New Car Sales at rock bottom, but people still buying imports
No more than 55,000 new cars will be sold in Ireland in 2009, down a thumping 65% on last year with few industry insiders predicting anything other than more of the same for 2010. Two years ago, the number of new car sales in Ireland was over 186,000. In the year 2000 (anyone remember Y2K?), the figure was 235,000.
But one figure that has bucked the trend and has NOT dropped is the number of cars being imported from the UK. Almost 50,000 will be brought in this year. AA research shows that 20% of UK imports are ‘clocked’ – in other words they have false mileages. Be very careful if you are hunting for value across the water.
The slowdown has had a major effect on motor dealers here Last month EP Mooney became a very high profile casualty when a liquidator was installed at the 36-year-old family business, which has debts of €22 million. The move led to the immediate closure of the group’s five Dublin garages. Less than a week earlier the same fate befell Belgard Motors. It amassed debts of €17 million before calling in a liquidator to wind up the business.
For the consumer the loss of dealers is not good news, but the value on offer is. If you are in the market for a new car you can drive an excellent bargain from a dealer in Ireland.
You can also get good value in Northern Ireland or Britain but do take adequate precations. The AA did an analysis of 3,000 UK registrations of vehicles that had been imported into Ireland last year (November 2008) which showed that 18.5% of second hand cars imported from the UK have had their mileage doctored. The practice - called clocking - has got much worse in recent years.
The AA can check mileages on UK imports because only it can access the British National Mileage Register (NMR) which contains 125 million odometer readings. When a consumer inputs the current mileage of the vehicle onto AA Car Data Check it is compared and cross-referenced with those records. The NMR was established in 1997 and is used as a tool to protect both public and trade in
Ironically, modern cars are easier to 'clock' than they were in Arthur Daley’s time when rolling back the tumblers required some skill. It is now becoming a scourge. Overall estimates in the UK show that as many as 9% of all cars may be clocked. It is clearly a serious concern that the clocking rates for imports into Ireland is twice that found in the UK itself.
There are clocked cars locally as well of course. If the UK figures for clocking were transposed to the Irish fleet then the number of vehicles on false mileages could be as high as 200,000. To combat this, the AA is one of the main driving forces behind establishing the Irish National Mileage Register. This is critical to protect the consumer.
'Clocking' should be a specific offence
Most people are surprised to hear that clocking a car is not an offence in itself under Irish law. You may not mislead a customer about any aspect of a car, and you cannot sell a car that is unroadworthy but no law says that you cannot change the odometer dial.
The AA wants to change this and introduce the offence. The AA also wants to introduce the equivalent of a car 'death certificate' whereby a car that is written off is correctly disposed of and its registration number is retired. Car write-offs also find their way back onto the road, often in the hands of an innocent and duped owner.
Our existing laws are weak. The AA's work helps a lot, but we need much tougher legislation to target these bad and dangerous practices.
Clocking is not just fraud, its dangerous
Clocking is a major safety concern as a vehicle with more mileage than indicated may not have had the correct servicing at manufacturers recommended intervals. This makes breakdowns more likely and increases the chances of an expensive repair like a timing belt. More seriously, critical parts such as braking and power steering systems may be in need of repair without the driver knowing it.
Cars can be clocked more easily than ever before
The technology behind clocking is readily available and it can be done from as little as €80 to €100. Most cars can be clocked without having to remove the instrument cluster. A computer is used to calculate the code that the manufacturer uses for mileage and this code is used to adjust the mileage on the clocked vehicle. Far too easy, and it's not even illegal.
I may have bought a clocked car from Britain... what do I do?
Firstly, find out the truth. Check at www.aaireland.ie/car-data-check. If the car has had its mileage changed you may have recourse to the seller but realistically it may be very difficult to get any satisfaction. However you can arrange for an AA Inspection of the vehicle (phone AA Technical Services 01 6179370). Once you are in the picture as regards the car’s real age and state of health at least you can make your decisions armed with the facts.