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POTENTIAL used car buyers can avoid ending up with a kereta potong by exercising caution, and buying only from reputable dealers.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Mohd Sha'ani Abdullah said it was important that they did not fall for gimmicks, and huge discounts.

“They must seek more details about the car, and get expert help to check its roadworthiness,'' he added.

He said buyers should not just depend on Puspakom to check the car.

Citing a complaint registered by a policeman to Fomca last year, Mohd Sha'ani said the policeman sent his car to Puspakom for inspection when he suspected that the car he bought a few days earlier was a kereta potong.

“After going through the inspections, the (Puspakom) officer approved his application. But when the policeman removed the carpet to show the welded part of the car, the officer changed his mind,” he said.

Subsequently, Fomca intervened and the car loan was then revoked.

Mohd Sha'ani said there was no point in getting used cars to undergo Puspakom checks if it was unsuccessful in detecting kereta potong.

Unscrupulous used-car dealers are also using the kereta potong argument to their advantage, as Teh Kok Liang, 27, who traded in his Honda Civic for a Proton Perdana to a dealer in Bayan Baru for RM33,000 in July 2005, testifies.

He got the Proton Perdana from the dealer for RM38,000 and the difference was paid in cash.

The Sungai Petani-based Kwong Wah Yit Poh reporter found that the dealer had not transferred the ownership of the Honda Civic – 18 months later.

In short, this meant that Teh was still responsible for the loan he had taken for the Honda Civic.

Teh was in for big trouble. The finance company threatened to sue him to recover the outstanding amount of RM26,000.

“When I confronted the dealer, he told me that he could not sell the Honda Civic, as it was a kereta potong.

“But that was not true. The car had been sent to Puspakom for inspection when I first bought it and I had the documents to prove it.”

Later, Teh found out that his Honda Civic was put up for sale via tender by the finance company.

“If my car was a kereta potong as claimed by the dealer, is it possible for the bank to put it up for auction?” asked Teh, whose case is still being handled by the Penang MCA.