Inspect a new car when collecting it and keep the invoice and Three Guarantees certificate; serious defects in the first 7 or 60 days may entitle you to replacement or return

No charge. Spend half an hour at collection inspecting the exterior and interior with the salesperson and checking the accompanying documents. Keep the invoice and Three Guarantees certificate. Obtain a repair order every time the car goes in. Replacement or return may require several dealer visits; unresolved disputes may require a complaint or lawsuit.

This set of rules is the three-guarantee for household cars. It covers passenger cars bought for living consumption, such as sedans and SUVs, and pickup trucks. Cars used in commercial operation are not covered. The three-guarantee period is not less than 2 years or 50,000 kilometres, and the repair-warranty period is not less than 3 years or 60,000 kilometres, whichever comes first. The period runs from the invoice date. If the delivery date and the invoice date differ, it runs from the delivery date. A quality problem inside the repair-warranty period is repaired free. Neither the labour fee nor the materials fee is charged. Within the first 7 days, if a quality problem means the engine, transmission, traction battery, drive motor, or a main part of one of those has to be replaced, you can choose a replacement or a refund on the invoice and the three-guarantee voucher. Within the first 60 days or 3,000 kilometres, if a quality problem produces steering failure, brake failure, a cracked body, a fuel leak, or a traction-battery fire, you can likewise choose a replacement or a refund. Inside the three-guarantee period, four further situations also allow a replacement or a refund: a serious safety fault is repaired 2 times and still is not fixed, or a new serious safety fault appears; one of those four major assemblies is replaced 2 times because of a quality problem and still cannot be used normally; the same main part is replaced 2 times and still cannot be used normally; repairs add up to more than 30 days, or the same quality problem is repaired more than 4 times. A replacement or refund under these four situations requires a use-compensation fee. The formula is price × distance driven ÷ 1000 × n. n is written by the manufacturer on the three-guarantee voucher and must not be higher than 0.5%. If a single repair takes more than 5 days, from day 6 the shop must give you a spare car or pay your transport costs. When the car is replaced or returned, the shop must also pay your vehicle registration fee, the cost of added fittings after depreciation, and the service fees it charged you. After the shop receives a replacement or refund demand, it must answer within 10 working days. If it does not agree, it must give reasons. The shop must not refuse the three-guarantee because you did not have the car serviced there. Deliberately delaying, or refusing the three-guarantee without a proper reason, is punished under Article 56 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law (nationwide, in force from 1 January 2022).

国家市场监督管理总局 (2021). 家用汽车产品修理更换退货责任规定（总局令第 43 号，第十三、十八至二十四、二十六至二十八、三十、三十二、三十八、四十条，2022 年 1 月 1 日起施行）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-07/27/content_5627788.htm

Repair orders prove the total days and number of repairs, so each must record the fault and the arrival and departure dates. Calculate usage compensation yourself: for a CNY 200,000 car driven 10,000 km, using the maximum n of 0.5% gives about CNY 10,000. If the dealer refuses, first complain on 12315; the market-regulation authority mediates. If mediation fails, you must sue. Ordinary first-instance proceedings must conclude within 6 months, with extensions permitted; you pay your own lawyer even if you win. If the car is sold during the free-repair warranty, the certificate goes with it and the Three Guarantees obligations remain; ask for it when buying used. For a dealer concealing accident or flood damage, see Item 48 in this section. The beneficiaries are you and your family.