Product category:
General insurance
News Release from: Experian | Subject: Car insurance
Edited by the Insidemoneytalk Editorial
Team on 07 April 2008
Dealers' reputations at risk due to
absent information, warns Experian
Nearly a third of the population would seriously consider never going back to a used car dealer
if they discovered that certain information relating to the history of the car they had bought had not been revealed, even if this history did not affect the value or the safety of the car A recent survey by Experian, the global information services company, found that nearly half the population (46 per cent) would want to know whether a used car had ever been stolen and recovered in its history, even if there had been no damage to it, and 30 per cent would seriously reconsider ever going back to the dealer in question if they found out at a later date
This article was originally published on Insidemoneytalk on 29 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Could women be getting more than they bargained for with a used car?
Women could be putting themselves at more risk than men when it comes to buying a used car, according to Experian, the global information solutions company.
Insurance fraud seen as a serious crime by the public, but one in ten still likely to commit it
Nearly one in ten adults (eight per cent), admit to making fraudulent insurance claims, according to a recent consumer survey by Experian, the global information solutions company.
All major provenance service providers give dealers a range of information relating to the 'current' status of a used car.
This includes alerting dealers to vehicles that are registered as stolen.
However, if a vehicle that had been stolen was then recovered and returned to its owner, the evidence of it ever having been stolen is removed.
Further reading
Experian sees rise in ID fraud coincide with increase in organised cyber crime
Hotspots and likely victims revealed in new Victims of Fraud Dossier
Experian: Debt below ?15,000 not worth worrying about, say 6 million Brits
Consumer credit confidence at its highest for a year despite hefty interest rate rises
Autocheck celebrates its first successful year of protecting used car buyers
AutoCheck, a service launched by Experian, the global information solutions company, to help make the used car market a safer environment for consumers, celebrates its first birthday this month.
At present, Experian is the only major provider of vehicle status checks that highlights cars that have previously been stolen and recovered, with its recently launched AutoCheck Timeline.
Other service providers do not include this information, because it does not affect the value or the safety of the car once it has been recovered and so is not considered a risk for the purchaser.
Kirk Fletcher, Managing Director of Experian's Automotive division, said: "The survey found that 43 per cent of the population expects a dealer to know whether a car had ever been stolen then recovered and with almost half the population wanting to have this information before making a decision, it is something dealers really do need to consider.
"It was particularly interesting to see that for 79 per cent of the population, the knowledge that a car had been stolen and recovered in the past would not completely deter them from buying it nor would they expect to pay less for a car that had previously been stolen (88 per cent).
"This is really important for dealers, because it suggests that while the presence of this information may have a small impact on a consumer's decision to actually buy the car, the lack of it, however, would have a far greater impact on the reputation of the dealer.
With the market being saturated with used cars and the Internet giving cautious spenders even greater choice, dealers can't afford to lose customers nor damage their reputations over a piece of information that can be supplied quite easily." AutoCheck Timeline lists all the events that have affected a vehicle from the moment it was registered in a clear and easy-to-view chronological timeline that can be presented to customers.
Experian's AutoCheck is also the only service at present to include other key information valuable to a used car buyer, such as the Environmental Report, which reveals the CO2 emission data on a used vehicle, as well as Vehicle Excise Duty payable over a period of either six or 12 months.Kirk concluded: "It's all about knowledge.
Consumers want all the information about a potential purchase to hand before making a decision to buy and the easier a used car dealer makes it for the customer, the greater chance they have of making a sale." The findings are based on a survey carried out by Experian of 1500 adults during March 2008.
• Experian: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Insidemoneytalk Home Page
