New vehicle purchase and sudden breakdown
On June 30, 2015, the Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau of Zhangjiajie City purchased a JAC Ruifeng automatic multi-purpose passenger vehicle (engine number: F3029324) from Zhangjiajie Jintai Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. for tourism law enforcement use. At 14:26 on July 16, 2015, the vehicle suddenly stalled while driving in the Huanglong Cave Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie to handle tourist complaints, and the brakes and direction suddenly failed. Due to the driver's timely and appropriate handling, accidents involving casualties of pedestrians and vehicle passengers were avoided.
After the failure occurred, the Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau immediately reported the vehicle problems to the dealers Zhangjiajie Jintai Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. and Ruifeng Automobile After-sales Service Company. On July 16, Zhangjiajie Jintai Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. arranged for technicians to come to the site to inspect and repair the vehicle, but no specific cause of the failure was detected. Unfortunately, vehicles can only park in the Huanglong Cave Scenic Area. On July 17, Ruifeng Automobile After-Sales Service Zhangjiajie Company transported the vehicle back to the company. The company's technicians determined that "the driver's improper operation caused the automatic transmission to be garbled and caused the system to malfunction; the excessive carbon deposits in the exhaust pipe were caused by the driver increasing the accelerator too much." However, there is no clear explanation for the lack of engine power, sudden flameout, brake failure, etc.
Negotiated settlement and two opinions
On July 25 and August 3, the Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau sent people to Zhangjiajie Jintai Auto Sales and Service Co., Ltd. to negotiate and handle the matter, and put forward two opinions: first, Zhangjiajie Jintai Auto Sales and Service Co., Ltd. should replace the car with a new one; second, the faults in the original car should be repaired, and the car manufacturer should issue a certificate of conformity after testing. After testing, technicians from Hunan Honghuai Automobile Trading Co., Ltd., the upper-level dealer of Zhangjiajie Jintai Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd., believed that it was a problem with the gear cable and oxygen sensor. They said that they could be replaced, but the company did not promise that the vehicle would not have similar problems in the future. At the same time, it is also made clear that the manufacturer will not issue a certificate of conformity after the vehicle has been repaired. The coordination between the two parties reached a deadlock. Since then, the Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau has contacted the dealer many times, but so far the dealer has not received any substantive reply.
The JAC Ruifeng automatic transmission multi-purpose passenger car purchased by the Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau was purchased after strict government procurement procedures and used as a special vehicle for tourism law enforcement. The vehicle purchase tax, vehicle insurance and other relevant procedures have been completed, and the vehicle has not yet driven out of the Wulingyuan area. By the time the vehicle broke down, the mileage was less than 916 kilometers.
Cause of breakdown and manufacturer's reply
It has been two months since the new car broke down. The dealers and manufacturers have no accurate conclusion on the cause of the failure, and there has been no clear reply to the customer's request, which seriously affects the vehicle guarantee for the bureau's tourism law enforcement. In particular, the dealer has made it clear that the manufacturer will not issue a certificate of conformity after the vehicle is repaired. In this regard, how can the quality and safety of the vehicle be guaranteed? As a designated unit for purchasing vehicles, without quality assurance, credibility guarantee, and good after-sales service, who would dare to be the designated unit in the future? Who dares to purchase?
Solemn statement from the vehicle-using unit
In view of the fact that dealers and manufacturers ignore the requests made by vehicle users, this Bureau solemnly makes a statement:
Dealers and manufacturers are required to give a clear reply quickly, take back the original vehicle and replace it with a new one to protect the legitimate consumer rights and safety of the vehicle users.
In order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and ensure the safety of special vehicles for tourism law enforcement, this bureau will resolve this car purchase dispute through legal channels as appropriate.
September 16, 2015
Wulingyuan District Tourism Bureau of Zhangjiajie City