We constantly deal with problems involving ‘clocked’ vehicles and their sale.
A vehicle may be bought and sold many times without anyone involved being aware the vehicle has been clocked even if you have carried out all the relevant checks with due diligence, and this can cause you the dealer all sorts of problems!
It is not against the law to sell a vehicle that has been clocked, or to clock the vehicle, but it is an offence to sell a vehicle without advising the buyer that the mileage has been altered. This could lead you into difficult waters with Trading Standards and a court claim for return of the vehicle.
Many campaigners against clocking believe that it leads to unsafe vehicles being on the road as there are problems with servicing intervals and such like and so now there are increasing pressures from many federations and businesses in the UK to ban mileage correction companies to circumvent these issues.
The EU is now looking to ban companies who deal in clocking vehicles due to these safety issues, however, it is not likely to happen until 2018. If these changes are implemented mileage correction companies could be closed down which should, in the future, make due diligence checks a lot easier as you will not have to delve around in all of the vehicles history. Until then however it is very important to be extra vigilant in such matters as we regularly come across these issues.
If you are not sure of a vehicle’s mileage history when you are selling it then it is always safer to disclaim the mileage and we recommend this is done on a sales invoice at the time of purchase, or using Lawgistics mileage disclaimer stickers.
Octane Finance is the broker of choice for new and used car dealers nationwide. With our uncompromising service levels and our genuine and professional approach, you and your customers can trust us to deliver.
