One-in-eight car imports from the UK are clocked
Saturday January 24 2009
More than one-in-eight vehicles imported from the UK have been illegally clocked.
Car history tracking company Cartell.ie said about 50,000 of the 400,000 vehicles imported from Britain have had their mileage illegally reduced.
The figures paint a worrying picture of the dangers motorists face with the lowered mileage misrepresenting the vehicle's road worthiness.
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said the statistics represented a significant increase on their findings on clocked vehicles, making up 14pc of UK imports between 2005 and 2008.
A spokeswoman urged car buyers to ensure any vehicle they are looking at purchasing has a history certificate.
The UK National Mileage Register shows that 38pc of Audis imported into Ireland showed a mileage discrepancy, as well as 25pc of Volkswagens and 24pc of Fords. Japanese cars faired better, with 19pc of Lexus vehicles showing a mileage disparity, while Toyotas were at 14pc.
Director of Cartell.ie Jeff Aherne said car buyers needed to be more vigilant and he accused some car dealers of "unscrupulous" behaviour in knowingly importing the illegally modified vehicles.
The Road Safety Authority said the statistics were very worrying and urged car buyers to deal with "reputable" dealers.
- Stephen O'Farrell
