Unannounced inspections of dealers aim to root out clocked cars

The consumer watchdog has started unannounced inspections of car dealers to root out traders selling crashed and clocked cars.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has said it will not hesitate to use its powers to challenge and take enforcement actions against car dealers found to be misleading consumers.

The Consumer Protection Act 2007 prohibits traders from misleading consumers when selling clocked or crashed cars. Misleading information may include: A false odometer reading; if the vehicle is not roadworthy; or if the vehicle has been written off by an insurer.

The onus is on the trader to ensure they have carried out the relevant checks into the history before selling a vehicle. It is important to note the Consumer Protection Act does not cover the sale of a car from a private seller.

CCPC chairwoman Isolde Goggin said the consumer watchdog had taken action against a number of dealers in recent months and had secured a prison sentence in one instance.

“Consumers need to be able to rely on accurate information from car dealers in relation to a vehicle’s roadworthiness and its history, including mileage,” she said. “All material information should be fully disclosed to a consumer before they make a purchase; failure to do so is not only costly and potentially dangerous for the consumer, it is also a breach of the law.

“The CCPC has investigated and taken enforcement action against a number of traders in relation to the sale of clocked or crashed cars where such information was not disclosed to the consumer.

“Most recently, in February this year, Dublin motor trader, Jonathan McSherry, was sentenced to three months in prison for providing a consumer with false information in relation to the mileage of a car.”

That conviction followed an investigation and subsequent prosecution by the CCPC after it received a complaint from a consumer regarding a vehicle they had purchased from him. This was the first custodial sentence, for a breach of the Consumer Protection Act, arising from an investigation by the CCPC.

The decision to begin unannounced inspections of motor dealers comes as motorists have been warned about a new scam in which dealers, often in Britain, are clocking or reducing the mileage on cars twice before they sell them on in Ireland.

The AA warned that, on the back of a 47% year-on-year increase in the number of vehicles being brought here from Britain, there has been an increase in “mileage discrepancies” among those vehicles.

In 2015, research from Cartell.ie indicated that 14.5% of British cars imported into Ireland had had their mileage altered in some way.

However, there are indications that this figure has increased to 16.5% in respect to British cars destined for here.