Clapped-out cars are being abandoned and burned by unscrupulous owners who, fearing their vehicles won't pass the new DOE test, report them stolen for insurance purposes, a Dublin city councillor has claimed.
Ms Catherine Byrne (FG) said several suburbs were becoming a dumping ground for "bangers" which would not pass the test. "Some unscrupulous owners are exploiting the chance of getting something back on them by either burning them out or paying somebody else to do it, and then claiming insurance on a `stolen' vehicle."
The Irish Insurance Federation said it had no evidence of such a trend. A spokesman pointed out that the car test had been in operation only since January 4th, and insurance companies always waited 28 days after a car was reported missing before moving to settle a claim.
"Even anecdotally, we haven't had any evidence of this."