The AA has released shocking findings that show that 18.5 per cent of second hand cars imported into Ireland from the UK have had their mileage doctored. AA believes that the practice, called clocking, has got much worse in recent years. The analysis is based on a survey of 3,000 registration numbers and vehicle records for cars imported from the UK in 2008.

UK and Northern Ireland used car imports have seen something of a boom with almost 60,000 being brought in last year. While that figure is expected to be lower in 2008, the most recent Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures to the end of September show that over 47,000 secondhand private cars have been imported this year.

From the AA analysis it now emerges that almost 1 in 5 of those cars has a false mileage. There are clocked cars locally as well of course. If the UK figures for clocking were transposed to the Irish fleet then the number of vehicles on false mileages could be as high as 200,000. To combat this, the AA is one of the main driving forces behind establishing the Irish National Mileage Register. This is critical to protect the consumer.

The AA can check mileages on UK imports because only it can access the British National Mileage Register (NMR) which contains 125 million odometer readings. When a consumer inputs the current mileage of the vehicle onto AA Car Data Check it is compared and cross-referenced with those records. The NMR was established in 1997 and is used as a tool to protect both public and trade in the UK.

"There is now clear evidence that unscrupulous dealers and middlemen are using Ireland as a dumping ground," according to Conor Faughnan of the AA. "This is likely to be simply because up to now they were sure they could get away with it."

"Until now AA Ireland's Car Data Check service (www.aaireland.ie/car-data-check) will show information on any car with an Irish registration – whether it used to be British or not. Hopefully, this will slam the door on bad cars being brought in here."

Ironically, modern cars are easier to 'clock' than in the past. It is now becoming a scourge. Overall estimates in the UK show that as many as 9 per cent of all cars may be clocked. It is clearly a serious concern that the clocking rates for imports into Ireland are twice that found in the UK itself.

The message from the AA analysis is one of caution for used car buyers in the UK. There are many stories of value and high specification, but these pale into insignificance when you consider the high level of 'clocking' of used cars imported into Ireland. Knowing the source of your used car is not just a value issue, it's a safety issue, your safety and that of your passengers!

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