The implementation of the three guarantees for automobiles is still not easy after more than three years

In January 2013, the "Regulations on the Responsibility for Repair, Replacement and Return of Household Automobile Products" (hereinafter referred to as "Three Guarantees for Automobiles") was officially issued and officially implemented on October 1 of the same year. It has been more than three years since the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" was officially implemented, but Wang Wei, Secretary-General of the Henan Provincial Consumers Association, said that it is still not so easy to return or exchange a car in accordance with the Three Guarantees. Many consumers have also reported to Dahe Daily that it is almost impossible to return or exchange a car if there is a problem with the car.

Most car owners know the three guarantees, but they are not sure how to do it.

After more than three years of implementation, many car owners have more or less known about the Three Guarantees for Automobiles. "I know that if the main parts of the car are broken, the car can be returned or exchanged, right?" said Mr. Chen, a car owner at an imported Volkswagen Henan International. He had heard of the Three Guarantees for Automobiles, but was not sure how to do it. "I don't think it's usually necessary. It's not too late to check online when there is a real problem with the car."

According to the staff of the Provincial Consumer Association, the first chapter of the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" clearly stipulates in Article 4 that the three guarantees shall be borne by the seller in accordance with the law. In addition, after the seller assumes the three guarantees in accordance with the regulations, if the responsibility belongs to the manufacturer or other operators, the seller has the right to seek compensation from the manufacturer or other operators. From the above clauses, it can be found that the "three guarantees" responsibility is borne by the 4S store, which means that if the quality problem occurs in the vehicle purchased by the consumer, the 4S store should directly claim compensation; if it is a vehicle quality problem, the 4S store can claim compensation from the manufacturer after compensating the consumer.

It is easy to repair a car but difficult to return or exchange it. It is not easy to implement the three guarantees for cars.

During the March 15 period this year, reporters interviewed many car owners. Many of them believed that the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" cannot fully protect the rights and interests of consumers for the time being, but can easily be used by car dealers to shirk responsibility.

Mr. Chen, the owner of a German luxury car, said that according to the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" regulations, the car can be returned after the engine and transmission have been replaced twice in total. However, his car has had transmission failures several times within a year. The 4S store and the manufacturer always use the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" regulations to shirk their responsibilities, refusing to replace the car and only providing warranty services, and offering consumers the "second best" option of a two-year extended warranty on the entire car.

Ms. Zhao, the owner of an American car who has also experienced multiple vehicle repairs, also said that the general attitude of 4S stores is that they have no decision-making power and must let the manufacturer determine whether the vehicle problem falls within the scope of return or exchange. However, after reporting the problem to the manufacturer, a solution is nowhere in sight.

In addition, during the implementation of the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles", some shortcomings in the content have gradually been exposed. During the interview, a car owner told the reporter that he believed that the current threshold for returning or exchanging cars stipulated in the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" was too high, and that the parts of the vehicle that were more likely to have quality problems, such as the electrical control system, lubrication system, refrigeration system, and fuel supply system, were not covered by the Three Guarantees. In addition, for the most common problems reported by car owners, such as brake failure, new car odor, and organic volatilization, the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" also "turned a blind eye".

Even if the car can be returned or exchanged, there are still consumer disputes. The staff of the Provincial Consumer Association said that in 2016 they handled consumer disputes such as whether depreciation fees should be charged and how much to charge. "A car owner in Luoyang spent 300,000 yuan to buy a car. After two years of use, the car had problems. The manufacturer agreed to return the car, but wanted to charge about 100,000 yuan in "depreciation fees". Because of this 100,000 yuan, the car owner and the manufacturer had a long tug-of-war over it." The staff of the Provincial Consumer Association said that in addition, the current "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" does not include the return and exchange of automobile spontaneous combustion problems, which needs to be improved urgently.

New energy vehicles cannot provide three guarantees, which is embarrassing

Ms. Qi, a citizen of Shangqiu, bought a new energy vehicle at the beginning of the year. Later, she found that there were problems with the battery and the air pump. When she wanted to return the vehicle, she was embarrassed to find that new energy vehicles were not covered by the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles".

Yuan Dongyang, a lawyer at Henan Jinheli Law Firm, said that at present, the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" regulations do not clearly state whether new energy vehicles are family cars. Moreover, the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" regulations only specify powertrain components such as engines and transmissions. Are batteries and electric motors of new energy vehicles included in them? How to deal with them? These need to be further clarified. At present, if there is a problem with a new energy vehicle, the manufacturer or 4S store only needs to help the owner repair the car, and whether it can be returned or exchanged is another matter.

You can still enjoy the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles" even if you are no longer covered by insurance

I believe that many consumers will hear this sentence when buying a car: if you want to enjoy the "three guarantees", you must go to the 4S store for maintenance and repair. When consumers ask why, the dealer still says plausibly: "We have laws to follow!"

Indeed, there is a provision in the "Three Guarantees for Automobiles": if the consumer fails to use, maintain, or repair the product correctly according to the instructions during the warranty period and the validity period of the "Three Guarantees" and causes damage to the household automobile product, the operator may not bear the "Three Guarantees" responsibility stipulated in this provision. Therefore, some automobile manufacturers have stipulated in the warranty and maintenance manual and other accompanying documents that consumers must maintain the product at a 4S store authorized by the manufacturer, otherwise the operator will not bear the "Three Guarantees" responsibility.

But in fact, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China has a supplementary explanation for this regulation, that is, if the household automobile products are not maintained at the 4S store authorized by the manufacturer, the quality problems that occur are not causally related to the maintenance, or if the maintenance at other 4S stores does not cause damage, the operator cannot be exempted from the three guarantees responsibility. In other words, even if problems arise from self-maintenance, consumers only bear the responsibilities related to the maintenance, and the 4S store and the manufacturer are still responsible.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.