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Grey importers have a roaring business here in Malaysia. Without the need to set up extensive after sales service centres and having showrooms with the ‘rooms’ being nothing more than a tarred parking lot with a tent, most grey importers focus only on one thing; short term profits without considering the implications of the the cars they bring in. It’s always an issue of supply and demand where the consumers, loaded with cash craves for the latest models; without wanting to deal with the long waiting list or the unavailability of some variants. Then of course, the significant discount offered by grey importers which makes resisting quite difficult. Imagine paying just a little bit more than the regular unit and you’ll get a high powered AMG or Brabus recon unit.
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You’d think it’s a good buy – getting the car below official prices, then bringing it back to the authorised centres for servicing by factory trained mechanics and engineers. But as good and skillful as the services can be, there is very little that can be done if the car the grey importer brought in is not acclimatised to our country and chiefly among the things that needs to be taken into account is the fuel. We all know the fuel quality in Malaysia is bad and in the countries where these vehicles are made, the fuel quality grade has improve tremendously and there are strict vehicle emission rules that manufacturers must adhere to. So when you start pumping our Euro 2M fuel grade in a car of the same variant as one meant for another country which has a taste for Euro 4 or higher, you’re in for a rude shock sooner or later.
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This scenario is probably most prevalent to Mercedes Benz as their makes comes with a 2-years international warranty that will be honoured anywhere in the world (yes, that includes Malaysia) and even though it’s 2 years shorter compared to purchasing it via authorised channels here, the sales person would be justifying the risk by postulating the price difference with official selling prices.
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As such, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd has issued an official circular to all its authorised dealers and service centres concerning warranty coverage for failures resulting from fuel quality on grey market vehicles. The circular clarifies that, any failures in Mercedes-Benz passenger cars brought in through unofficial channels will not be accepted under warranty by Daimler AG as they are unprepared for local fuel quality.
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“The fuel quality in Malaysia does not meet the operating requirement of vehicles produced in other countries. As such, imported vehicles which have not been suitably adapted to the local fuel quality, may experience failures,” explained Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO, Roland Folger.
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“Only vehicles purchased through Mercedes-Benz authorised dealers are prepared adequately for the local conditions and it is our obligation to warn the public of the risks that are taken in purchasing a Mercedes-Benz from an unauthorised dealer.” Folger added.
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Veteren automotive reviewer ChipsYap of MotorTrader Malaysia also attempted to clarify with Mercedes Benz Malaysia if warranty claims of non-fuel-related component such as headlamp would be similarly affected as well and here was the official reply, ““Warranty will be void for damages due to the fuel and most of the time, it is the powertrain; however, MBM reserves the right to decide.”
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So in other words, if you’re going to get a Mercedes Benz, buy it from official channels to avoid any potential issues in the future. Since the announcement is made public, it would be understandable that some grey importers may decide to drop prices further to cut their loses so be a smart consumer and do a thorough check before signing anything. Remember, you may not drive it forever so consider the inconvenience you will go through in the future when you attempt to sell a non-fuel compliant to potential buyers.
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