Which Chinese cars should not be bought second-hand Autoexpert Bakanov: Chinese cars older than 2015 should not be purchased 05.12.2024, 15:56

Yang Haizeer, vice president of the National Automobile Association, warns that the biggest problems will come from used Chinese cars sold in small quantities on the Russian market – now there are big problems with purchasing spare parts for them.

“Try to find, for example, Chery Amulet, a completely unsuccessful car that was reminiscent of Zhiguli in terms of consumer properties and caused a lot of problems for its owners. I saw such a car in a taxi in China, the back seat cushion was directed downwards – so the passenger crawled out of the car,” Haizeer said in an interview with socialbites.ca.

According to him, cars of this model were relatively popular in Russia due to their low price.

However, they gave the impression that they were unsafe and could not withstand even a light collision.

First of all, you should avoid Chinese cars produced before 2015 in the secondary market, since in terms of technology, build quality and level of development these cars are at an inferior level, automobile expert Pyotr Bakanov noted in an interview with socialbites.ca. .

“First of all, these are products of the Lifan brand

— Smily hatchbacks, X60 crossovers, Solano sedans. This brand no longer exists, there is a big problem in finding spare parts, and most importantly, these cars could not shine according to any criteria. Neither in terms of corrosion resistance, nor in terms of aggregate parts, nor in terms of electrical and electronics,” Bakanov told socialbites.ca.

He also added that Lifan cars are not resold. Chery cars produced before the 2010s, including the Chery Amulet and QQ, which are not corrosion-resistant, can also be included in this category. Bakanov explained that the same situation applies to the Chery Bonus sedan, which has poor corrosion resistance, poor suspension and is not popular in the Russian market. The expert also lists the first-generation Geely Emgrand sedan as a car to avoid buying on the secondary market.

The totals decide

Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, believes that when choosing a used car, you need to evaluate the technical condition of each vehicle and pay attention to which engine and transmission the car is equipped with.

“Almost all Chinese cars are equipped with turbo engines and robotic gearboxes or CVTs. When you buy a car with a significant mileage (about 80-150 thousand km), increased attention should be paid to these units,” Kadakov warned.

The Chinese have learned to reproduce technologies for producing these units under license, in combination or on their own, but they work unstable. It is good if a particular unit is manufactured by the Chinese branch of a well-known global supplier such as BorgWarner or Aisin; He added that the risks are higher if it is a little-known Chinese manufacturer.

“You also need to pay attention to the condition of the body, because every second Chinese car is poorly protected against corrosion. There are many models in which rust appears on the body within a year. It is rare that the weld seams of Chinese cars are well treated with mastic or “anti-gravel”, Kadakov complained.

Arkady Grigoriev, head of the marketing and PR department of the BorisHof dealership, points out that important factors when choosing a used car of the Chinese brand is the presence of an official representative office in Russia.

“The most important problem with old Chinese cars is the quality of the paintwork and the reliability of the units. These problems in Chinese-made cars started to disappear altogether after 2019. Currently, many Chinese brands are given official guarantees of up to 5 to 7 years,” Grigoriev noted in an interview with socialbites.ca.

According to data from Avto.ru for April 2024, Chinese brands occupy only 3.4% of the used car segment, and it is still difficult to talk about a stable demand picture, the classification press service told socialbites.ca.

“The average sales time for a second-hand Chinese brand car is currently 31 days. For some models, this figure is higher. Especially,

Haval H9 crossovers, which were released 3-5 years ago, were withdrawn from sales after an average of 47 days.

Next comes a group of SUVs not older than 5 years: Chery Tiggo 8 Pro, Haval F7, Geely Coolray. Avto.ru stated that all three models were withdrawn from sale after an average of 38 days.