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Reporter | Duan Yingqi

In October 2023, Mr. Yan from Changsha purchased a Buick car from Hunan Huayang Jiangtong Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huayang Jiangtong).

PicturedHuayang Jiangtong Buick 4S Store

In June 2024, due to the damage of the left front fender of the car caused by scratches, Mr. Yan sent the car to Huayang Jiangtong for repair. On the 29th, he was told that the grille of his car was burned during the repair process.

The person in charge of Huayang Jiangtong proposed a repair and compensation plan to Mr. Yan on the same day, but Mr. Yan hoped to replace the car with a new one, and the two sides failed to communicate. On July 13, Mr. Yan asked for help from the reporter of Chenyibangmang (reporting hotline: xxcbbaoliao), hoping to get the matter resolved as soon as possible.

On July 14, the reporter accompanied Mr. Yan to the Huayang Jiangtong 4S store in Hunan Xiangjiang New District. After intervention and coordination, Mr. Yan agreed to repair the vehicle and the two parties reached an agreement on the compensation plan.

Scratched car sent for repair turned into a burnt car

Car owners are concerned that their vehicles may have safety hazards

On July 14, Mr. Yan told the reporter from Morning Help, "My car was sent to the 4S shop for repair because of a scratch, but it ended up being a burnt car."

On June 22, Mr. Yan sent his car for repair. The 4S store said he could pick up the car on June 29. "I called all day on the 29th but no one answered. In the evening, they told me that the grille of my car was burned during the repair process. My car was in the paint process at the time and the whole car was placed in the paint room. It was their fault that the grille was burned."

On the same day, the relevant person in charge of Huayang Jiangtong gave a solution. In addition to repairing the car, "send it for maintenance several times and extend the warranty period by one year."

In this regard, Mr. Yan said he "did not agree" and expressed his concerns, "The safety of passengers was not taken into consideration. I suspect that this car may have some invisible safety hazards, such as hidden dangers in sensors and engines, because after the car has been exposed to high temperatures and open flames, some electronic components may be damaged."

In the photos of the burned vehicle provided by Mr. Yan, the reporter noticed that the grille of the car had been burnt black and deformed. After removing the grille, a small number of parts near the left front wheel of the car were burned to gray, and the paint on the front hood of the car was also burned into mottled yellow patches, but no signs of burning were visible to the naked eye around the engine.

Mr. Yan's car was caught on fire

4S store:

The loss was caused by the store

Willing to take responsibility

On July 14, Chenyibangbang reporter accompanied Mr. Yan to the Huayang Jiangtong 4S store in Hunan Xiangjiang New District. Service Director Mr. Yang understood Mr. Yan's situation. "The burned parts are the front bumper and the center grille. We did a comprehensive inspection (of the vehicle). All the oil pipes and lines in the engine compartment are intact. But this happened to this car here, so we should take responsibility."

Regarding the previous plan, Mr. Yang introduced, "We will be responsible for repairing the vehicle and will conduct a comprehensive inspection. We are willing to bear appropriate compensation for the psychological loss of the customer."

Afterwards, General Manager Mr. Xiong explained the accident during maintenance. "On June 26, due to our own fault, the paint room caught fire. The fire may have been caused by the high temperature at the time. It happened that during the operation of this vehicle, the car had been sprayed with two layers of primer. At 1:28 pm that day, before preparing to spray the clear coat, the master walked around the car to check whether the primer was dry. In less than 40 seconds (the fire started)."

Mr. Xiong also said that the company's employees responded promptly as soon as they found the vehicle was burned. "My employee was in the paint room. The first thing he considered was the customer's property. He rescued the car. His neck and left arm were burned."

Subsequently, Mr. Xiong proposed two options for handling the vehicle: repair plus compensation, or replacing it with a new car based on the depreciation of the car before the fire accident.

Finally, with the intervention and coordination of the reporter, Mr. Yan chose repair plus compensation and reached an agreement on the specific details of the plan. "The problem was solved perfectly. After the car was repaired, the warranty of the whole car was extended, a reasonable amount of compensation was given, and follow-up service guarantee was provided."

