One in four Warwickshire garages found selling dangerous to drive cars - The Solihull Observer

One in four Warwickshire garages found selling dangerous to drive cars

Solihull Editorial 19th Feb, 2019 Updated: 19th Feb, 2019   0

ONE in four garages in Warwickshire were found to be selling cars which were dangerous during spot checks.

Warwickshire Trading Standards officers discovered faults with vehicles up for sale on forecourts at a quarter of the 16 garages they targeted across the county.

Faults included damaged brakes, illegal tyres, seatbelt mounting corrosion and steering and suspension faults.

And five of the 31 cars examined had so many faults they were immediately removed from sale.




All garage owners – selected from complaint data – received a warning from officers who also plan to take further enforcement action.

Buyer complaints about cars are the most common received by trading standards and have led to a number of prosecutions.


Last year a garage was fined and ordered to pay costs of over £9,000 after selling an unroadworthy vehicle it described as ‘in good condition’ and ‘drives very well without faults’.

Warwickshire County Council safety spokesman Andy Crump said: “While we are pleased that most of the garages visited are selling vehicles that are safe and roadworthy, it is a concern that any garage would attempt to sell a vehicle that was dangerous to drive.

“Car buyers, most of whom are unlikely to be vehicle experts, have to trust car dealers that the vehicles they sell are safe to drive.

“Warwickshire Trading Standards will continue to carry out these unannounced visits to protect used car buyers and help ensure that traders are only selling cars they know to be safe and legal.”

Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards for information and advice.

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website.

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Solihull Observer.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.