Reporter Gong Mengze

　　Since last year, with the upgrade of automobile consumption and the impact of the epidemic, online car buying has shown a growth momentum.

For consumers, on the e-commerce platform with clearly marked prices, "one-click car buying" can be realized with the click of a mouse, which should have been a time-saving and worry-free beauty. Before 3.15”, consumers’ associations and consumer committees in many places across the country issued consumer reports, and noticed that due to consumers’ lack of car buying experience, the unstandardized management of individual used car companies, and the dishonesty of some intermediaries, the second-hand car consumption rights protection cases The number has grown rapidly.

Among them, the complaints of consumers on the used car e-commerce platform are particularly eye-catching. The stubborn diseases in the industry such as modifying the mileage, selling accident cars, and charging outside the car purchase contract not only harm the reputation of the used car market, but also seriously infringe on the rights and interests of consumers.

　　Super cheap false information to attract customers

　　Maliciously tampering with mileage data

　　The "Securities Daily" reporter noticed that the Guangxi Consumer Rights Protection Committee found through its second-hand car consumption inspection that in 2020, Guangxi's second-hand car consumption complaints mainly focus on tampering or concealing the real information of second-hand vehicles, including tampering with mileage and concealing accidents.

　　The 2021 auto consumer complaint analysis report released by the Nanjing Consumers Association shows that among the reasons for the high number of used car complaints, there are failure to fulfill the obligation of truthful disclosure, privately changing the mileage, and concealing the real situation of the vehicle.

　　The survey report on online purchases of used cars released by the Sichuan Provincial Committee for the Protection of Consumer Rights shows the chaos of the market more comprehensively and accurately: 60% of consumers have encountered “bugs” when buying second-hand cars online. Among them, consulting and publicity content 28.0% were inconsistent with the actual situation; 22.5% were incomplete with vehicle documents, insurance, and maintenance information; 20.5% were inconsistent with vehicle source information and online.

The above-mentioned problems involve 6 platforms including 58.com, Renrenche, Guazi used car, and Uxin used car, covering almost all mainstream used car e-commerce companies.

　　In the above-mentioned investigation report, consumers' complaints about "online vehicles do not match actual vehicles" and "the platform publishes false vehicle sources to attract consumers" mainly focus on 58.com and Uxin used cars.

The consumer involved Zhang Zheng (pseudonym) stated in the complaint that on August 28, 2021, he contacted a Harbin car dealer in 58.com, hoping to buy a Hyundai Rena car registered and sold by the car dealer.

After arriving at the designated place the next day, the car dealer clearly informed that there was no such car at all, and admitted that it was using the platform to release information on popular car sources at a lower price than the market price, to trick out-of-town car buyers to come and see the car, and then try to resell other models.

　　"I also hesitated before leaving, but the official promise of 58.com that the car source is real and effective, and if there is a false 'users can apply for compensation for transportation expenses of up to 10,000 yuan', my concerns are dispelled." But things backfired, Zhang Zheng told reporters that he found After being deceived, he provided all the pictures of car watching, call recordings, and screenshots of travel expenses in accordance with the official requirements of 58.com, but the reply he got was only "please wait patiently".

　　Ren Xiao (pseudonym) introduced to reporters that on the evening of February 27, 2022, he photographed a 2014 Jeep Freelancer at a merchant in Sichuan, Taobao.com, with a displayed mileage of 109,986 kilometers.

However, through the maintenance record query, it was found that the vehicle's kilometers had reached 188,533 kilometers on November 24, 2021, and the vehicle had an insurance claim in July 2017, and the damage amount was as high as 70,000 yuan, even safe Airbags have been replaced.

"Various data shows that the car is in poor condition, and it is certain that the consignor or the auction company has made an illegal adjustment."

　　Also in February of this year, consumer Yu Wei (pseudonym) bid for a Roewe RX5 in Tiantian Pai. During the inspection process, it was found that the car’s kilometers had reached 87,618 kilometers in May 2020.

But at the time of the transaction, the vehicle's apparent mileage was only over 58,400 kilometers.

"What's even more speechless is that during the rights protection, although the owner of the car has admitted to adjusting the meter, but the car is not approved every day, and the result of the treatment is either buy it or deduct the 2,000 yuan deposit."

　　Senior contract law lawyer Ma Xiang told the "Securities Daily" reporter, "As professional car dealers, 4S stores and used car e-commerce platforms should check and confirm whether the mileage of the vehicles sold is accurate, and clearly inform consumers, Failure to do so may constitute fraud."

　　Informed about charges

　　Consumers buy a car into a "rental car"

　　There are also some very representative complaints about used car trading loans.

According to the data of Heimao Complaint Network and Car Quality Network, among many complaints related to online loan purchase of second-hand cars, consumers have more concentrated complaints about "unable to transfer ownership" and "unconsciously 'buying a car to rent a car'". also the most dissatisfied.

　　Wu Yu (pseudonym) once bought a second-hand car on Uxin Loan in February 2019, but the experience was quite tortuous, "At that time, the platform promised that the vehicle could be transferred after one year of loan repayment, but in June 2020, However, Uxin customer service informed that the second-hand car transfer business has been handed over to 58 Finance, and 58 Finance inferred that only Uxin can handle the transfer." Wu Yu told the "Securities Daily" reporter.

　　According to public information, Uxin was founded in 2011, and its businesses include Uxin Auction, Uxin Used Car and Uxin Finance.

As the first stock in China's second-hand car e-commerce industry, it landed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2018, but its subsequent development was not satisfactory. In 2019, Uxin made adjustments and successively sold new car and accident car auction business, financial The business was also taken over by 58.com.

In March 2020, 58.com announced that it had signed an agreement with Uxin Group, a used car e-commerce platform, to acquire Uxin Auction-related assets for US$105 million.

　　Regarding this acquisition, the outside world generally interprets it as Uxin’s “survival from a broken arm”; and 58.com also subordinates its coveted second-hand car business income at a suitable price.

However, in addition to Uxin and 58.com each taking what they need, for users, this acquisition brings a worse consumer experience and higher transaction costs.

　　"In May 2021, 58 Finance informed me that the transfer could be processed, but I was required to pay a transfer fee of about 3,000 yuan. The contract agreed that the transfer fee would be borne by me first, and would be returned within 7 working days. But after that, 58 Finance changed its policy. It is said that the transfer fee and the 2,000 yuan deposit at the time of car purchase cannot be refunded.” In Wu Yu’s view, it is difficult for consumers to understand the business relationship between the two platforms, but intuitively feel the cumbersome process and the platform’s backtracking, “Consumers The car I bought with money is not in my name, I suspect that the platform is using my name to lend them a car to buy a car, and then sublease the car to me to make a profit.”

　　In fact, many complaint cases similar to Wu Yu's experience point to the behavior of "selling cars in the name of renting a car" on some used car platforms.

This is not only suspected of fraud, but also may cause a series of problems. For example, the first beneficiary of auto insurance cannot be the real "owner", etc., which seriously damages the rights and interests of consumers.

　　According to the reporter's understanding, among many complaints about loans to buy second-hand cars, there are even consumers who are forced to lend without signing any loan contracts, and the interest is very high. The final transaction price including the down payment is higher than that of the vehicle marked for sale. The price is several thousand dollars higher.

　　In November 2018, Zheng Bin (pseudonym) bought a second-hand car with a loan of 210,000 yuan on a 58-car installment, but when he repaid the first month after purchasing the car, the actual monthly repayment amount was 7,500 yuan, Much higher than the 7,000 yuan the salesman had told him.

To this end, Zheng Bin asked to settle the loan suspension, but was told that if he insisted on suspending the loan, the penalty would be as high as 240,000 yuan. As long as he insisted on repaying the loan for one year, no additional interest would be paid if the loan was settled.

"In desperation, I insisted on repaying it for a year, but who would have thought that in December 2019, after I repaid 90,000 yuan, when I proposed to settle the loan suspension again, I was told that I needed to repay 170,000 yuan."

　　In 2021, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Commission once named Uxin second-hand car: "The second-hand car trading platform makes profits in the loan channel business, and some consumers cannot directly find a lending company. After paying off the loan, if they want to release the mortgage, they can only find a second-hand car platform. However, some platforms neglect to fulfill their responsibilities, which leads to difficulties for consumers to release their mortgages, increases the risk of their property loss, and seriously infringes upon their legitimate rights and interests.”

　　"In Europe and the United States, the annual transaction volume of mature used car e-commerce platforms can reach 10 million. In contrast, the development of domestic used car e-commerce over the years has not brought substantial changes to the used car industry, and more suitable development needs to be found. Model." Shen Jinjun, president of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that he hoped that a B2B model of used cars could emerge in China, which would not only form a scale, but also improve the efficiency of second-hand car transactions.

Ultimately, with the disclosure of market information, the rights and interests of dealers and consumers are more effectively protected.

　　A senior used car practitioner told reporters that the U.S. used car e-commerce platform will certify vehicles, and certified used cars account for about 21% of the used car sales of authorized dealers, which brings a premium of over 40%, which is much higher than C2C. Deals and prices for vehicles without certification.

Strict screening, although the quantity is not dominant, the high price and high quality can make users buy with peace of mind.

The domestic second-hand car market has not yet gotten rid of the "small, scattered and weak" situation.

Due to the lack of a set of management systems, it is not easy for consumers to buy satisfactory second-hand cars in an environment where individual operators are greedy for profit and the quality of vehicles on the market is uneven.

　　"At this stage, the relevant laws and regulations in the used car field in my country are not perfect. As a used car e-commerce platform, there is no way to guarantee the quality of the car source from the root, and it cannot bring a good car buying experience to consumers. This is why people joke that the profit of used car e-commerce depends entirely on 'shouting'." The above-mentioned practitioner said.

(Securities Daily)