Don’t get caught out by outstanding finance warns HPI
As Trading Standards take tougher action on dealers who fall foul www.hpicheck.com HPI is urging used car dealers to make vehicle history checks standard on all stock, regardless of the vehicle’s age, after a Trading Standards investigation led to a trader from Wales being successfully prosecuted for unwittingly selling on a car with outstanding finance against it. With as many as 1 in 4 cars hitting the HPI outstanding finance register, the risk to dealers of damaging their reputation and facing judicial punishment is painfully high. Although the dealer is known to regularly conduct HPI Checks, he admitted that he didn’t on all stock, particularly older vehicles, as was the case of the 55-reg Citroen C3 he sold on. This mistake cost him and his two colleagues involved a total of £1,700 in fines, legal costs and victim surcharges, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Neil Hodson, Deputy Managing Director for cap hpi, explains, “We’re often hearing about dealers being found guilty in a court of law for selling on clocked cars, be that intentionally or otherwise, but this case concerns outstanding finance which is actually rather rare. Dealers should treat this recent prosecution as a stark warning, given a quarter of cars checked with us are on outstanding finance.”
Supercars can make a super investment
The latest figures from cap reveal that the supercar market could offer a sound return on investment if buyers choose the right make and model. Overall, supercar and some sports car used values have remained level in a depreciating marketplace, but some vehicles are enjoying strong appreciation. Philip Nothard, cap consumer and retail editor, explains, “A savvy buyer would have earnt £18,500 buying a Mercedes Benz SLS in 2014 and selling it a year later with 10,000 miles on the clock. “For buyers looking for a comparable investment today, they should consider the 65 plate Ferrari 488 GTB Coupe, which cost £182,809 from new but in just six months amassing 5,000 miles it would retail at £215,500 – this is an increase of 17.8% or the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Coupe, which has increased by almost £5,000 in six months from £100,055 to £104,750. “The supercar market is very niche, with a limited number of models available to choose. However, with some proper research, buyers can benefit from the buoyant market. It’s all about finding the right car, and those that are most sought after, bring the greatest returns. Another excellent example is a six month old Porsche Cayman Coupe 3.8 GT4 with a mileage of 5,000, which has appreciated by 38.4% from £64,451 to £89,250 proving that investing in these cars can be a lucrative option.” Philip Nothard concludes, “The key elements of a good supercar buy are model, mileage and plates. For this reason, beware of clocked vehicles, as a lower mileage will get a better price, so dodgy sellers may be tempted to drop the mileage and duping buyers into paying over the odds.” Image credit: Magiccarpics.co.uk
The 10 strangest motoring stories of 2015
People are strange, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the wonderful world of motoring, where people do some truly bizarre things. To prove it, we’ve had a look at some of the weird and wonderful pursuits that people have got up to in 2015. Scrapheap challenge At the start of the year a man created his own Pagani Zonda – from an old Ford Granada and a load of scrap parts. Nick Truman started by buying a scrap Jaguar engine to turn into a coffee table, but somehow created a fake Italian supercar instead. By the time he’d finished Truman had spent £15,000 on the project – including four engines and two gearboxes. We don’t think Pagani has much to fear from the competition just yet… Full Story Slim gym Modern life is busy and sometimes fitting it all in just isn’t possible. So what if you could combine the time that you’re driving with your sessions at the gym? No problem, because Nissan came up with a solution – its Gym button. By pressing this all assistance systems were switched off so you’d have to put more effort into your driving – steering, braking, windows and even changing gear. By using this technology Nissan reckoned you could burn an extra 1,415 calories per week – except the whole thing was an April fool, which was rather a shame. Full Story No $%&! The land speed record for buses was raised to almost 77mph in May, by a bus powered by cow manure. Run by Reading buses and with its usual speed limiter removed, the bus was painted supposedly to look like a Friesan cow, although we’d say it’s not all that hard to spot the difference. Full Story Line ‘em up Bristol City Council started painting yellow lines all over its roads in May, supposedly to deter selfish parkers. But many of these lines were less than a metre long – not even the width (never mind the length) of a Smart car. Unsurprisingly, Bristol residents aren’t happy with the waste of their money; maybe city mayor George Ferguson should be given lines as a punishment. Full Story Wood you believe it? In August, gardener Kevin Nicks revealed that he’s been toiling away in his shed to create – the world’s fastest shed. By converting his Volkswagen Passat into a timber-clad garden building he claimed the record with a 70.8mph top speed, beating the previous figure of 58.4mph. Full Story Put that in your pipe… When an elderly man drove his car into a lake in August, he did what any self-respecting Brit would do – relaxed and enjoyed smoking his pipe. While the emergency services extricated the man from his Ford Focus in the lake in Warwickshire, he chatted calmly, wondering what all the fuss was about. Full Story Paper view Lexus revealed its ‘origami car’ in October – an IS made of precision-cut cardboard. Built by production line staff, the car featured working lights, doors and wheels, while it could even be driven thanks to the fitment of an electric motor. We suspect the car is likely to be impervious to rust but we’re not sure how well it would stand up to being left out in the rain. Full Story Brushing up A carwash manager ended up getting taken to the cleaner’s when he got caught up in one of the automatic brushes while sorting out his hose. Failing to look where he’s going, the poor fella backs into the spinning brush then gets spun around as he battles to free himself. Still, it all came out in the wash. Full Story Turning the tables Australian police were not amused when nine men navigated their way through Perth traffic on a pair of motorised picnic tables. Each of the tables was capable of carrying six people, but with no licences or insurance and with none of the men wearing protective clothing, the police didn’t see the funny side – although pretty much everybody else did. Full Story Keep on trucking With the average mobility scooter packing barely enough power to pull along its own weight, converting one into an articulated lorry may not seem like a good idea. But that’s exactly what Lincoln-based Barrie Hall did when he turned his mobility scooter into a scale replica of the Coca Cola lorry, to raise cash for charity. The stunt comes hot on the heels of a project in 2014 that saw him turn his scooter into a sleigh, complete with reindeer. Full Story Richard Dredge December 2015
Used Car Scams
Buying a used car can be stressful enough, without having to worry about whether or not the vendor is trying to rip you off. Unfortunately there’s a high chance of this, as one in every three HPI checks flags up some sort of problem. It could be that the car is subject to outstanding finance, it may have been clocked or it could have been involved in an insurance claim at some point. Alternatively it could be stolen, or there’s an array of other ways you could get caught out – so here’s how to protect yourself.
