Car sale fraud

On April 19, 2000, I bought a new Daihatsu Taruna CL from Astra's licensed distributor PT Adira Dinamika at Jl. Fatmawati 25, South Jakarta. The decision to buy the CL model, the cheapest one, was made after Adira's sales agent, Yusuf, suggested that I could save money buying my own accessories instead of getting the completely accessorized CX model.

I then made a payment for a set of essential accessories to Yusuf, who gave me a receipt with PT Adira's stamp on it: Rp 6.5 million for factory-issue air-conditioning, Rp 2 million for an audio set and Rp 500,000 for a car alarm.

The ensuing days after I got the car were disappointing. First it took at least three days before the accessories were completely installed and then I realized that the audio set was a cheap Aiwa model, which I later found out only cost about Rp 500,000. It was even more disappointing when I found out later that the air-conditioning did not work properly and the carpet under the driver's seat became very damp for some reason.

Suspecting the two problems were related, I took the car to PT Adira's garage, which, to my surprise, refused to handle the problems, as the "accessories were not bought at the dealership". It was then taken to the place where they were purchased. When the car was returned, both problems had not been resolved.

After a second visit, the air-conditioning was fixed, but not the leak. I took the car this time to my regular garage, where I found out two things: a) poor water insulation had caused a leak in the car; and b) instead of the genuine Nippon Denso air- conditioning I paid for, I was given one of much lower quality, consisting of components taken from different brands and which cannot be worth more than Rp 2.5 million.

I was completely fooled. Adira's sales agent, Yusuf, had taken advantage of my tolerance and my hectic schedules that prevented me from discovering the fraud earlier. I thought that simply by going to an authorized dealership would guarantee a quality product and service. But ultimately, name does not mean anything when the sales agents' mission is still to pocket whatever money they can squeeze out of their trusting customers.

DEVI M. ASMARANI

Jakarta