Car scams reached new highs in the UK 

Dishonest sellers often try to pass you a car with all sorts of undeclared problems under the hood. Mat Watson, James Martin and the UBR team offer some tips on what to look out for and what to do when you end up buying a car with problems you didn’t expect.

COVID-caused supply-chain crisis brings used car market into focus

When the pandemic disrupted semiconductor shipments, carmakers were caught unawares. The world lost 11.3 million units of production in 2021 because of chip shortage, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

“Nearly all manufacturers of new cars have big supply problems, and new cars are just not coming through. That’s why the used car market has replaced the new car market to some degree”, James Martin, the founder of the YouTube channel JayEmm On Cars, explains.

However, the market of pre-owned cars is also finite. “Used car values of vehicles under 3 years of age have increased,” says Mat Watson, motor journalist. “Even those up to 10 years old cost more than they were a year ago. It’s a simple case of supply and demand.”

Why should UK buyers worry about getting scammed by used car salesmen? 

According to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, 9,484 reports on scams were submitted to the agency under the Online Shopping and Auction Fraud category in 2021 alone. The losses of buyers amounted to £22.5 million for that period.

Motorists can unknowingly buy cars that have suffered structural damage and were written off by an insurance company due to the cost of repairs outweighing the value of the car. Sellers often hide various issues or faults. Buying from a dealership is always a safer, albeit more expensive bet. 

“British drivers tend to trust dealerships more than private sellers despite higher prices, and sometimes are even ready to pay up to 30% more if a warranty is offered,” auto channel’s UBR’s Ignas Urbanovicius says.

Your mileage may vary​​ – “clocking” prevalent in the UK

Aurimas Urbanovicius of the same auto channel says that “mileage is one of the key factors considered by buyers of pre-owned vehicles in Britain. Cars with a mileage exceeding 100,000 miles are mostly regarded as worthless.” Another reason to roll back the odometer before the MOT check is the insurance premium.

Research suggests that there could be as many as 2.5 million clocked cars on UK roads costing drivers over £800 million a year. “7 out of 10 vehicles that we checked through car history platform carVertical had a clocked mileage reading,” the UBR Team said, referring to their experience of buying and selling cars in England.

Registering a car in the UK is easy for better – and worse

Another pitfall to watch out for when buying a pre-owned car is vehicle registration. “It’s dead easy to register a car in the UK when it changes hands,” says Mat Watson. In comparison, the process of registering a car in Germany is way more stringent. 

Lax vehicle registration rules in Britain may feel like a boon for customers, but is it always for the better? “Note the term registered keeper,” warns Watson. “This means you are responsible for the car in terms of tax, insurance, and fines. But it is not a sign of ownership.” Thus, you can end up buying a car that actually belongs to a finance company until any debt is repaid.

New car finance deals are so widespread that almost 90% of private new vehicles are bought under some form of finance. Selling a car with outstanding financing violates the Hire Purchase and Personal Contract Purchase agreements as you don’t technically own the vehicle.

Beneath the paint: damage to the car may be greater than it seems

Watson remembers buying a Porsche 996 and even paying a Porsche specialist to do a physical inspection before making the deal. “They failed to notice numerous issues which subsequently came to light,” Watson says, “such as the whole driver’s side has had a respray and the colour not quite matching. There was filler over the rear driver’s side, probably from the same incident. The ‘inspector’ also failed to spot that the synchromesh on the second gear was failing – something that was repaired under warranty. And thankfully, there was no key structural damage to the car. I got £500 back for the poor inspection after pursuing them through Visa, which was used to make the payment.”

With nearly 40 million vehicles on UK roads, accidents happen every day. Insurance companies operating under stringent algorithms always scrutinise damage done to crashed vehicles and calculate the costs of repairs.

There are currently four categories of car insurance write-offs to rank the severity of the damage, namely, A, B, S and N, with Category A being cars that should be scrapped and never returned to the road, and Category N (formerly D) vehicles only having cosmetic damage, problems with electrical circuits, the braking or steering system, and so on.

“The value of a car is negatively affected by the categories,” Aurimas Urbanovicius explains. “This is why people who salvage damaged cars to sell them off later tend to conceal those categories during a deal.”

Buyers may also be daunted by the related potential insurance costs. “A car that has been written off and subsequently repaired and put back on the road may be more expensive to insure,” Mat Watson says. Some providers even refuse to cover written-off cars at all.

You got scammed – what now? 

“Know your rights,” James Martin says. “You can get repairs done or even return a car if you have bought it from a dealer and it’s not to your satisfaction.”

If you unwittingly bought a clocked car, you shouldn’t sell it on, as this would be considered an offence. You should instead contact a local trading standards office and ask them for advice.

Dealerships should normally refund the purchase under the Consumer Rights Act. But if you took it off the hands of a private seller, the situation is muddier. In such cases, much of the responsibility falls on the buyer.

“There is always a greater risk when buying from a private seller than a business or registered trader,” Watson warns. “When buying privately, always do a history check and make sure you see the car at the address of the registered keeper on the V5C. When buying from a dealer, pay for at least part of it on a credit card as then you have extended consumer rights.”

If you happen to find out that the vehicle you bought is stolen, you should immediately contact the police, turn the car in and initiate a process of getting a refund from the seller, be it a dealership or a private person.