Car buyer's nightmare: His first car breaks down hours after collection, and then 'detained' by Tampines car dealer for weeks

[UPDATE April 22]

Nishit Dilip Shah told AsiaOne that he has reached a settlement with SG Auto Private Limited for $4,700.

A spokesperson for SG Auto Private Limited confirmed that they have settled the dispute "amicably" with Nishit.

Alvin is no longer an employee of the company, they added.

Buying his first car was supposed to be a joyous milestone for this man, but it quickly turned into a prolonged nightmare.

Just hours after he collected the car, he said it broke down and was subsequently held by the car dealer for two weeks before he got it back after making a police report.

In an interview with AsiaOne, Nishit Dilip Shah said that he had picked up his newly-purchased second-hand Mercedes Benz C180 Kompressor from SG Auto Private Limited on March 20.

He had viewed the 10-year-old car with his wife just a week ago and he said they paid $86,500 for the vehicle.  

On the day of the collection, Nishit felt nothing was amiss at the dealership located along Tampines North Drive 1.

Alvin, the salesman, was "quite pushy" but friendly, the 30-year-old product manager added.

But in a Facebook post shared on Tuesday (April 19), Nishit wrote that while on his way home at 10pm on March 20, he noticed that the 'check engine' light had lit up.

The next day, he brought the car to SG Auto Private Limited's workshop for a check, and was told that he could only get it back in three days.

"Note that at this point, we had only driven the car for less than 24 hours, so this was really a bummer," Nishit said.

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On March 24, Nishit said that Alvin contacted him, claiming that he would need to fork out $300 to replace the faulty timing chain of the Mercedes as that was not covered by the one-year warranty.

He apparently told Nishit later that they "needed to test the car", and it would only be ready by March 31.

"I was in disbelief at this point," Nishit said, adding that he "had no choice but to agree since the car was already in their hands". 

But Nishit decided "enough was enough" when Alvin later claimed that the vehicle was experiencing more issues.

After informing Alvin that he "would no longer want his services" and would like his car back, the latter ignored him, Nishit claimed.

"We decided to get it fixed at another mechanic which we had found. Suddenly, Alvin's tone changed," Nishit said, adding that he was told to sign papers to release SG Auto Private Limited of liability.

After threatening to call the police, Nishit wrote that Alvin appeared to have relented and told him that the company would provide a replacement car for free.

"However, when we followed up on the details of the replacement car, Alvin suddenly feigned ignorance and said that he had to "discuss with his boss."

When Nishit said he had made a police report, Alvin finally agreed to disclose the location of his Mercedes on April 4 and the former drove the car away that day. 

However, after consulting with another mechanic, he was shocked to discover that the car was not fixed.

"Alvin fed us lies again and again. Basically, nothing was done on the car and it was just rotting in some other workshop for 15 days," he said.

Nishit told AsiaOne that after shelling out $2,599 to repair the car with another mechanic, it is "completely fine" now. 

However, he said that this episode has left him with a bitter aftertaste and he has lost faith with second-hand car dealerships.

"I'm angry and frustrated that I've been taken advantage of," he said, adding that he has commenced legal proceedings against SG Auto Private Limited to recover about $4,700 in repair costs and the loss of usage of the car.

In a comment on Nishit's Facebook post, SG Auto Private Limited wrote that they are investigating this incident and will "take necessary action" against their staff that was mentioned.

In Singapore, the Lemon Law protects consumers against defects of goods purchased within six months here. This includes all goods purchased that are brand new or used, including cars. 

chingshijie@asiaone.com