Further reading

A woman's new car, which she bought for 300,000 yuan, suddenly stopped due to a power outage on the highway, and the 4S dealer refused to return the car

"It's too dangerous. I really don't dare to drive." Recently, Elephant News and Elephant Help received a call for help from Ms. He from Yinchuan. Her newly purchased Cadillac IQ had serious battery life problems. She asked to return the car, but to no avail.

Less than a week after purchasing the car, the battery power dropped drastically

"The worst time was when I was driving with a range of 78km, but the range dropped to 0 in an instant, and the car could not start." On May 6, Ms. He bought a Cadillac IQ Ruige from Ningxia Runde Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ningxia Runde 4S Store"). Less than a week after picking up the car, she found that this pure electric vehicle with a standard range of 502km only had a range of about 130km in actual use, and there was also a serious battery power loss problem. "I spent nearly 300,000 yuan to buy this car, and I didn't expect it to have such a serious safety hazard."

Battery life from 78km to 0

In this regard, Ningxia Runde 4S store explained to Ms. He that "the battery needs to be activated through charging and discharging". Since mid-May, after multiple charging and discharging by Ningxia Runde 4S store, the battery life problem has not been solved. "On June 24, during the highway road test by Ningxia Runde 4S store staff, the vehicle's remaining range dropped directly from 35km to 0, causing the vehicle to stop suddenly on the highway fast lane." Ms. He recalled, "This time the power dropped drastically, and the driver didn't even have time to stop the vehicle in the emergency lane."

After the sudden stop on the highway on June 24, Ms. He contacted the person in charge of the 4S store

Towing site after a sudden stop on the highway on June 24

Manufacturers and 4S stores: Replace the battery and you can return the car without negotiation

Afterwards, Ms. He contacted Cadillac customer service, and the manufacturer gave two possible reasons: one is that the battery has been stored for too long, resulting in low activity of the battery molecules; the other is that the battery modules are unbalanced, resulting in a voltage difference. The manufacturer and Ningxia Runde 4S store provided Ms. He with a solution of replacing a new battery and giving her 2,000 yuan in cash compensation.

However, Ms. He was unwilling to accept this plan: "I have only used my new car for less than two months. Replacing the battery will greatly reduce the value of the car." Later, Ms. He asked Ningxia Runde 4S store to return the car, but the store did not agree. As of now, Ms. He's car is still parked in the 4S store, and she can neither drive it nor return it.

Based on the phone number provided by Ms. He, the reporter contacted Zhao Daren, the after-sales manager of Ningxia Runde 4S store. Manager Zhao said, "I'm busy and will call back in 5 minutes." 5 minutes later, the reporter called Manager Zhao again, but the call could not be connected. The reporter called the customer service number of Ningxia Runde 4S store again, and the customer service said that Manager Zhao had been responsible for following up on Ms. He's matter and asked the reporter to contact Manager Zhao. As of press time, the reporter tried to contact Manager Zhao by phone many times, but the call was not connected.

Ningxia Runde Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. Official Customer Service

Lawyer: Sellers should be responsible for replacement or return

The reporter contacted Cadillac's customer service to inquire about the situation. After checking, the customer service said that Ms. He's complaint was being followed up by a manufacturer's specialist and that they would contact Ms. He as soon as a solution was available. The reporter also called the Ningxia government service hotline 12345 to report the situation, and the staff said that "the relevant department will give a reply in about 5 working days."

"According to Article 24 of the Consumer Protection Law, if the goods provided by the operator do not meet the quality requirements, the consumer may require the operator to fulfill the obligation of replacement in accordance with national regulations. According to Article 20 of the Regulations on the Responsibility for Repair, Replacement and Return of Household Automobile Products, if a serious safety performance failure has been repaired twice in total and the serious safety performance failure has not been eliminated, the seller shall be responsible for replacement or return during the validity period of the 'three guarantees'." Liang Xinglu, a lawyer at Beijing Zhonglun Wende (Zhengzhou) Law Firm, pointed out that the problem with Ms. He's vehicle could cause power loss of control, which was enough to cause a serious safety accident. It was a serious safety performance failure and the 4S store had an obligation to cooperate with consumers for returns and exchanges.