What are the penalties for assembling scrapped motor vehicles?
3 Answers
Operating an assembled vehicle that causes a traffic accident will result in civil liability. Generally, driving an assembled vehicle infringes upon the rights of others. If a scrapped or assembled motor vehicle is transferred through sale or other means, and a traffic accident occurs causing damage, both the transferor and the transferee shall bear joint liability. If the infringer should bear administrative or criminal liability for the same act, it does not affect the assumption of tort liability in accordance with the law. If the infringer should bear tort liability, administrative liability, and criminal liability for the same act, and the infringer's property is insufficient to cover all liabilities, tort liability shall be prioritized.
Last time, my old neighbor secretly assembled a tricycle using scrapped car parts, and it got impounded by traffic police just three days after hitting the road. Not only was the vehicle confiscated, but he was also fined 5,000 yuan and had his driver's license revoked for a year. In fact, such makeshift vehicles are extremely dangerous—their braking systems are pieced together haphazardly, making nighttime driving a hazard to both the driver and others. According to regulations, these vehicles must be forcibly scrapped if discovered, and worse, if they cause an accident, the driver could face criminal liability. There was a case in our area where someone driving a makeshift vehicle hit a pedestrian and ended up serving two years in prison. So if relatives or friends ever consider modifying scrapped cars, never assist them—strictly following the official scrapping process is the safest approach.
Our repair shop handled over a dozen scrapped and reassembled vehicles last year, mostly modified by young people trying to save money. I remember one guy installed a scrapped minivan engine into an old Santana, only to be pulled over by traffic police for overloading as soon as he hit the road. The car was impounded on the spot with an 80,000 yuan fine. Driving such modified vehicles is like moving bombs—rusted and broken steering axles or aging wiring causing fires are all too common. According to the 'Regulations on the Recycling of Scrapped Motor Vehicles,' illegal reassembly incurs fines of 5 to 10 times the vehicle's value. The worst part is that during the month of modification, both annual inspections and insurance become void. If you really want to modify a car, my advice is to buy new parts and register them properly—don’t touch scrapped components to save a few bucks, only to end up paying much more later.
