1.3m US damaged used cars sold as clean
Author: Chris Barker
Published: 26 August 2008
Nearly 1.3 million vehicles in America have been found to have had a previous identity, unbeknownst to new owners.Cars that were deemed write-offs in the state in which they’d had accidents have lost vital details in transit from one state to another, with up to 185,000 vehicles – or 15% – not carrying over any major incident history when they were sold.Laws across Europe demand that all vehicle histories are issued with words or symbols such as ‘salvaged’, ‘damage repaired’ and ‘Q car’ to illustrate that the car’s past isn’t without some form of incident.In America the classifications are issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles in any given US state, a vehicle’s past and current status is denoted by descriptions such as 'salvaged', 'rebuilt', 'reconstructed' and 'insurance loss'.However the phenomenon of ‘title-washing’ – the name given to the illegal act of re-registering a vehicle in another state – results in the omission of vital information on the car’s past.
Experian says its AutoCheck vehicle history report affords consumers the opportunity to quickly access any vehicle’s history, regardless of any attempted title washing.“Too often, vehicles branded due to some form of severe damage are reconstructed and re-titled without their damage-related brand and then sold to unsuspecting consumers,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive.“With such a large number of title-washed vehicles on the road today, consumers shopping for a reliable used car or truck need to get an AutoCheck vehicle history report for all vehicles they consider buying.”
See Also:
Click here for more Safety stories
Click here for more Used Cars stories
Car Buyers Checklist Run through the checklist below when deciding whether a used car is worth buying.
The new Mercedes S class has a sophisticated radar-based braking system - when it works. A demonstration ended up in a 3-car pile-up filmed by German TV.
A list of the new road tax bands as described in the 2008 budget. Cars are placed in VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) bands acording to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the vehicle.
Richard Hammond is reportedly in a critical condition after suffering serious injuries driving a jet-powered Vampire car while filming for Top Gear.
Latest reports from the hospital bedside of Richard Hammond are that the popular TV presenter is still in a critical condition after suffering what has been described as a ´significant´ brain injury.
advertisement
The new armoured BMW X5 Security has been launched, offering' go-anywhere protection | 02/12/2008
The Vauxhall Flextreme concept car has won the prestigious red dot design award in a ceremony in Singapore. | 02/12/2008
Ford has added three new additions to its small SUV Kuga range, including a two-wheel drive variant, new engines and an automatic transmission. | 02/12/2008
The 176mph Lotus Carlton super-saloon has been voted the UK’s favourite Vauxhall in a poll of 630 owners. | 02/12/2008
Fiat has introduced a new 165bhp 2.0-litre MultiJet diesel unit with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for its five-door Bravo models. | 01/12/2008
|01/12/2008
Global car sales are unlikely to return to significant levels for five years, according to leading economist Prof Garel Rhys.
|01/12/2008
Skoda has scrapped all VAT on its Octavia models - including the L&K, the 4x4 Scout and the performance vRS.
|01/12/2008
Fiat has introduced a new 165bhp 2.0-litre MultiJet diesel unit with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for its five-door Bravo models.
|01/12/2008
Drivers are being warned that a festive tipple could see them end up behind bars this Christmas as a new hard-hitting £1.6 million THINK! campaign.
|01/12/2008
MINI has released pictures and details of the new MINI Convertible - set to take to UK roads in Spring 2009, with prices starting from £15,995 for the MINI Cooper and £18,995 for the MINI Cooper S.
|01/10/2008
Euro Car Parts has acquired Pinco 1555 Ltd, including all 53 of LSUK's 53 branches, together with subsidiaries M I Diesel Products, Protech Automotive (UK) and Yeovil Rewind.
|20/11/2007
Around 400 people a day risk damaging their car by misfuelling, and filling up with gas is a mistake that could cost thousands. So what do you do if you´ve filled up your diesel car with unleaded petrol?
|06/12/2007
Fuel protests similar to those that brought the UK to a halt in 2000 are being planned by a breakaway group of disaffected hauliers, according to press reports.
|07/10/2008
Euro Car Parts has put out a statement on the closure of LSUK, stating that a closure of the business was unavoidable due to a 'lack of support'.
|06/10/2008
LSUK, thought to have been rescused by Euro Car Parts, has been unexpectedly closed by the new owners with the loss of over 600 jobs.
Search Motortorque:
No readers comments
Be the first to write a comment on this article