Used Car Complaints Top Wrexham Trading Standards Table

The sale of second hand cars by motor dealers is the biggest single source of complaints from consumers in Wrexham with well over a hundred received last year from drivers about used cars.

Many of the complaints are about faults with vehicles including faulty gearboxes, persistent electrical faults, oil leaks and engine failure. Some of these have been exacerbated by repeated failures to fix faults or in some instances no remedy being offered at all by the selling dealer.

Other complaints are about misdescriptions. For example, some cars have turned out to have more owners than stated and other cars have been described as a much higher spec version that turned out to be the case, or advertised features have been missing.

Finance is also a significant source of consumer complaints with some purchasers finding out after purchase that they are also paying for additional warranties or other insurance products which they did not realise they were buying at the time.

This picture is not unique to Wrexham but is very similar across Wales and the rest of the UK with over 84,000 complaints nationally in 2012.

For this reason Consumer Affairs Minister Jo Swinson has this week announced that a commission is being set up to find the best possible solution to address the high level of second hand car complaints made by consumers. Members of the commission include the Trading Standards Institute, Citizens Advice, the AA, RAC, the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), Motor Codes and the Department for Innovation Business and Skills (BIS). This announcement has been timed to coincide with National Consumer Week which this year is focussing on the purchased of used cars.

Councillor David Griffiths said, “A car is often the second most expensive thing anyone will ever buy after a home with the average spend on a used car now being about £5000, yet by comparison there is often very little thought or care taken to ensure that the car someone is buying is safe, of satisfactory quality and correctly described. Finance can also be a minefield with long wordy documents and lots of figures that can make it hard to understand how much is being paid. It pays to take great care and give some thought to your purchase and to seek advice and expert help where needed. It could save an awful lot of trouble.”

Kevin Jones, Trading Standards Manager at Wrexham CBC said, “There are lots of things to think about and lots of things to check when you are considering purchasing a car but there is also a lot of help available. The Citizens Advice website contains comprehensive help at this website with advice on all aspects including mileage, outstanding finance, how to check the MOT history and whether the vehicle has previously been written off. Purchasers also need to take their time to read carefully any credit agreement. Make sure you know what all the figures mean and check exactly what you are paying for and how much in total you will pay in the end for your car. Take someone with you not only to look at the car but also to help check the finance. Purchasers may also want to think about and independent vehicle examination by one of the motoring organisations or an independent engineer. It does cost money but it could save a lot trouble later on.”

For more advice on keeping yourself safe and getting a food deal visit the Citizens Advice Website here.

If you are having problems with a used car you can get free advice from Citizens Advice Consumer Services on 08454 040506 (040505 for Welsh).

Trading Standards Wales are running a survey to collect information on the experiences of buyers of used cars. You can give your views at http://www.tradingstandardswales.org.uk/news/news-item.cfm/newsid/110