Mileage discrepancy of cars still prevalent in Irish market

“Clocking” is still prevalent in the car market in Ireland, particularly for potential purchasers of UK-registered vehicles.

And buyers of UK vehicles are almost twice as likely to conduct a history check for clocking compared to a purchaser of a second-hand vehicle on the domestic market.

Online vehicle check experts Cartell.ie warned second-hand car buyers to be careful after a random check of 4,479 vehicles.

The percentage of British vehicles which recorded a mileage discrepancy stood at 14.5%. The equivalent figure for the local fleet was 8.4%. The figures represented a fall in the overall numbers of domestic vehicles recording a discrepancy since the enactment of legislation criminalising the practice in 2014.

Clocking involves winding back the odometer reading for the purpose of artificially inflating a vehicle’s value. It is punishable by a maximum €2,500 fine and/or maximum jail term of three months.

It is estimated the practice costs Irish consumers in the region of €60m every year.

Last year, the European Parliament’s Transport Committee called for a pan-European mileage database to be created in an attempt to stamp out the practice.

Cartell.ie legal and PR manager, John Byrne, said the continued prevalence of clocked cars was “concerning” and advised consumers to always check the service history of a car before purchasing — whether it was Irish or British.

“Evidence from the UK indicates owners of vehicles are clocking their own vehicle before advancing it in the market. This can be for a variety of reasons including avoiding mileage penalties on personal contract purchases. What is concerning is that we are beginning to see a delta between the Irish numbers on clocking and the UK numbers — a potential buyer of a UK vehicle needs to be particularly careful,” he said.