Acodeco: Car buyers complain about non-compliance

About 140 claims from motor vehicle owners totaling $818,992.41 for various reasons were received Directorate for Consumer Protection and Defense of Market Competition (Acodeco) in the first five months of the year.

Consumers complain about inclusion of warranties, lack of information, breach of service, refunds, hidden defects in contracts and breach, inappropriate fees, among others.

Among the main causes of action presented are 73 for breach of warranty totaling $639,895.58; 33 for lack of information for $99,839.09 and 21 for failure to comply with service, totaling $39,594.80.

Acodeco reiterated that suppliers of new motor vehicles are required to extend the minimum warranty to one year or 30,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. When the manufacturer’s warranty is more favorable, the supplier will be obliged to provide the consumer with the manufacturer’s warranty in writing.

Distributors or suppliers engaged in the sale of new motor vehicles are obliged to ensure a regular supply of components, spare parts, parts and parts of the vehicles they distribute, for ten years from the moment of the change of the corresponding model. however, these goods are placed on the market under conditions of free supply and demand, which affects the regular supply of these components and their durability or availability in suppliers’ stocks during the useful life of motor vehicles, the entity added.

Acodeco also registered 5 custody complaints for $11,735.97; 3 for refunds totaling $700.00; 2, hidden deficiency for $21,830.00; 1 for breach of contract in the amount of 5 thousand dollars; 1, restitution of $311.97 and one count of improper collection of $85.

In the case of used motor vehicles, suppliers may not import into the national territory used vehicles whose production models are older than 5 years according to the vehicle identification number. The minimum warranty for these used vehicles will be 6 months or 15 thousand kilometers, whichever comes first.

All in all, codec resolved in favor of consumers 87 complaints in the amount of USD 576,025.00.

To verify the cases presented in Section for motor vehicles, At the request of an interested party or informally, Acodeco conducts relevant inspections through experts.

Since 2018, with Act 14 dated February 20, 2018, Acodeco has resolved 1,062 consumer complaints through the Department of Motor Vehicles totaling $7,206,261.49.