DISHONEST CAR SELLERS

It seems we are becoming a nation of ‘Del boys’ when it comes to selling our cars, with one in five of us admitting to tell lies when selling our cars. This is the result of a survey of 2000 motorists done by used car website Trusted Dealers (www.trusteddealers.co.uk). If a total of 6.8million used cars were sold in 2010, that means a massive 1.4million of them could have been sold ‘dishonestly’.

Initially that might draw a rye smile, it is obviously significant that such sales could be potentially dangerous. Obviously, it is ‘money’ that is the main reason for these untruths, which are mainly hiding existing faults, covering up mechanical issues, and hiding a poor service history. Trusted Dealers has launched ‘Scambusters’, a new consumer campaign to expose scams and dodgy dealings whilst providing topical consumer advice to help protect buyers. As part of the campaign, Trusted Dealers has created a dedicated Scambuster webpage containing a downloadable safe buying guide, and is encouraging ripped off motorists to post details of scams to help warn other drivers of unscrupulous practices. 

The company says that details of any scams will then be passed to the Office of Fair Trading and the Police.  While we cannot condone ‘dodgy dealings’, it is perhaps equally worrying that any unrestricted ‘name and shame’ campaign should exist. The survey also finds some intriguing regional results; the Scottish are ‘most likely to twist the truth’ according to Trusted Dealers, closely followed by Londoners and sellers from Essex (!). The best place to buy a used car appears to be in Yorkshire where only 13 per cent of sellers are prepared to fib a bit to get a sale.

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