Hobbs angry at car-dealer revelations

Eddie Hobbs, well-known as the presenter of TV show Rip-Off Republic, has reacted angrily to the “shocking” news that car dealerships in Ireland are allegedly inflating prices.

Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning, Mr Hobbs said the practice was “tantamount to theft”.

“At least the thief stealing your car from the kerb side is honest enough to admit that he is breaking the law, whereas you still detect the ambivalence that arranging fixed prices or share markets is just the same as reaching into somebody’s handbag or wallet and taking money,” he said.

The economy guru denied the claims of car dealerships throughout the country that margins are tight and the motor industry is competitive.

“The evidence with your own eyes is to the contrary. If you look at the huge increase in new forecourts being built and so on, the industry certainly isn’t suffering from lack of confidence in its future.”

Mr Hobbs said the Competition Authority had chosen to target car dealerships because it was seen as an industry that “needed cleaning up”.

He went on to ask if the Government could have been collecting tax on artificially high figures.

“If you take benefit in kind, where the open-market value of the car is used as the pricing standard for your tax, this data is being supplied by an industry which now has a very substantial question mark over the value of the prices which it is displaying,” he said.

Mr Hobbs called for consumers to be more aware of potential price-fixing, which could be evident from very little variation in car prices from showroom to showroom.

He also said honest car dealers could “blow the whistle” on price-fixing by contacting the Competition Authority hotline.

“Until such time as individuals take the courage in their hands and do this type of thing, practices will continue on,” he added.