A national policy that will allow new car buyers to receive a full refund or replacement for a vehicle that repeatedly breaks down will be implemented by October, local media reported Tuesday.

The policy, which was issued Tuesday by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, aims to curtail the rising number of complaints from new car buyers about repeated breakdowns and other after-sale service problems, according to a news report from Shanghai Television Station.

The policy would allow consumers to get refunds or replacement vehicles if their car remains inoperable after key parts have been repaired twice, according to the report. It would only apply to cars less than two years old with less than 50,000 kilometers.

The Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee said that it processed more than 2,800 complaints related to after-sales auto service last year, up 10 percent from 2011, the report said.

The committee's auto office welcomed the new policy, said Wang Ying, the office's secretary-general.

Repair and refund disputes made up most of the complaints that the office received about after-sales service over the past three years, Wang said. More specifically, the disputes involve car owners who asked for refunds after repeated repairs, but their dealers refused.

"Customers usually want refunds if repeated repairs cannot solve their car's problems. However, car dealers prefer to only offer more repairs," she told the Global Times.

Currently, the committee resolves the disputes by encouraging car owners to accept the repair service while urging the dealers to give customers extra cash as compensation for their trouble.

In implementing the policy, Wang said it will be necessary to make sure that the breakdowns are not the owner's fault before dealers or manufacturers can be asked to refund or replace the vehicles.