Lead car price "fever", customers suffer

The price of Honda Lead at Honda authorized dealers (Head) is currently 8 million VND higher than the suggested price per unit. The high demand for Lead is the factor driving this price "fever".

Dealers take advantage of customers' year-end shopping habits to increase prices

Prices increase with demand

Wanting to buy a Lead motorbike as a means of transportation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa (Hoang Hoa Tham, Ba Dinh, Hanoi) was very surprised when the prices at some dealers were very high. “For a long time, I have heard that it is difficult to buy a motorbike at the suggested price of the company, but I did not expect the price difference to be so high. I went to several stores, and the prices were high everywhere. I had to buy a purple Lead motorbike for 46.4 million VND including all procedures,” Ms. Thanh Hoa said. This price is nearly 8 million VND higher than the suggested price of the company. According to this customer, although she had to pay more, she did not want to delay buying the motorbike because the closer to the end of the year, the more the prices of goods, including motorbikes, tend to increase.

Previously, at the end of September 2014, Ms. Vu Thi Le Thanh (Nguyen Hong, Dong Da, Hanoi) also intended to buy a Honda Lead. But after going to consult the price of the car at the Honda Head on Tran Duy Hung Street, on Lang Ha Street (the beginning of Hoa Muc Bridge) and at the Kuong Ngan dealer on Kham Thien Street, Ms. Thanh temporarily put aside the intention of buying a car. Ms. Vu Thi Le Thanh said: “I like the silver car. The selling price at that time was 42-42.2 million VND/car, including paperwork. It was too expensive so I temporarily put off the intention of buying a car, but I didn't expect the price to be even higher now, some dealers even said they were out of stock and out of color.”

According to ANTĐ reporters, Lead motorbikes in white, black, brown, gray, red... have similar prices. The metallic gold color is always sold 2.5-3 million VND higher than other colors. Currently, some Honda Head offices on Lac Long Quan street, Hue street... have announced that they are temporarily out of stock or out of colors for customers to choose from. This further contributes to pushing up the selling price of Lead motorbikes.

Mr. Vu Van Quang - a salesman at an authorized Honda store said that the selling price at dealers has long been higher than the company's suggested price. However, the price increase has only been in a short time, due to the high demand of people. This employee said: "Every year, at the end of the year, there are more buyers and the price increases, which is understandable. We also have to order and wait to receive the goods."

This is not the first time that Lead has seen a price increase. In addition, Honda Lead is not the only Honda model that has seen its price increase. Previously, most authorized dealers made huge profits from increasing prices according to demand for PCX or Vision.

Fair trade

According to a representative of Honda Vietnam, the current increase in Lead prices is due to market demand. Normally, at the end of the year, people increase their purchases. This is the opportunity for dealers to increase their selling prices. "There is absolutely no shortage of goods because the company has an annual production plan. However, the manufacturer cannot interfere with the selling prices of authorized dealers because Honda and Head are two independent parties, buying and selling each other's products" - said a Honda representative.

From the consumer's perspective, Mr. Vuong Ngoc Tuan - Head of the Complaints Consulting Office (Vietnam Standards and Consumer Protection Association - Vinastas) said: "It is difficult to protect consumer rights in this case, because between the manufacturer and the distributor is "buy and sell", while between Head and the consumer is "buy and sell at will". Consumers who accept the product are forced to buy at the dealer's price". However, according to the representative of Vinastas, to avoid damage, buying a car with an "overpriced" price, consumers should not buy according to the crowd mentality. In addition, they should change their shopping habits at one time of the year to avoid the situation of "shortage of goods, price fever".

According to. Security revenue