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Tag: Parallel Import

  • Another Car Firm Leaves Buyers High And Dry

    Another Car Firm Leaves Buyers High And Dry

    Another car parallel importer has failed to deliver vehicles on which deposits have been paid – the second such case in less than a month.

    TLC Cars Singapore, one of several small motor firms in Turf City, off Bukit Timah Road, has closed its doors, leaving customers in the lurch.

    The development comes barely a month after Exodus Global, a parallel importer in Ubi Avenue 3, did the same thing.

    Like those affected by Exodus’ move, customers of TLC have lodged police reports. Police said they are looking into the matter.

    Logistics manager W.Y. So, 33, said he chanced upon TLC Cars in July, and decided to buy a brand new Toyota Harrier sport utility vehicle from it for $137,800. Since then, he has paid up just over $55,000 in deposits, but has yet to secure delivery of the car. After repeated assurances by the company and as many postponements, he filed a police report on Oct 27.

    Asked why he decided to buy a car from a relatively unknown firm, Mr So said it was a “random” choice. “Its price seemed all right,” he said. “And it had newspaper clippings on its wall.” Asked how he felt about the prospect of not getting the car or his money back, Mr So said: “I’ll have to suck it up. There’s nothing much I can do.”

    The Straits Times understands that at least 10 customers are affected by the TLC episode, while more than 20 have been affected by the Exodus Global case.

    Individual consumers are not the only ones facing losses. Fellow motor company Auto Lease has also made a police report against TLC.

    TLC, it said, bought a Honda Vezel from it for about $36,000 (before COE). TLC paid about $6,000, took delivery of the car, but has made no further payment.

    Mr Anthony Lim, a partner in Auto Lease, added that his firm had also secured several certificates of entitlement (COEs) on TLC’s behalf.

    Auto Lease was also affected by Exodus Global’s closure. In total, Mr Lim said Auto Lease had paid $310,000 in COE deposits on behalf of Exodus Global and TLC.

    Mr Raymond Tang, first vice-president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said cases such as TLC’s are “not new”.

    Indeed, the industry sees similar cases almost yearly. The biggest in recent years involved Volks Auto, which misappropriated some $4.6 million in deposits in 2014.

    Mr Tang said consumers should patronise “respectable firms with long track records to be safe”. Even better, go to CaseTrust-accredited dealers, he said. “Most times, they get into trouble because they go for the lowest prices,” he said.

    TLC managing director Timothy Gay was uncontactable for comment.

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Police Reports Lodged Against Parallel Importer

    Police Reports Lodged Against Parallel Importer

    Some customers of parallel importer Exodus Global have made police reports after they did not receive their cars despite paying for them.

    At least seven customers have paid $493,470 to the firm since October last year, according to police reports seen by The Straits Times.

    Four of these customers paid the full downpayment for their cars, but are still waiting to get them.

    The firm, which is located in Ubi Avenue 3, said on its website that it deals in parallel imports and local “pre-owned vehicles”.

    Parallel importers buy cars from dealers abroad and sell them here, typically at prices lower than those charged by the authorised dealers.

    The firm also appears to have sold cars through De Auto Boutique and De Auto Leasing, which says on its website that it is a division of Exodus Global.

    In their police reports, the customers said they first paid a deposit of between $2,000 and $20,000.

    In July and August this year, four customers were told that their vehicles were ready for collection within two weeks.

    They were then asked to pay the remaining amount, ranging from $20,000 to $116,500. They did so.

    However, so far, none of the customers who made the police reports has received his or her car. Three of them said they were told by Exodus Global director Andy Chin that the firm was experiencing financial difficulties.

    When contacted, Mr Chin said he was not ready to comment.

    An information technology executive, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong, 46, said he made the full payment of $136,500 for a Toyota Harrier on July 24, after he was told the car would be delivered by Aug 4.

    However, delivery was delayed. The firm said it was having problems with car registration, among other things.

    “It’s bad but what can I do? $136,000 – it’s just gone,” Mr Ong said.

    A 43-year-old engineer who declined to be named said he has paid $97,888 for a Toyota Voxy 2.0 but still has not received it.

    “I’ve suffered sleepless nights. There’s a lot of anger because it has dragged on for so long,” he said.

    The chances of getting his money back? Almost zero, he added.

    The Consumers Association of Singapore said it has “handled three cases against De Auto Boutique/Exodus Global and received a separate 20 enquiries about the same company”.

    In 2014, about 108 people said they paid about $3.6 million in deposits to parallel importer Volks Auto, for cars that were not delivered.

     

    Source: The Straits Times