Eleven Rent-a-car dealers want it clean

Over 1000 classy motor cars vanish into thin air

By Elmo Leonard

Currently, over 1,000 high quality cars obtained on a monthly fee by mushrooming rent-a-car companies cannot be accounted for, insurance companies said.  
In a typical and recent case, a lady set up a rent-a-car company in Nawala. She carried paper advertisements for prestigious makes of motor cars for a monthly fee. The lady collected 50 good-brand-named, high performance motor cars and larger vehicles. In three months, the lady closed down her business. Since then, the owners of the cars have not seen their vehicles.
The police stations around Nawala, such as Kohuwala and Mirihana and beyond, know who the lady is. But the penal code does not allow for the prosecution of such errant persons; such `crimes’ fall under the category of breach of promise, president, Rent-a-Car-Association (RACA), Kishan Perera told the media.
The cars lost to the owners could be repainted. Their identification and number plates are changed and the cars may even be used in crime, RACA secretary, Vijitha Jayathilake said.      
This lady, like many other fraudulent rent-a-car dealers, regroups again and again.
RACA, formed five years ago, comprises 11 rent-a-car companies. They are campaigning with the police, the government and the Ministry of Transport, the Department for the Registration of Motor Vehicles, Sri Lanka Tourism Board and other relevant bodies for a code of conduct and ethics to be laid down for the industry.
For a healthy rent-a-car industry to continue and play a part in the island’s transportation activities and economy at large, much more needs to be done, Zahir Ahamed of Cason’s rent-a-car said. It is also necessary for people who own cars of good makes and are willing to lend their cars on a fee to be able to identify unscrupulous rent-a-car dealers, treasurer, Mahesh Mallawarachchi said.
The RACA membership said that some of them have been in the industry for over 40 years, collectively have over 4,000 vehicles plying mainly in the Colombo and Greater Colombo region, and over 5000 people are directly and indirectly engaged in the business.
They maintain a database of people in the vehicle rental industry and will not allow those who have been engaged in crime to join their membership, assistant treasurer, Nishantha Perera    said.{jcomments on}