KUALA LUMPUR: Car owners should learn to properly maintain and take better care of their vehicles, as well as get information from official dealers, to ensure a better resale price for their cars.
Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia (Bosch AA) country manager Dillion Goh said many car owners neglect the use of proper and reputable automotive replacement parts and services only to find out later that this can further devalue their cars.
“With the economy beginning to recover in the first quarter of 2022, we would see more introductions of newer vehicle models coming our way by many automotive brands. This can only mean that more pre-owned cars will be ready to be sold off to the pre-owned car market,” he told an online media briefing titled “The Importance of Good Car Care and Maintenance with Bosch AA Malaysia for a Better Resale Value” today.
Goh said that vehicles that have a good service record and use parts by reputable brands such as Bosch have a better resale value in the pre-owned vehicle industry. “Bosch AA aims to educate both new and pre-owned car owners on how to maintain and ensure the longevity of their vehicles while advocating the importance of using high quality and reputable automotive car parts,” he added.
In the last quarter of 2021, the pre-owned industry began to see an increase in sales of pre-owned cars but many pre-owned vehicles do not get a good rate in the pre-owned car market, due to many factors, including poor maintenance and vehicle care, he revealed.
Adding to that, a vast majority of car upgraders and first-time owners considered purchasing from the used car market, resulting in over 400,000 used cars sold in Malaysia in 2021.
Bosch AA’s virtual talk had panellists from the Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Association of Malaysia (FMCCAM) and its authorised technology partner, ezAuto.my.
FMCCAM president Datuk Tony Khor Chong Boon noted that many Malaysians have embraced the online method of buying and selling used vehicles instead of purchasing them from used car dealers.
“The truth of the matter is, online or offline, customers are not excluded from bogus deals or back-handed purchases. While we stand strong on our part to promote and protect the interest of all our members in the industry, including consumers and dealers, we are grateful to collaborate with Bosch and ezAuto.my to reach more Malaysians and enable them to make the right choice based on their needs.
“No car is perfect and we always urge buyers to research the make and mould of the car before any purchase,” he advised.
The chief executive officer of ezAuto.my Charlene Chong Chia Li said that oftentimes, there are simple but important ways consumers can protect themselves from buying used cars with low-quality parts, normally taken from recalled batches or syndicated remakes.
“Our goal of inspiring a higher level of trust from consumers by being a transparent and open company is one that we have worked on for quite some time. We want to keep creating an end-to-end trusted experience when it comes to buying used cars,” she said. “That’s why we have a 132-point inspection conducted on all cars that come to us before they are sold off. These checks can determine the value of the car based on any modifications done or even a bad maintenance record.”
In response to the use of digitalisation in consolidating a very fragmented used car market, ezAuto.my cited the lack of a unified system or standardisation when it comes to buying or selling cars, leaving consumers to carry out most of the purchasing journey on their own.
To counter this, Bosch AA has pointed out the many types of maintenance challenges and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) steps consumers can carry out themselves to avoid falling prey to scams or too-good-to-be-true deals, including checking the fine print on warranties, as well as quick and easy car checks to perform. ― Bernama