10,000 used car imports have mileage tampered with

I.S.T.

This seems to be a serious problem...

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/10000-used-car-imports----have-mileage-tampered-with-1534642.html



By Eddie Cunningham Motoring editor

Wednesday November 12 2008

NEARLY one in five secondhand cars imported from the UK have false mileage, new figures reveal.

That means 20pc, or around 10,000 so far this year, of such imports have had their mileage put back -- significantly in some cases.

There are two major implications for buyers.

The first is they have paid too much for the car and stand to lose thousands on additional repairs and trade-in values. The second is the vehicle could be dangerous, since areas such as brakes, steering and suspension may be badly worn or run down given that they have travelled much further than their mileage indicates.

The new figures were compiled by the AA after analysis of 3,000 registration numbers and vehicle records for imports this year. The association claims the level of "clocking", as it is called, has become much worse in recent years.

There were 49,000 secondhand cars imported from the UK this year, and while that number is expected to fall next year, the proportion of "clocked" cars is unlikely to follow suit.

The figures emerged because the AA can check mileages on UK imports as it can access the British National Mileage Register (NMR).

The NMR was set up in 1997 and is designed to avert fraudulent car trading.

When a potential buyer puts the current mileage of the vehicle onto the AA car data check it is compared and cross-referenced with those records.

And that is when discrepancies emerge. The AA said last night there is clear evidence of unscrupulous dealers and middlemen using Ireland as a dumping ground.

And Society of Irish Motor Industry chief (SIMI) Alan Nolan told the Irish Independent the figures highlighted the dangers of buying a car you know nothing about from someone you don't really know.

"Our own research shows that written-off cars, vehicles with finance outstanding and even stolen cars are turning up quite regularly here."

Safety

He urged buyers to be careful not just because they could lose a lot of money on trade-ins at a later stage, they could also be endangering their safety. The AA used the figures to specifically highlight two issues. The first is their car data check service.

And the second is the extraordinary situation whereby it is not an offence under Irish law to clock a car.

The AA's Conor Faughnan pointed out: "You may not mislead a customer about any aspect of a car, and you cannot sell a car that is unroadworthy but no law says that you cannot change the odometer dial."

The AA want this changed and are looking for the introduction of a car "death certificate" whereby a written-off vehicle is correctly disposed of and its registration number is retired.

Comment: page 50

peasant

see here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055417543