JPJ Cracks Down on "Total Loss" Vehicles: Why Now?

The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has urged the public to report any sightings of vehicles classified as "total loss" that are still being driven on the road. Using such vehicles is illegal, as they are considered no longer roadworthy after being severely damaged in accidents.

JPJ Director-General, Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli emphasised that the department takes this issue seriously and is currently investigating such claims.

"I advise anyone who knows of or sees such vehicles to report them to the police or JPJ so that we can investigate if any irresponsible parties are using vehicles deemed as 'total loss'," he said.

This issue came to light after a recent viral message on Telegram described an incident where an individual’s relative spotted their "total loss" vehicle, declared unusable, still being driven on the road in the hands of a new owner.

Said former owner had verified via the MyJPJ app that the vehicle’s road tax, despite being listed as fully written off 12 years ago, remained active.

We at Carz.com.my however would like to raise the question why now? This is as such practices have been prevalent for decades where “total loss” vehicles are auctioned off by their rightful owners, the insurance provider and are almost always snapped by workshops which will by all and any means turn the “road-worth” and resold to unsuspecting buyers.

The beauty of it is that somehow this “total-loss” vehicle is able to pass through Puspakom and JPJ and register to its new buyer. Some examples of such cars are flood damage or accident write-off vehicles that the insurance provider deem makes no economic sense to repair or is damaged in critical areas that will not be safe to repair.

Under Malaysian law, using a vehicle classified as a "total loss" without proper authorization can lead to penalties, including hefty fines and possible jail time.

Additionally, it’s worth highlighting that you can prevent being scammed with total-loss cars from unscrupulous used car dealers by having the  vehicle verified through services such as Scrut.

Alternatively, you can also spare yourself from such risk by buying your used cars from the CariCarz.com Automall where cars undergo meticulous checks and verification before being listed for sale.