MANILA – As shopping for a vehicle can now be done in various ways—online, dealerships and pre-owned shops, among others—the risk of being victimized by fraudsters increases. Horror stories about restored flooded vehicles, or cars that figured in countless accidents being sold at attractive prices are usually the case of secondhand vehicles, so how would you know if the pre-owned car you’re eyeing is a good buy?
Based on the research made by the National Telehealth Center under the University of the Philippines, there are 44.2 million active internet users in the Philippines. With that figure alone, it is easy to say that around the same number are possible victims of online fraud.
First time buyers of pre-owned vehicles would always say that there is no foolproof solution when it comes to purchasing a secondhand vehicle, except maybe bringing a trusted mechanic to assess the overall condition of the vehicle one wants to buy.
Many sellers would brag about the capabilities of the car, the money shelled out putting aftermarket parts, but some have failed— intentionally or not—to mention even the most glaring issues, just to have the vehicles peddled or traded.
Various stories in print, radio or online all suggest one thing: do not simply focus on the aesthetics and never bank purely on luck; you will never know what could happen to you.
If you don’t have the skills to distinguish the true state of a pre-owned vehicle, hiring a trusted mechanic (better yet a group of mechanics) to determine the actual state of the car is a good idea—and what better way to do just that than to transact with a well-established company that could easily provide professionally inspected and certified secondhand vehicles.
In the country, one company has pioneered the service of ensuring that auto-selling frauds and false claims are kept to a minimum—if not totally eliminated—by rendering these additional services from the start, and that’s Rapide Auto Service Experts, one of the biggest names in auto repair networks in the country.
Carmudi Philippines, as part of its campaign to empower clienteles, has recently forged a partnership with Rapide to ensure that everyone has a fair chance and peace of mind when purchasing a pre-owned car.
Rapide Auto Service Experts will stand as the automotive inspections team for the identified clients of Carmudi Philippines.
Under the program, the vehicles being sold under Carmudi Philippines will be certified for its worth, describing the actual state of the vehicle. The venture between the two auto industry giants has brought the level of professionalism for online buying and selling of vehicles into a whole new level.
“We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Rapide to provide certification services for used vehicles listed on our online platform. This is in line with our mission to provide the safest environment online, for buying and selling in the automotive space. We see certification as a crucial step towards bridging the information and trust gap between buyers and sellers that use online automotive classifieds to transact business,” said Abhishek Mohan, Managing Director of Carmudi Philippines.
The program that has been devised by the two companies are set to redefine the online auto classifieds space and make it far more trustworthy, despite the countless faces of fraud existing on the internet.
Mohan explained, “We are confident that this partnership, in the face of scams that exist elsewhere on the Internet, will redefine the online classifieds space and make it far more trustworthy.”
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