Lemon laundering: consumer protection on resale of returned defective cars without disclosing prior mechanic problems

Presently, it is undeniable that a car is forsooth crucial for people’s living, especially for people who need promptness and convenience in transportation. Purchasing the car is counted as an investment because of its high price. Therefore, it is certain that a consumer will expect best qualities in performance and safety. However, as the car is composed of numerous engines and parts under complex manufacturing and assembling process by advanced technologies, the car is thus a goods which is likely to be defective, such defective car is often called as ‘Lemon car’, and the consumer may not be of knowledge thereof while concluding a sale contract or obtaining the car, but the defect will mostly appear after the use for a period of time.Nowadays, in Thailand, the rights of consumer with regard to the defective goods are protected under various statutes, for instance, the Civil and Commercial Code, the Consumer Protection Act, B.E. 2522 (1979), the Consumer Case Procedure Act, B.E. 2551 (2008) and the Product Liability Act, B.E. 2551 (2008). One of the significant protections enshrined is that the consumer has a right to rescind a sale contract if the seller fail to have the defective car repaired and return the defective car to the seller; or instead of rescission, the consumer may demand the court for a replacement, the court is empowered to exercise a discretion to order the authorized dealer who is the seller and/or the manufacturer to replace a new car without any defect to the consumer. The defect which lead to rescission of sale contract or replacement for new car is mostly persistent problems or severe problems that are harmful to safety of a driver or impair efficiency and performance of its car, and cannot be completely repaired at several attempts. Once the defective car is returned, the manufacturer and authorized dealer have to bear all expense arising out of reparation thereof. Reselling such car will be difficult as it becomes a used car with a defect history. Nonetheless, as a serious defect is hidden inside such car, and an exterior part of a car is in a good condition with a low mileage, which is different from an ordinary used car, it leads to a gap manipulated by the manufacturer and authorized dealer to resell such retuned defective car to a subsequent consumer by concealing a defect history. The aforesaid conduct is called as ‘Lemon Laundering’ in the United State. In the worst case, the manufacturer and authorized dealer may resell the returned defective car without repairing the defects. This may be harmful to the safety of the driver, passengers and other road users.Thus, it is foremost to study and analyze relevant Thai laws, such as the Civil and Commercial Code, the Consumer Protection Act, B.E. 2522 (1979), the Consumer Case Procedure Act, B.E. 2551 (2008), the Product Liability Act, B.E. 2551 (2008), the Motor Vehicle Act, B.E. 2522 (1979), and the Penal Code, whether there are proper and adequate legal measures to protect the Thai consumer in case that the manufacture and/or authorized dealer resell the returned defective car by concealing background of defective issues or not. Moreover, foreign laws concerning consumer protection in such event should be studied and analyzed for adopting and prescribing proper and effective legal measures in consumer protection in Thailand.毋庸置疑，汽车在当代民众生活中扮演着至关重要的角色，尤其对于追求出行高效便捷的人群而言。鉴于汽车购置成本高昂，购车行为本质上属于一项投资，因此消费者必然会对车辆的性能与安全品质提出极高要求。然而，汽车由大量发动机与零部件组成，其制造与装配流程复杂且依托先进技术，因此这类商品极易存在缺陷。存在缺陷的汽车通常被称为“问题车辆（Lemon car）”，消费者在签订购车合同或提车时往往并不知晓车辆存在缺陷，但该缺陷往往会在使用一段时间后才显现出来。 目前在泰国，消费者针对缺陷商品的权利受多部法律法规保护，例如《商法典（Civil and Commercial Code）》、1979年（佛历2522年）《消费者保护法（Consumer Protection Act, B.E. 2522 (1979)）》、2008年（佛历2551年）《消费者诉讼程序法（Consumer Case Procedure Act, B.E. 2551 (2008)）》以及2008年（佛历2551年）《产品责任法（Product Liability Act, B.E. 2551 (2008)）》。其中一项重要的法定保护措施为：若卖方未能修复问题车辆且消费者未将缺陷车辆退还卖方，消费者有权解除购车合同；消费者也可选择不解除合同，而是向法院主张更换车辆，法院有权酌情判令作为卖方的授权经销商及/或制造商向消费者更换无缺陷的全新车辆。可触发合同解除或车辆更换的缺陷，通常是指反复维修仍无法彻底消除的持续性故障，或是会危及驾乘人员安全、损害车辆性能与运行效率的严重缺陷。 缺陷车辆被退还后，制造商与授权经销商需承担所有相关维修费用。由于这类车辆存在缺陷记录，其再次转售会较为困难。然而，由于车辆的严重缺陷往往隐藏在内部，而外观状态良好且行驶里程较低，与普通二手车无异，这便给制造商与授权经销商留下了操作空间——他们可通过隐瞒缺陷记录，将退还的缺陷车辆转售给后续消费者。这种行为在美国被称为“柠檬车洗白（Lemon Laundering）”。最恶劣的情形下，制造商与授权经销商甚至可能未修复缺陷便将退还的问题车辆转售，这将对驾乘人员及其他道路使用者的安全构成威胁。 因此，当下首要任务是研究分析泰国相关法律法规，包括《商法典》、1979年（佛历2522年）《消费者保护法》、2008年（佛历2551年）《消费者诉讼程序法》、2008年（佛历2551年）《产品责任法》、1979年（佛历2522年）《机动车法（Motor Vehicle Act, B.E. 2522 (1979)）》以及《刑法（Penal Code）》，以检视现有法律是否已制定完善且恰当的保护措施，应对制造商及/或授权经销商隐瞒缺陷记录转售退还问题车辆的情形。此外，还需研究分析其他国家针对此类情形的消费者保护法律，为泰国制定行之有效的消费者保护法律措施提供借鉴。