jackh@zehntel.UUCP (jack hagerty) (04/23/85)
About a month ago I posted a request for information on buying a car
through the gray market. I only got two responses. One, the person
decided to travel to Europe and pick up his car directly rather than
deal with these quasi-legal importers. The other was a request for a
summary. A fairly underwhelming response.
Well, the May issue of Motor Trend has a short article that might make
any of you considering the gray market think twice.
Copied without permission.
Gray Market - Bogus Bargains?
Evidence continues to mount that gray market import cars may be anything
but a bargin. In a survey of more than 400 Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar
dealers in 23 states, the National Automobile Dealers Association found that
of all gray-market vehicles brought into these dealerships for service, only
5% were in compliance with emission standards, and only 1% could meet all
safety standards. The cars failed for a variety of reasons: A third had no
catalytic converters; 82% could not meet the bumper standard; 60% failed
headlights; 43% lacked side-door reinforcement; and 39% did not have U.S.
type seatbelts. Only three cars were reported to have all 14 items on the
survey checklist - a compliance rate of 0.8%!
Worse for buyers were the many horror stories of improper and dangerous
safety and emission control modifications: Catalysts located right next to
fuel lines, catalysts without heat shields or mounted against the car body,
and improperly routed fuel lines. There were also reports of disconnected
sensors, air pumps, vacuum lines, and wiring and missing belts - even a report
of a vehicle with a gas-fired auxiliary heater. These slipshod conversions
are leading to increasing driveability and safety problems, including gas-
oline and electrical fires resulting in death and injury. As a result,
there is a growing movement among franchised dealers to refuse service on
gray-market cars, and most manufacturers have already withdrawn warranty
coverage from them. Insurance companies and banks are becoming leery of these
vehicles as well, and evern some car auctions are refusing to take them
because of the problems and greatly reduced resale value of gray-market cars.
With gray-market imports expected to reach 50,000 this year, and with several
dealer and manufacturer groups threatining to sue the EPA to revise its
lenient policy toward the gray market, the EPA is on the verge of announcing
a new policy. But the wheels of government move slowly, and to help force
the issue Rep. Mathew J. Rinaldo (D-NJ) has introduced a bill that would
ban the importation of gray-market vehicles-period. --Ted Orme
--
Jack Hagerty, Zehntel Automation Systems
...!ihnp4!zehntel!jackhj@utah-cs.UUCP (J Lepreau) (04/29/85)
Everything that the Nat'l Auto Dealers Assoc (NADA) survey found may be true, but I'd hardly consider NADA an unbiased source. I presume they're the ones whose big profits get cut by the grey market.