Car dealers who import substandard vehicles will not be stopped until Government takes them to court, Consumer Affairs said yesterday.

Consumer Affairs Board chairman Trevor Fyfe said Bermuda?s consumers will never have the protection they deserved until Consumer Affairs was allowed to take people to court under the Sales of Goods Act ? which currently states that only individuals can take unscrupulous garages to task.

?Right now David has to take Goliath to court,? Mr. Fyfe said. ?But no one has ever done it. If we keep it as it is, the same thing will happen over and over again because people are intimidated and scared. People do not want to go to court.?

But the gloves were coming off in 2006, he said, with offending car dealers being ?named and shamed?.

?The big stick will come out eventually,? he warned.

However, Mr. Fyfe said no matter how much Consumer Affairs tried to warn the public about buying lemons, until the law is changed, trying to stop them was going to ?be like carrying water in a bucket?.

?No matter how much we heave and shout we will never have effective teeth until the Sales of Goods Act is brought to Consumer Affairs,? he said.

He said it had been tried before but failed.

Naming and shaming offenders was one thing, he said, however, it was more like false teeth, than real teeth.

He was encouraged by Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport Dale Butler?s pledge that he was prepared to do whatever was necessary. Mr. Fyfe yesterday unveiled the results of two eight-month Consumer Affairs surveys ? one on cars and another on local trades.

However, out of five automotive dealerships asked to participate in the survey, only three ? HWP Group, Rayclan Ltd. and Continental Motors ? responded in time.

Consumer Affairs Inspector Marisa Sharpe said car dealers could not be forced to participate. ?As far as what can be done to those who bring in substandard cars, that really does not fall under the Consumer Protection Act, it falls under the Sale of Goods Act in which the consumer would have to take the dealer to court,? Ms Sharpe said. ?We do not have as much power as people think we do.?

The largest number of complaints received at the Department were about locally bought cars, she said. Subcommittee chairman Allan Young said the local automobile industry was keen to participate and there did not appear to be any hiding of information.

The survey revealed several reasons for complaints against car dealers.

Mr. Fyfe said a common complaint was that there were not enough loaner cars available at car dealers, but TCD was now willing to revisit the current maximum number of five loaner cars.

Mr. Fyfe said getting spare parts was a problem not just for customers but also for the car dealers.

Consumer Affairs said it will monitor the importation and repair of luxury cars in order to determine their feasibility on Bermuda?s roads and it wanted limitations on engine capacity.

Mr. Fyfe said it was also time to take a tougher stance on unlicensed cowboys in Bermuda?s trades. He said there were licensing and certification requirements for tradesmen, including electricians, mechanics and welders in the US, Canada, UK and Cayman Islands. ?The problem with our existing system is lack of accountability.?