7,500 dodgy cars brought from UK each year

Vehicles are written off, stolen, or scrapped, but only 20% of buyers will check history, says company

Around 7,500 cars brought into Ireland from Britain every year have either been written off, stolen, or scrapped there, according to the vehicle checking company MyVehicle.ie.

In 2014, there was a total of 49,945 imported cars from the UK, with more than 15% having some type of hidden history, which can go unnoticed without the use of a vehicle history check, said Justin Kavanagh, MD of MyVehicle.ie, who believes Irish consumers need to be careful about purchasing a UK import.

“In Ireland, only around 20% of people buying a used car will actually check the vehicle’s history throughout the purchasing process. Although there are services available, it seems that the majority of potential car buyers out there have not incorporated a car history check as a crucial element of their vehicle-purchasing process,” said Mr Kavanagh.

“When you compare this to the UK market and the measures that are taken to check a vehicle before it is purchased, the results are staggering. In the UK almost 80% of car buyers use a vehicle history check service before they make a purchase. This, in turn, leaves them a lot less likely to end up with a used vehicle that has been clocked, cloned, written off, and has outstanding finance owed.”

Mr Kavanagh said that, given the disparity between vehicle checks in Ireland and the UK, the Irish market can be a hotbed for potential scammers to sell cars that might be unroadworthy or even dangerous.

His comments follow an RTÉ investigation that has uncovered evidence which suggests Ireland has become an import destination for car write-offs. The cars were mainly imported from the UK, but also from as far away as Australia. Known as ‘Category B’ write-offs, these cars were designated elsewhere as unroadworthy and unfit for repair.

However, a lack of legislation in Ireland allows such cars to be repaired and put back on the road.

Despite consumer legislation, which requires car dealers to disclose a car’s full history, some of these ‘Category B’ cars are being sold to unsuspecting motorists by dealers who do not disclose all the relevant information.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said it has been lobbying for the past decade for legislation to be brought in to deal with written-off vehicles.

RSA communications manager Brian Farrell said he was anxious to see their proposals enshrined in law, because there is no legal framework ensuring vehicles that are damaged beyond repair are scrapped.

While countries such as the UK and Australia have stricter systems to deal with ‘Category B’ cars, Ireland has no specific laws on write-offs. New legislation to change this was promised by the previous government, but was never enacted.

Meanwhile, according to a new AA Motor Insurance survey, male motorists are 50% more likely to lie to an insurer to get a cheaper policy.

“You have to have some sympathy for them, given the increases we are facing, but you are entering into a legal contract with your insurance company and you cannot expect them to keep to their side of the deal if you have effectively lied to them,” said AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan.