Investigation Reveals Secret History Of Second-Hand Vehicles People Buying Online

It’s no longer a secret that used car dealers have an unwavering reputation for shady deals as well as for undesirable actions that will make you prefer you never had to deal with them. Although not all used cars are guilty of these dreaded sins, the majority are. Motorists need to be cautious when purchasing a used car as vehicle cover-up, including redesign, to buy a problematic vehicle.

According to a recent study, hundreds of thousands of used cars have been found to have a hidden issue in their history. A review of vehicles via a popular second-hand car website revealed over 16K vehicles have a secret problem, ranging from lethal write-offs to clocked odometers. 

Over hundreds of thousands of used cars have a secret problem, ranging from lethal write-offs to clocked odometers

Organized by MailOnline and This Is Money but carried out by Vcheck, most used vehicles are sold way over their real value and showcased as if nothing has ever happened to them. The broad analysis by Vcheck, a vehicle history checking company, claimed that over 4000 cars on sale on the website were obtained from salvage yards as write-offs. 

The vehicles’ names aren’t mentioned but were matched against their Vehicle Identification Number from salvage records. Presently, they’re emerging on the market as entirely clean examples, having passed checks against the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register.

The Anti-Fraud is supposed to outline cars that have previously been written off, but many vehicles tend to slip through the system due to an uncaptured database. Interestingly, Vcheck found hundreds of cases of cars have had their mileage altered.

An example of small runarounds like the Fiat 500 on sale was found with matching photos of the same car in a salvage yard, which sustained damage in a crash. Family vehicles, including Volkswagen Passat, Audi A4, and Vauxhall Mokka on a face value, appeared to have never had a bump or ding in their lifetime. Still, records proved they’ve been in sorry states after being declared insurance write-offs after collisions. 

None of the inspected vehicles had information hinged on Insurance write-offs in their adverts. They equally had no details in the description of the accident in history.

However, the investigation discovered that used vehicles being sold with secret histories are duping drivers out of millions of pounds yearly as buyers pay over the odds for motors with concealed histories. On the other hand, databases aren’t adequately updated, with several examples of salvaged vehicles appearing for sale.