Galaxy Carz - Used-car firm shuts, leaving some in a fix

[Mcf777]

is this posted before?

 

Times are bad......many dealers chut pattern...........

is this the same company that 1 of the forumer dad had encounter?

 

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http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story...eaving-some-fix

 

Christopher Tan | The Straits Times | Monday, Apr 8, 2013

 

SINGAPORE - At least four motorists have been left in the lurch after used-car trader Galaxy Carz closed down recently.

 

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) received four complaints last month against the trader in Turf City.

 

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said the complaints pertained mainly to consumers not getting their cars despite having made payments.

 

Mr Tan Meng Wee, 46, is one of those affected. He got his car after paying for it in cash in mid- January. But the fund manager got a rude shock when his Volkswagen Passat was repossessed last week. "I thought it was an early April Fool's joke."

 

Apparently, Galaxy Carz had not transferred ownership of the car to Mr Tan. It was still under the ownership of another dealer, which repossessed the car.

 

In another case, 3-D designer Doreen Wong, 31, sold her Honda Civic to Galaxy Carz last October. The car carried an outstanding loan with Maybank.

 

Galaxy Carz resold it to logistics executive Peter Tan, 49, without settling the bank loan. The bank is expected to repossess the car from Mr Tan soon.

 

All three parties have been trying to reach Galaxy Carz, but to no avail. Its unit at Turf City is closed. Calls made by The Straits Times to its director Cheong Wai Keong went unanswered.

 

The Land Transport Authority said it is investigating the cases with the police, who confirmed reports have been made against Galaxy Carz. Both Mr Tan Meng Wee and Ms Wong have also engaged legal counsel.

 

Singapore Vehicle Traders Association secretary Raymond Tang said it was aware that Galaxy Carz had closed, along with a couple of other used-car dealers since the Government's curbs on car loans kicked in on Feb 26.

 

But Mr Tang said: "We are not sure if they are affected by the loan curbs, or are using that as an excuse to quit."

 

The curbs limit car loans to no more than 60 per cent of the purchase price, and the tenure to no more than five years. The restrictions sent demand diving for cars, as fewer buyers could afford the heftier down payments.

 

This, in turn, brought certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums down.

 

Used-car dealers bore the brunt of the curbs as stocks acquired before the cooling measures were devalued overnight in tandem with lower new car rates.

 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday granted used- car traders a 60-day reprieve on the financing curbs to help them sell their stock. But industry players said most will still have to bear substantial losses because car prices will remain depressed.

 

Edited April 10, 2013 by Mcf777

[Maxus-MIFA9]

.

 

 

hmmmm.......... the BM still there ...

[Jman888]

they start to chut pattern and push the blame to govt liao [rolleyes]

[Darryn]

More cases of people being blur - passing car to dealer without settlement of loan, and also paying cash before checking loan status - they say a fool and his money are soon parted, and here this seems to be true

[Mercs]

High risk period now, those intending to buy now do be cautious.

 

Especially if you need to trade in your ride, ensure proper transfers are done and can get back your $ balance.

[Mcfguy]

Am I right to say that in order not to get con:

 

 

1. Mr Tan should check with LTA if ownership has been transferred to his name before paying full amount? He most probably paid a deposit, deposit gone?

2. Miss Wong's should call up her bank to check if the loan has been settled before handling car over?

 

What else can buyers do in order for a proper second hand car purchase.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Mcfguy

[BlueOldMan]

1/3 cars I bought is a used car

You can take the car early

But understand that there r some laspe in docu

I Duno does it applies to all who ever bought used cars

 

Currently, with this uncertaincy

I think best bet for buyers is the wait

 

[Donut]

hmmmm.......... the BM still there ...

 

The BM belongs to the Galaxy owner.

[Jayc]

Usually car dealers loan money to purchase used cars.

When the car is sold to buyer, they will need time to redeem the car from the finance companies before the transfer can be done.

Unless the car is under the dealer directly, then transfer should be able to do almost immediately.

