PETALING JAYA: What began as a plan to trade in his continental car for another vehicle turned into an eight‑month battle for justice for Lim Jing Xuan.
A self‑employed father from Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Lim, 35, discovered in July 2025 that a used vehicle he bought in 2020 for RM83,000 had a hidden history of two major accidents, serious chassis damage and extensive structural repairs before it was presented to him at a car dealership in Batu Pahat, Johor, as a “certified pre-owned car”.
Lim discovered the deception when the car, first registered in 2019, was rejected when he offered it at an online used car marketplace to trade in, with the car trading company informing him the reason for the rejection.
“Apparently, under the previous owner, the car’s chassis was also damaged during the accidents. But none of this was ever disclosed to me,” he said.
Shocked at the discovery, Lim initially sought redress through civil court, where his case dragged on for a few months with no sign that it was going anywhere.
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“I spent four months there but did not get very good responses nor much assistance.
“But after consulting some lawyers, I was advised to go to the Consumer Claims Tribunal,” he told The Star when contacted after sharing his tale of woe on Facebook.
Lim brought his case before the tribunal in Nov 2025, attending four hearings in Penang on his own as petitioners and respondents are not allowed to use lawyers under most circumstances to keep costs low.
“For the first three hearings, I struggled because I didn’t have sufficient evidence,” said Lim, who eventually obtained an important break when he managed to secure his car’s past repair records as the car brand’s dealership has a network of approved workshops.
Records showed the car had serious damage to its frame and rear body, requiring major work like cutting and re‑welding of structural sections, before it was sold to him.
At the third hearing, he managed to convince the tribunal president to allow him to send his car for a special inspection, called the B2 inspection, at Puspakom, which he did on March 12.
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“At the fourth hearing, I presented the Puspakom B2 inspection report that showed that the car had failed the inspection, which supported my claim,” he said.
The vehicle inspectors’ findings concurred with the accident repair record of the car that he unearthed previously.
Following the tabling of the B2 report, the tribunal on April 15 ordered the dealer to refund RM50,000 (the limit allowed for the tribunal) to Lim, who in turn has to return the car to the dealer.
Not surprisingly, Lim is now a believer in obtaining an independent car history report before considering buying any pre-owned vehicles.
There are currently several companies in Malaysia offering such reports for a fee, with the reports containing previous insurance claims for repairs (if any), along with other relevant data that gives hints of a car’s “health” that sometimes includes service records and mileage.
With the worst behind him now, Lim has also been sharing his experience on social media so that others could learn from his case.
