"Tired of repainting the car every six months," Pavel begins his account of troubles with the Geely Tugella. He stresses that he likes the car and does not regret buying it. He talks about the positives: for example, the all‑wheel drive grips the snow excellently… But there is something, in his opinion, that mars ownership of the vehicle – the body and the official service. In trying to sort out the latter, Pavel even reached the general director of the Belzhi plant. Now he wonders whether to go to court or not. We explain why he has, in principle, started thinking about launching a "legal war."

What is wrong with this Geely Tugella?

Pavel bought his Geely Tugella at the end of 2023; the car now has about 50,000 km on the odometer. Interestingly, two other Minsk residents bought identical cars at the same time, and their problems were almost identical. We also met one of those men – he came to our meeting wanting to express his dissatisfaction with the service personally. By the way, we "caught" the men when they were returning from Borisov to Minsk – they met there with the general director of a plant known to every Belarusian.

Pavel’s nerves gave out because of the thresholds… But before that, the update of the body panels due to corrosion required a new hood and trunk lid. Moreover, rust appeared again on the latter. Then the body element was replaced with a new one, and a separate three‑year warranty was given specifically for it. Also, in the crossover coupe, under warranty, the brake discs were replaced at about 40,000 km, along with the lever and silent blocks.

In the gallery – a selection of photos provided by Pavel

When Pavel talks about the problems, Denis – a fellow with the same Tugella – nods: he has the same issues, only the hood was handled differently.

At about 20,000 km, when Pavel visited the dealer again and the car was on a lift, they noticed that the thresholds had bulges in the body panels and corrosion spots. They were repainted under warranty — the owner had requested this at “Jili Center Minsk.” While telling the story about the thresholds, the men also complained about the service. For example, when they reported corrosion on the trunk lid, the dealer representatives warned them that if it turned out the problem was not in the body panels but in the parts (fasteners) that are not covered by warranty, they would have to pay for disassembling that lid and removing the “rust spots.”

— How can I or any other ordinary car enthusiast know and figure out exactly what caused the corrosion if it's not visible? — Pavel wonders.

By the way, in the work orders the dealer states that instead of the promised 14 days, the repair may take 30. And if the client signs the document without looking, they automatically agree to it.

When the first “disassemblies” with corrosion began, the men noticed that both cars had hidden cavities underneath after being treated with the anti‑corrosion compound Dinitrol. “The anti‑corrosion treatment,” Pavel and Denis say, was on the list of “add‑ons” they ordered from the dealer. But the work was carried out not by official service specialists, but by contractors.

— They took the car to the workshop for treatment so that it wouldn't see snow before the treatment! — Pavel says indignantly. — I asked the dealer, “Who was supposed to receive the work?” They answered, “Well, us.”

Operational defect

This dialogue ended with Pavel writing a complaint after all. And in response, they said: the defect exists, but warranty repairs are denied. In simple words, the sills got salt that is used to treat roads in winter, they got scratched by pebbles, etc.

Dennis once again confirms that he has the same problem, which has appeared again, only he hasn't made it to the service center yet - he's waiting to see how his colleague's story ends.

It's worth recalling the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights": if during the warranty period, a significant manufacturing defect is detected in the car twice (or repeatedly), or if the defect reappears after repair (or if the car is in repair for a total of more than 30 days during one year of warranty service), then the buyer has the right to demand replacement of the car or termination of the sales contract. What constitutes a "significant" and "manufacturing" defect should be finally decided by a court, which is based on the results of an independent examination. Pavel stated this to the representatives of the brand on Kamaiskaya.

Note that if we talk about replacing the car in theory, it is likely impossible. Official sales of Tugella have been discontinued.

While the man was waiting for a response to his complaint, he turned to another dealer. There, he says, they were ready to repaint the sills under warranty. Pavel provided a correspondence that confirms this.

During a repeated conversation with the representatives of "Geely Center Minsk", the man mentioned that another service center recognized this case as warranty. And he wondered to himself - how can two dealers have such different opinions? But it's important to note that when we spoke with a representative of the plant, the specialist said: "The information about the second dealer agreeing to warranty is not valid".

Further on, we know the story only from Pavel's words: according to his statement, the people at Kamaiskaya were also very surprised that the second dealer undertook to paint the sills under warranty. And soon the man received a call from a more "cooperative" service: their employee asked him to come to the service station in person, because "it's not a phone conversation". And there, according to Pavel, they still refused to carry out the warranty repair. However, due to the promise made earlier, they said they would still repaint the sills for free, but not under warranty.

We asked the factory and the dealer to comment on the situation. Here are the responses (or lack thereof) we received.

Later on, Pavel was driven by a desire to achieve justice for himself and a reluctance to repaint the sills every 20,000 km. Especially since the warranty on the paintwork is about to expire. And what's next: painting at his own expense if corrosion becomes a problem again?

The man tried to schedule a meeting with the general director of the Belji factory. And the day before yesterday, he and Denis finally got to talk. According to Pavel, they promised him that the sills on his Geely would be repainted for free at any official service center, and if the problem recurs, they would do it again.

We had previously reached out to the factory representatives for a comment. As soon as we receive it, we will supplement the material.

Incidentally, a few hours before the meeting with the factory director, Pavel was invited to the service center, where they conducted a "quality check" - specialists from Belji also came to the scene. The results are not yet known to either the car owner or us. But the man should soon receive the conclusion in writing.

Of course, we also reached out to Geely Center Minsk for a comment. They responded very promptly:

"Indeed, recently a client named Pavel approached us with a written complaint about replacing his 2023 Geely Tugella with a new car and compensating for moral damage.

For an objective and comprehensive consideration of this appeal, in accordance with the norms of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of January 9, 2002, No. 90-Z "On Protection of Consumer Rights", Pavel was invited to inspect the paintwork (LKP) of the sills and other claimed defects. However, the client provided the car only for checking the LKP of the sills, and refused to inspect the vehicle for other defects.

The organization's specialists conducted an inspection of the vehicle's door sills, including using microscopy tools. Based on the results of the inspection, a corresponding report was drawn up and handed over to Pavel. According to the conclusions stated in the report, the defects in the paintwork of the vehicle's door sills are of an operational nature. Based on this information, Pavel's claim for a replacement vehicle and compensation for moral damages was denied. To date, no further requests have been received from the consumer.

What does Pavel plan to do next? He is undecided whether to go to court or have the door sills repainted for free. He said he will think it over and weigh all the options for how events might unfold. However, he has already been in touch with a consumer rights protection organization, which is willing to take on his case and represent his interests in court.

As we part ways, we ask the Tugella owners: would they buy a Geely again? Denis replies that yes, he would. In fact, he recently gave his wife a Cityray, and they have had no problems and are completely satisfied. Pavel, on the other hand, thought for a moment before answering: "No, I won't buy one again."