I sent my car for a routine service at the Mitsubishi service centre Balakong branch (Target Orion Star Sdn Bhd) Malaysia, for the 50,000km car service on 15th March 2013, Friday at 10am. My car was in a good condition when I left the service centre. One hour later, at 11.07am, I received a call from the service centre. I was told that my car was involved in an accident when the mechanic test drove my car outside the service centre and he rammed into a tree.
I rushed over to see my car and took some photos of it. Both front airbags had deployed, the front windscreen cracked and the car bonnet was unable to open for me to view the engine. I have no idea of the internal damage because of this. I was told that the accident happened after the mechanic lost control of the car due to the steering wheel locking itself.
At 4.10pm, I met with Mr Chang Tai Yean, Senior Service and Operation Manager. He told me that the offer for compensation was to repair the car for free with original parts and return to me. Mr Chang also told me that the car had a brake malfunction, which contradicted the earlier explanation. Mr Chang then also mentioned to me that I had signed the service order on which the Terms & Condition stated they shall not be responsible for any loss or damage to my vehicle. Please then tell me who should be held responsible for this accident caused to my car?
I went to see the site of the accident with Mr Chang. We noticed that the car veered from left to right and left again before hitting the tree. There were no skid marks at all. This was raised to Mr Chang and he agreed about the tracks.
I declined Mr Chang's offer as I felt that it was an unfair compensation due to these reasons.
1. If the car had a malfunction, then Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) and Mitsubishi Motors Japan should be brought to attention about this issue.
2. After the repair, what guarantee do I have that the car is safe for driving on the road?
3. The resale value of this car would be greatly affected due to the extensive damage it has suffered.
4. A car that has been in an accident will never be the same even after repair.
Right now I am without a car and I still have to pay for the car loan. I have to rent another car for my daily use until this issue is settled or until I can afford another car. Please tell me then who should pay for these expenses of mine? The accident that happened was not caused by me and yet I am being punished. My car was registered on 30 December 2011 and I have been driving it for less than 15 months without any incidents.
The options offered to me subsequently were totally unfair as all three would cause me to lose money. I didn't cause the accident and I have to bear the cost of this? Absurd.
MMM also distanced itself from this matter by saying that the car had no malfunction and it was human error that caused the accident. This was concluded after 1 technical check was performed on my car however I was not given the privilege to view the results. So was there really a technical check performed? I don't know.
I requested to meet with the CEO of MMM, Mr Tetsuya Oda after I was given the runaround by the Customer Service of MMM. After 10 days of my request to meet him, I was informed that he was advised by his lawyer not to meet with me. MMM would only give me a letter signed by him. That was on 2 April 2013, Tuesday. It's been 1 week and there's nothing from MMM.
On Wednesday, 10 April 2013, I went to Wong & Partners to see the lawyer, Mr Mohd Arif Imran because I wanted to get a copy of the letter from Mitsubishi Malaysia. The letter was promised last Tuesday, 2 April. Not only was I not given a copy of the letter, Mr Mohd Arif Imran refused to meet with me. Instead, he requested another lawyer from his firm who happens to be one of my associates to tell me that the letter had been sent to me via registered post. I was furious. However, I went home as there was nothing else to do. Then today I received a call from the Balakong service centre. Mr Chang said he was informed that the letter was passed to me by hand! I was shocked!
I bought this car as I have confidence in Mitsubishi cars and I did my research carefully on all the available 4x4 vehicles in the market before settling on this Pajero Sport VGT. Right now I am not sure whether I have made the right decision. I believe that this kind of customer service is highly unacceptable and unprofessional.
I quote Mitsubishi Motors' corporate philosophy below;
"We are committed to providing the utmost driving pleasure and safety for our valued customers and our community. On these commitments we will never compromise. This is the Mitsubishi Motors way."
I only wish to seek a justified settlement which is not prejudicial to me.