Case partners Carousell to improve consumer protection in online market for used cars

THE Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and Carousell are partnering to improve consumer protection in the online marketplace for used cars, with the collaboration set to launch in the second quarter of this year.

Under the collaboration, car dealers and direct owners who sell their used cars through Carousell will be prompted to send their cars for evaluation at a professional evaluation centre. Every car that goes for the evaluation will be given the Standard and Functional Evaluation (SAFE) checklist mark on the listing. The SAFE Checklist was launched by Case last year to guide consumers through a series of checks with their car dealer.

In particular, Case is trying to reach out to consumers over 25 years old, who may be looking to buy their first car or upgrade their current one. Over half of Carousell's users fit this age group.

This comes after a "high" number of complaints from consumers after buying defective cars over the past years, said Case in a press statement. In these cases, it is often difficult to resolve such disputes as under the Lemon Law, the onus is on the car dealer to prove that the car is not defective at the time of delivery, if any defect is found within six months.

As the first step in this tie-up, Carousell has incorporated a direct link to the SAFE Checklist on the home screen of the "Cars" category. Other features to follow will include enabling direct owners and car dealers to immediately book an evaluation appointment with VICOM and the Automobile Association of Singapore through the platform, allowing direct owners and car dealers to upload a copy of the evaluation report under their car listing, and an automatic display of the SAFE Checklist Mark on the car listing after the evaluation report has been uploaded.