Pei
Producer/He Yongpeng Ren Zhenyu