Reputational risk a clocking conundrum for dealers
HPI urges dealers to protect themselves from the risks Over 70% of dealers surveyed by HPI, the automotive technology solutions provider, are concerned about damaging their reputation by inadvertently selling on a clocked vehicle. With 1 in 20 cars checked with HPI recorded as having a discrepant mileage, dealers are right to be fearful of clocked cars. Also high on the list of concerns is the safety risks dealers expose customers to by selling on a clocked car. Interestingly, the threat of a judicial sentence is a relatively low concern by comparison, despite the fact that selling on a vehicle that has a wrong mileage reading would be a ‘false trade description’ and therefore could constitute a criminal offence. A false trade description or a failure to comply with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, is a breach of the law.
Used car buyers set to benefit from the new Consumer Rights Act
HPI urges consumers to be aware of their ‘early right to reject’ www.hpicheck.com On 1st October 2015, some of the biggest changes ever in consumer law will take place and, HPI, provider of the HPI Check®, is urging used car buyers to be aware of their new rights. The Sale of Goods Act is set to be replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This crucially allows consumers to ask for a full refund in the first 30 days of buying any product that subsequently turns out to be faulty – including cars. Known as the ‘early right to reject’, this new legislation replaces the previous rule, which said retailers only need to repair or replace a faulty item or part.
How To Tell If A Car Is Stolen
Expert advice on how to spot if a car is stolen. Last year, fewer cars were stolen in the UK than at any time in the last half a century. But there were still almost 70,000 cars separated illegally from their owners, some of which will have been broken for parts or shipped overseas. A large proportion of these stolen cars will have been sold on to unsuspecting buyers – all of whom were likely to be left massively out of pocket. That’s because if you buy a stolen car, it belongs to the insurance company that paid out for it when it was pinched. So fail to do your homework and you’ll end up losing your car as well as your money.
USED CAR BUYERS UNAWARE OF THE RISKS OF OUTSTANDING FINANCE
USED CAR BUYERS UNAWARE OF THE RISKS OF OUTSTANDING FINANCE Our recent survey reveals 42% of used car buyers are unaware of the risks of outstanding finance. Our latest survey reveals that a staggering 42% of used car buyers don’t know who legally owns a car that has finance owing on it. The truth is that a vehicle with outstanding finance belongs to the finance house, which has the legal right to repossess that vehicle at anytime, without warning; 1 in 4 cars checked by HPI are subject to outstanding finance. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed (23%) assumed the car belongs to the person named on the vehicle’s Log Book, highlighting the extent of misconception amongst consumers. The good news for consumers buying from a dealer is, that if they later discover the vehicle is on finance and repossessed, they will be protected by Innocent Purchaser Protection (IPP) and will be able to get back their money and buy another car.
Trusting Sellers: What profession would you most trust buying a car from?
VICARS SELLING USED CARS ARE CONSIDERED ‘DIVINE INTERVENTION’ BY PRIVATE BUYERS Our recent survey reveals 1 in 4 car buyers would most trust a vicar when buying a used vehicle. When asked what profession a used car buyer would most trust buying from when looking for a used car in the private market, one in four buyers said they would most trust a vicar. Surprisingly, only 19% voted a motor mechanic the most trustworthy person to buy a used car from, however, this was the second most trusted profession.
Turning Back Time on Clocking
The end of October marks the end of British Summer Time and, as we turn the clocks back, we want to remind you used car buyers to watch out for unscrupulous sellers turning the clocks back on their mileage readings. Known as ‘clocking’, this not only adds significant value to a vehicle, but it could lead to higher maintenance costs, as the vehicle might have more wear and tear than the buyer realises.