Car owners in Hong Kong driven mad by rising number of new vehicles not working properly, watchdog says

A rising number of new-car buyers have filed complaints about the repeated malfunctioning of their freshly purchased vehicles and about maintenance services, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog said this morning.

In one case, the complainant bought a brand-new seven-seater car at HK$280,000. But even before the vehicle had reached a mileage of 2,000km, it was already failing to start up properly after brief halts, say, at traffic lights.

The owner sought help from the Consumer Council after her multiple requests for a replacement from the car company were turned down.

Another dissatisfied buyer realised a broken headlight was not covered under the warranty and had to pay for the repairs.

“We have discussed some suspicious cases with customs officers,” the council’s chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han said, referring to new cars that malfunctioned over and over again.

She noted the sale of goods of unsatisfactory quality was prohibited by law.

The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which protects consumers from unfair trade practices.