[Yrvsport]

Am I right to say that in order not to get con:

 

 

1. Mr Tan should check with LTA if ownership has been transferred to his name before paying full amount? He most probably paid a deposit, deposit gone?

2. Miss Wong's should call up her bank to check if the loan has been settled before handling car over?

 

What else can buyers do in order for a proper second hand car purchase.

 

This two point is more than enough.

 

1.Juz double check with LTA when they submit (it takes days to be reflect but at lease u know dealer submit) their so call the reports and also the bank settlement (the bank you take loan with) before taking over.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Yrvsport

[Shelltoxin]

If you dig deeper you may find that the people behind Galaxy have bad tract record.

[Acemundo]

Dishonest used-car dealers still at it - 10 years on

 

FOR two days in a row, reports have appeared about buyers being allegedly cheated by used-car dealers, who collect payment but do not carry out the necessary paperwork ("Police probe another used-car dealer", last Wednesday; and "Seller taken for a ride in car scam recovers vehicle by chance", last Thursday).

 

I had the same experience 10 years ago when I bought my first car. I had paid cash in full for a used car, only to have it towed away two months later.

 

The dealer gave me many excuses for the car ownership not having been transferred. I then found out that he had not settled the existing loan with the money I paid.

 

There was nothing I could do except let the dealer lead me on until the car was due for scrapping. I did not even get the Preferential Additional Registration Fee rebate.

 

I went to the police a couple of times, but they told me it was a civil case and they could do nothing except file a report for records purposes. Instead, I was advised to seek legal recourse.

 

I went to see a lawyer and was told to take it as an expensive lesson learnt.

 

Why are similar incidents still happening 10 years on? There must be some legal loophole that dishonest dealers are making use of. When will it be plugged? Must there be some serious public repercussion before the authorities take action?

 

The Land Transport Authority should take back ownership of the official vehicle transfer process and not leave it in the hands of dealers who have vested interests.

 

It should also set up branch offices in areas where there are many used-car dealers, such as in Eunos and Turf City, to facilitate immediate and seamless transfers.

 

Yeo Shuan Chee

 

[Acemundo]

sometimes i wonder why our laws and police are so laid back in addressing such scamming business owners. how can it be a civil case when there is clearly fraudulent actions? even if there are no specific statute addressing fraudulent actions, isn't it time to start one? seems like they are more motivated to deal with cases of other nature?

[Duckduck]

sometimes i wonder why our laws and police are so laid back in addressing such scamming business owners. how can it be a civil case when there is clearly fraudulent actions? even if there are no specific statute addressing fraudulent actions, isn't it time to start one? seems like they are more motivated to deal with cases of other nature?

 

next time when sign anything w used car dealers, sit inside police station n sign. then got police witness involved haha

Edited April 24, 2013 by Duckduck

[Acemundo]

the next time i buy a pre owned car, i am goign to insist that dealer and me meet at LTA to do the transfer on their system before i hand over the cash or cashier's order.

 

and if unfortunately this car he is selling me is owned by his bank, he have to find some way to redeem the loan with the bank so that we can do the transfer on the spot at LTA.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Acemundo

[Throttle2]

Very sad, the state of matters, we're in.

[Soya]

sometimes i wonder why our laws and police are so laid back in addressing such scamming business owners. how can it be a civil case when there is clearly fraudulent actions? even if there are no specific statute addressing fraudulent actions, isn't it time to start one? seems like they are more motivated to deal with cases of other nature?

 

 

These errant business owners know the law can't touch them and polis dun bother, that's why.

 

LTA can simply get off their butts and set up an escrow acct for transfer of ownership. What's so difficult abt that?

 

 

 

[Acemundo]

These errant business owners know the law can't touch them and polis dun bother, that's why.

 

LTA can simply get off their butts and set up an escrow acct for transfer of ownership. What's so difficult abt that?

 

precisely.......sometimes i think they are not motivated to rid these businesses of their fraudulent practices. their priority seems to be elsewhere.