Clampdown on car clocking needed

Mileage fraud is undermining confidence in our second hand car market and consumers need more protection from cars that have been tampered with, according to EPP Group MEP Deirdre Clune. Speaking at a workshop on Mileage Fraud in the European Parliament this week, the Ireland South MEP and her EPP colleague Tomas Zdechausky called for immediate pan-European action on car clocking.

The MEP has described how mileage fraud in our second hand car market is costing us billions, impacting on safety and undermining the car market. "Following an initiative by Irish MP Anthony Lawlor in 2013, we have legislation in Ireland which makes it illegal to tamper with the mileage reading on second hand cars. Figures presented to me in the European Parliament show that second hand cars imported to Ireland from the UK are twice as likely as a second hand Irish car to have been clocked. According to cartell.ie, one in seven UK vehicles show mileage discrepancies. 

"Some member states, including Ireland have taken action on mileage fraud but in an internal single market, where second hand cars are easily traded across borders, it makes no sense not to tackle this issue on a pan European basis. We need binding EU wide legislation on car clocking to ensure that consumers have confidence to buy a second hand car knowing that it has not been tampered with.  We also need to establish an EU based statutory mileage database," continued Clune, a member of the Parliament's Transport Committee.

"Mileage "clocking" is costing European Consumers between €5.6 and €9.6 billion annually. Experts in the industry in Ireland claim that car clocking could be as high as 10 percent of all second hand cars.

"This is also a safety issue. Cars have scheduled maintenance based on their mileage. If the mileage is wrong - then the maintenance will be wrong, leading to a situation where brake pads may be worn, engines may not be correctly serviced, - all of which impacts on safety."