James

Tau Corporation, a Japanese exporter of both used and damaged cars, issued an email on the January 23 to its customers that tried to pre-emptively deal with an import restriction that Government has unofficially placed on the trade in damaged vehicles from Japan. In the letter, they state that "Information of the import restriction of damaged vehicles to Jamaica has kindly been reported by several customers. Further and detailed information of the restriction is not clear at the moment though, we are ready to respond to any of your requests to smoothly import the repaired vehicles with a minimum extra fee."

It would seem that the Government is now taking steps to curtail the trade, which has been within the cross hairs of several groups for some time. The Used Car Dealers and New Car Dealers associations, as well as the Trade Board, the Consumer Affairs Commission, Island Traffic Authority and the Trade Board Ltd, wax poetically against the trade, which is said to be, from a consumer point of view, fraught with hazy deals and shoddily repaired vehicles. One dealer has said, and rightly so, that the [sometimes] unprofessionally repaired vehicles represent a danger to the innocent. A CAC source has said that they have had a number of complaints relating to the import of damaged vehicles, and the one challenge they have had occurs when merchants fix the vehicles without informing the consumer. He further stated that this subterfuge usually comes to light at the worst possible time, usually after an accident, or even during strenuous driving.

'Lick an' fix'

While all this talk about protecting the society at large is responsible and politically correct, there is another edge to this sword. Dealers are feeling the pinch as they are losing sales to the new sector. Duties and taxes paid on a damaged vehicle are much more flexible than the rigid regime levied on used cars, for example. And the huge influx of the 'lick an' fix' vehicles seems to indicate that 'dealers' in this trade are circumventing the bureaucracy installed to trip up this influx. Once past customs, and into the hands of an end user, such a vehicle should not be able to be transferred again for three years. But this is happening, as evidenced by the existence of the trade. Legitimate auto dealers cannot be licensed to participate in this trade, as this avenue was closed to them around 2004.

Gov't losing money

So it is the prospective individual licence holders who are facing abortion, as the Government who also decided that it, too, is losing money, as these traders don't report the amount of money made or the amount of transactions they do; they exist below the radar. The current administration is playing its cards close to its chest, but it is rumoured that they will call for the cessation of ALL damaged vehicle imports, and that this could happen before the fiscal year ends. Some sources say that this might happen even sooner!

So, a government-created lacuna which has aided hundreds, if not thousands, of low-income citizens to finally experience mobility has closed. These autos, even after being professionally repaired, sometimes make market at 50 -75 per cent the cost of your average deportee. That is a significant difference, any way you slice it, and could mean the difference between walking and driving for some folks. Regulation is what is needed, not annihilation. And to add insult to injury, the sub-million dollar deportee is now a thing of the past.

Between devaluation and the opening up of the Russian markets, which is placing huge demands on the worldwide stockpile of used cars (check it out, when last have you seen a Corolla at your favourite lot?) the prices on our mechanical staple are going to reach ne with no control factor to slow its ascent. New car dealers will rejoice as the gap between new and used autos will get more and more marginal. Scarcity will cause owned and driven deportee prices to also skyrocket, pushing the costs of ownership beyond the blue-collar worker. In terms of car ownership, it looks as if the '80s are coming again.

What do you think? email mario.james@gleanerjm.com