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Used car dealers shamed in report
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As many as 20% of consumers who buy used cars from dealers end up having a problem with the vehicle, a report by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said.
Almost 70% of these problems come to light within the first month, the report said.
Nearly 30% of those who contacted their dealer said they never did get the problem rectified.
These unsatisfied consumers spent £425 each, or around £85 million a year in total, fixing unresolved faults that were the dealer's obligation to correct, the OFT said.
The report said consumers could be overpaying to the tune of around £580 million a year as a result of illegal "clocking" - adjusting the car to show a false mileage.
Of consumers surveyed for the report, 27% found used car dealers very unhelpful and 11% rated them fairly unhelpful.
The report also found that some dealers could be in breach of the law by pretending to be private sellers to evade their obligations to consumers, often to unload unsafe or clocked cars, which the OFT reckons account for more than £40 million of second-hand car sales a year.
The survey also found that around 9% of dealers rely on illegal disclaimers about the car's history and condition.
The report included findings from 600 mystery shoppers who visited dealers. In 30% of cases these mystery shoppers were not shown a vehicle's history.
Overall, the OFT found 25% of dealers failed to supply sufficient information about the vehicle they were selling, with many failing to disclose what mechanical and other pre-sale checks had been carried out.
Reader views (2)
Second hand car dealers dodgy? i cannot believe that its totaly absurd, never.
I have a lovely 2001 bmw for sale one carefull owner, never been over 30 mph genuine 10,000 miles on the clock.
- Brian, Wiltshire, 18/03/2010 07:18
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I'm currently dealing with Fords Dagenham Motors (main dealer) I've asked to see the documents to a car and been told they are at "Head Office" I wanted to see the documents, so I can get the details for a HPI check and a quick VOSA check.
If you can get to see the:
MOT test number from VT20 MOT Test Certificate or VT30 Refusal of an MOT Test Certificate (failure notice)
or
Document Reference Number from the V5C Registration Certificate issued by the DVLA.
You can check online at VOSA, I've recently done this twice and both cars had the mileage tampered with (one car by 100,000 miles and the other by 80,000 miles) it not full proof, but it quick and free.
- David, Abbey Wood, 18/03/2010 06:13
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