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Best Posts in Thread: Lemon Laws and Importing Vehicles

  1. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    The Philippines has "lemon laws". I once got a vehicle from a car lot and the transmission went out within a week. X-wife went to a government office (can't remember which one) and came back with a paper from them giving the car lot 3 choices:
    1. Fix the transmission free of charge.
    2. Take the car back and refund the full amount paid for it.
    3. Replace the car with another one of equal value.
    They fixed the transmission at no cost to me (although they were not very happy about having to do it).

    On top of that, selling a vehicle that was not properly imported is illegal for the car lot to do. That could likely be dealt with quickly with a strongly worded letter from a lawyer.
     
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    Rye83, Jul 3, 2017
    #1
  2. Dave_Hounddriver

    Dave_Hounddriver DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster

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    YES. Scrub them off your list. They do a horrid job of converting rh drives to lh drives, but they do easy (expensive) financing so they sell a lot of vehicles.

    I ended up with a unit they put together and sold in 2009. Another foreigner bought it and took pretty good care of it and I just bought it off him. RUSCO marketed it as a 2007 model and scratched out much of the VIN number so its hard to know, but from what I can make of it, 2003 looks like the original model year when it was built for the Japanese market. The V.I.N. plate has a lot of Japanese characters still visible so it may be decipherable to someone who reads Japanese but the bottom line is that these surplus vehicles are registered in the year they were assembled in Philippines rather than the year they were built. That would be a problem if trying to locate parts but the Philippine mechanics know all that stuff.

    If the price is right and it runs well then its a deal. But Rusco don't assemble any more Honda Civics so its not a current issue. Now they appear to stick to Suzuki vans and trucks only.

    As I side note. I do know a private, local guy, who is importing low cost surplus Hondas and doing a very good job of reassembling them. You would be looking at 250K to buy one but good value, better than Rusco. I cannot advertise him as he is working in his backyard, but I could take a friend 'round to visit so drop by when Jack and I have one of our beers and I can take you to his place. I would have bought one myself if I ha 250K burning a hole in my pocket.
     
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    Dave_Hounddriver, Jul 4, 2017
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  3. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    The real problem with the dash is the wiring job. Pull one off and have a look at that mess. A lot of the dash doesn't work because the person who rebuilt the vehicle was too incompetent/lazy to properly run the wires.

    Couldn't find the message.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 4, 2017
    Rye83, Jul 4, 2017
    #15
  4. Brian Oinks

    Brian Oinks That's Mr. Pig to you Boy! :) Highly Rated Poster

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    That is the other thing I have read online regards buying Cars here, often the 'Years' advertised are the year the Car was imported and NOT the year of manufacture. Very misleading!

    I also read that a company in Cebu had got into strife for Honda Fits, something about more being registered than being declared? I think THAT was in relation to bringing in "Parts Cars" and reassembling them and the LTO put a stop to registering them due to the 'Grey Import area'...

    I do not know WHY I am not able to simply import a LHD car to here from the States or likewise country, everything I keep reading online it ends up with; "Just sell your car there and buy one here".

    I wish I had 250k burning a hole in my pocket mate, but until I sort out this Land problem, it is still the Jeepney for me, but I am on the look out in case something too good to be true comes along where I can run to my Bank and hit them up for a loan! :biggrin: lol
     
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    Brian Oinks, Jul 4, 2017
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  5. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    These are easy to spot. If the turn signal is on the right of the steering wheel make sure you take it to a mechanic you trust to have it inspected. Better yet, just avoid discount "Japanese imports" all together. Haven't met a mechanic yet in the Philippines that I felt was competent enough to completely put together a car.
     
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    Rye83, Jul 3, 2017
    #3