Rollout the Lemon Law

SHAH ALAM - Nagakanni Subramaniam's joy of buying a new car turned into frustration as it broke down just eight hours later.

Now, two months on, she's paying installments on a non-functional vehicle without answers or solutions.

"I bought this car at 11am, and eight hours later, at 7.40pm, I tried to start the engine but it wouldn't start.

"The vehicle was immediately sent to the service centre, and the mechanic said the engine was damaged.

"The seller later blamed foreign objects like sugar for the engine failure, a claim that I object to," she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Nagakanni added that the seller claimed that they could only replace it with a new car if she refinances.

However, she rejected this suggestion.

"Until now, there has been no clear response from the seller even though it has been more than two months, but I still pay the installment every month. I hope my friends can share this story so that the seller can resolve this issue. I am just fighting to defend my rights," she said.

Nagakanni's situation is the latest example of why Malaysia needed to establish specific legislation known as the Lemon Law, aimed at protecting buyers from being deceived or having to bear losses due to any newly purchased products, including cars, experiencing malfunctions.

This issue was raised in August 2022 by then Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

Alexander said the government was studying improvements to laws related to buying and selling, including the proposal to introduce Lemon Law, following 1,126 cases involving the purchase of used vehicles recorded by the Consumer Claims Tribunal (TTPM).

In business, the term 'lemon' refers to a product with poor quality, damage or defects but is purchased by consumers due to a lack of information.

WHAT IS LEMON LAW

• Introduced: 1975 in the United States.
• Purpose: To ensure car buyers receive compensation if the purchased product is repeatedly defective and fails to function as promised.
• Meaning of 'lemon': A defective product.
• Countries with Lemon Law: South Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore and the European Union.
• Common vehicle problems - Engine suddenly dies, transmission failure, electronic components of the car malfunction.

Consumer rights under Lemon Law in Singapore (contained in the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2004):

• Make claims for defective products purchased within six months.
• Request the seller of defective products to repair, replace, refund or reduce the price of the defective product.
• Ensure that the defective product is repaired or replaced within a reasonable time, with the costs borne by the seller.
• Request a price reduction when the product is retained or return the product for a refund if the seller fails to repair it.