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isu special correspondent fan zhikai editor/guo jingjing

recently, a car owner in nantong reported to a reporter that although the car he just bought looked brand new, when he opened the hood after driving it home, he found that the engine compartment was covered with mold. how could a new car that cost more than 100,000 yuan become a moldy car overnight?

on september 4 this year, mr. tao, a nantong citizen, spent more than 190,000 yuan to buy a hongqi h5 car from nantong baihong automobile sales and service co., ltd. he took the car home on the same day and found nothing unusual; but on september 6, when he opened the car hood to show his friends, he unexpectedly found that the engine compartment was covered with "mold", which was shocking.

mr. tao found it hard to accept that the new car had turned into a "mold" car in the blink of an eye. "nothing happened that day. the friend who introduced me to the car told me to open the hood. i looked at the engine and was shocked. all the aluminum parts were oxidized. i saw white spots, which damaged the surface."

4s store:storage basement dampcleaning compensation service

because he thought there was something wrong with the new car, mr. tao immediately contacted the 4s store for inspection and asked to replace the car, but was rejected. manager zhang of nantong baihong automobile sales and service co., ltd. told reporters that the vehicle was produced in april 2024. after testing, they confirmed that the "mold" spots on the car were not caused by oxidation of aluminum products or a used car posing as a new car, but were caused by long-term storage in the basement and the humidity during the rainy season.

after mr. tao reported the situation, the seller checked the cars stored in the basement again and found that there were many cars with this problem. they did not do a good job of storing new cars and did not check them carefully before delivery. they did have some responsibility. according to relevant regulations, they could not meet mr. tao's request for a replacement car, but they were willing to clean the "mold" spots on mr. tao's car and negotiate with him to provide certain compensation, such as installing some auto parts. in addition, hongqi cars themselves have a lifetime warranty. if the vehicle fails in the future, they will also provide corresponding maintenance services.

car owner: i don't agree with the compensation plan and think the problem is serious and i want to change the car

mr. tao was unwilling to accept the compensation plan proposed by the 4s store. on the one hand, he found it difficult to accept that his new car had turned into a "moldy" car; on the other hand, he did not agree with the explanation put forward by the dealer that the car had become moldy due to humidity. he believed that the car might have serious quality problems or even be a water-damaged car.

mr. tao said: "the conditions of the 4s shop do not meet my requirements. i think this is not mold, but aluminum corrosion and oxidation. this oxidation is not caused by moisture in the garage. it is caused by corrosive substances dripping on it. i suspect someone has disassembled it, or salt water or sea water has splashed into it."

expert:4s delivery is not in compliance with regulations and is negligent. car owners who want to change cars need to provide evidence for appraisal.

as to why the new car turned into a moldy one, both parties held different opinions and it was difficult to reach a consensus on the solution.

dai gang, founder of nanjing antusen automotive technology co., ltd. and member of the china society of automotive engineers, said that when delivering a new car, the 4s store should provide car owners with a good vehicle inspection service, among which checking whether the engine compartment is clean is an important item. if the store staff had delivered the car and inspected it according to regulations, the dispute could have been avoided. the 4s store should bear the corresponding responsibility.

according to the "regulations on the responsibility of repair, replacement and return of household automobile products", if a household automobile product needs to replace the engine, transmission, power battery, driving motor or its main parts due to quality problems within 7 days from the date of the validity period of the three guarantees, consumers can choose to replace the household automobile product or return it with the purchase invoice and the three guarantees certificate. if mr. tao wants to replace or return the car, he should entrust a professional third-party testing agency to conduct the test and provide the corresponding basis. otherwise, it will be difficult to return the car successfully under the current circumstances:

"if the hood was opened and the problem was found, it could have been solved on the spot. the 4s shop obviously failed to do its job properly and caused unnecessary trouble or misunderstanding to the customer. it should bear certain compensation responsibilities. if the owner believes that the car is flooded or has safety hazards, he should bear the burden of proof and find a professional organization to appraise it to see whether the complaint affects the daily use of the vehicle."

(jiangsu radio and television station's "we jiangsu special report", any form of deletion or modification is prohibited during reprinting, and the right to pursue legal responsibility is reserved.)