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Nearly 30 UK write-offs a day being brought in from UK and sold in Ireland, shock new figures reveal

Government action is being sought amid safety concerns. Expand

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Government action is being sought amid safety concerns.

Government action is being sought amid safety concerns.

Government action is being sought amid safety concerns.

Eddie Cunningham Twitter

Nearly 800 write-offs were imported into Ireland last month alone, Independent Motors can reveal.

That means nearly 30 a day are coming in - and they now account for 10.7pc of all cars brought in during June, shocking new figures show.

The latest data was compiled exclusively for Independent Motors by car-history website MyWheels.ie, following widespread reaction to our revelations of a surge in the number of imported write-offs some weeks back.

At 794 for June, the level of cars previously written-off that are going on sale here represents a significant increase on the 530 brought in during the corresponding month last year.

And it is nearly double the 441 for June 2014, shown by MyWheels.ie statistics.

Examples of worst-category write-offs from the UK last month included a 2012 Audi A5 and 2008 Peugeot 207.

The steady increase in such imports going on the Irish market is causing concern in many quarters. Write-offs fall into several categories.

They can be:

* Cars involved in crashes or accidents so serious that they needed major repairs before being officially restored as roadworthy.

* Cars so severely damaged that they should never have been permitted back on the road under any circumstances whatsoever.

There has been legislation to deal with write-offs on the cards for quite a while, but it has never been processed.

It is designed to make it compulsory for a write-off to be recorded on the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF).

If that happened, it would alert the authorities and buyers and ensure the vehicle couldn't be used again.

Previously, a Department of Transport spokesman has told Independent Motors that there are "legal complexities".

But Niall Kavanagh of MyWheels.ie has, along with several others, called for action "before a write-off is linked to a road death".

He urged the Government to establish a process of notification, so that write-offs from other countries are never imported and registered in Ireland.

And he reiterated: "The fact that a write-off can pass an NCT test just highlights how important it is for everyone thinking of buying a used car to check its history."

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Aidan Timmons and Motoring Editor Eddie Cunningham team up to help readers make the right choice with their next car. Aidan visits dealers all over the country to produce a monthly guidebook on the values of used cars. He is co-editor of Motor Trade Publishers, who supply a car valuation service to the motor trade, insurance companies and finance houses. Eddie is the author of best-selling book 'Clever Car Buying'.

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