Plans announced for system to give buyers access to a vehicle's history
In response to the problem of clocking - reducing a car's recorded mileage to increase its value - car dealers are set to launch a project that will crack down on the sale of clocked cars.
The motor industry is developing a service in conjunction with Experian, a British credit reference agency that is expected to be in operation next year.
Due to be piloted by dealers early in the new year, it will allow motor traders access an on-line system that will provide them with information needed to accurately assess a used car.
Details such as outstanding finance, whether the vehicle has been stolen or written off and its current market value will be generated.
Additionally, data will be compared to the Revenue-On-Line's own used car price calculator.
Eventually, users will also be able to identify if a vehicle's registration number and VIN number match and whether the vehicle is an import or an original Irish car.
In addition, the service will allow dealers to cross-check the vehicle's mileage probably with that recorded at its last NCT as well as via service history records from dealers. It is planned that access to the on-line system will be made available to members of the public looking to check the details of a used car before they purchase it.
The project will be a replica of a system run by HPI in Britain where, for a minimal fee, motorists can check the full history of a used car, including mileage discrepancies, before parting with their cash.
Although the project will not stop clocking, it will make it much harder for criminals to sell on clocked vehicles.
Adjusting a car's odometer is not illegal, but selling that vehicle knowing that it has a false mileage reading is.
Currently in Ireland there is no national database of vehicle mileage. Although the National Car Test service does record mileage at every test, it will not share that information with any third party, including a dealer or private buyer.
"Mileage is recorded for our own use, it is not a requirement for us to share that information and if somebody asked for it, no, we wouldn't share it," said a spokesperson for SGS, the parent company of NCT.
"We would have to be instructed by the Department (of transport) before we would do that."
Currently, a review of the NCT is underway and a report will be published in January that may contain recommendations relating to information sharing.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport, confirmed that the Minister of State, Ivor Callely, is looking at the possibility of requiring the NCT to share its mileage information. However, it could not be confirmed if this would be one of the NCT report's recommendations.
Unlike in many European countries, there is also no way for Irish dealers or car buyers to cross-reference a car's details with a database to check whether it has been stolen, has outstanding finance, been in a serious accident or has had its mileage altered.
Although much of this information is held by individual companies, such as insurance companies and finance houses, it is not yet possible to have access to it.