Car clocking scandal

Shocking new report reveals that at least one out of ten second-hand vehicles has had mileage doctored

A TENTH of second-hand cars on the current market have a false mileage displayed, a shocking new study has revealed.

This figure increases for cars imported from the UK where almost one in five – 18% – has an unreliable or questionable mileage reading.

The study of over 120,000 vehicles shows ‘clocking’ is widespread in the second-hand car market.

For the report, Cartell.ie and AA Ireland examined a random sample of 60,047 history checks on Irish vehicles carried out by potential buyers. Of those checks, 11% returned mileage discrepancies.

Another study, that examined a random sample of 64,742 vehicles displaying at least two mileage readings on the National Mileage Register (NMR) – where at least one entry was added in the last 12 months – found that 11% of these vehicles had a discrepancy.

That study also examined another random sample of 13,026 imported vehicles using the same criteria. It found that imported vehicles were significantly more likely to have been clocked, with 18% of the imported cars assessed having a discrepancy.

These results represent an increase in the overall numbers of domestic and imported vehicles recording a mileage discrepancy since the introduction of legislation criminalising the practice in 2014.

Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs at AA Ireland, warned prospective second-hand car buyers to be cautious.

‘Clocking is a very serious issue and something that anyone looking at purchasing a second-hand car, whether in Ireland or from the UK, needs to watch out for.

‘For example, our AA Rescue team regularly encounters car breakdowns which can be directly connected back to mileage discrepancies,’ he said.

‘If a car has been clocked it’s highly likely it also has a questionable service history. For example, a motorist could think their car isn’t due a service for another few months, but then suddenly find their timing belt has snapped.

‘Repairing damage associated with car clocking can be very expensive and it’s also more likely that someone who owns a clocked car will experience a breakdown.’

John Byrne, legal and public relations manager at Cartell.ie, which provides data searches and history checks to its customers, said the results were ‘alarming’.

‘We wanted to get a clear picture of the extent of “clocking” in Ireland, both with respect to domestic vehicles and imports.

‘Based on an overall study of more than 120,000 vehicles these results are very concerning. On the Irish side we are painting a picture worse than the Government did when they conducted their own research in 2013. They returned a rate of 9.8%,’ he said.

‘More worrying still is the situation with respect to imports – at 18.43% this rate is alarming.

‘We would encourage anyone who is importing a vehicle to conduct a vehicle history check before buying, and take your time with respect to the purchase of any

Cross-checking mileage of cars

new vehicle.’

The odometer of all cars is read when it is put through the NCT. Because of anecdotal evidence from consumers and industry experts about clocking, it was decided by the Department of Transport in 2013 to begin crosschecking the mileage of cars which had already been through the NCT process to establish how common the practice was.

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