Two-thirds of used car buyers concerned about undisclosed damage

Over two-thirds of used car buyers are concerned about hidden faults or undisclosed damage, according to a new United Kingdom survey completed by Cazoo Consumer Insight Panel. 

Hidden faults or undisclosed damage was the largest concern identified in the survey of 2,025 buyers, according to Cazoo. 

Overall, only around a third (35.5%) of used car buyers trust dealers and more than half expect friction as part of their buying experience, the survey found. Another 16.5% said they do not trust dealers and the remaining 48% are sitting on the fence. 

Other concerns buyers have include an unclear vehicle history (45%), being overcharged (41%), and pushy sales tactics (36%). 

Buyers said dealers could build trust by making a full vehicle history report available (61%), including independent vehicle inspections or warranties (42%), clear no-haggle pricing (42%), and verified customer reviews (40%). 

Thirty-two percent of buyers said they value dealer accreditation from a trade body and 18% value photographs or videos of dealerships. 

“Our latest Consumer Insight Panel identifies the role dealers can play in recognizing how trust can address the pain points experienced by many used car buyers,” Lucy Tugby, Cazoo chief marketing officer, says in the release. “Time and again we see how the best performing used car dealers are the ones with processes in place to ensure vehicles are described accurately and sold with independent inspections and warranties.”

Independent inspections of used vehicles is one suggestion the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives to consumers who are concerned their vehicles could have a counterfeit airbag. 

NHTSA identified an 11th death caused by a specific banned counterfeit airbag part in September. 

It is the first death involving one of the replacement airbag inflators installed in a Chevrolet Equinox, according to a NHTSA release. The previous 10 deaths and three serious injuries happened in Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata vehicles. 

Each deadly crash involved vehicles that had the original frontal driver airbag inflators replaced with a defective and likely illegally imported inflator marked with the identifier DTN60DB, the release states. 

Teena Bohi, an Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council (A2C2) board member, said during a Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in July that NHTSA’s investigation has uncovered how dangerous counterfeit parts find their way into vehicles. 

“Up until the point that a counterfeit product gets installed in the vehicle, everything about it is legal,” she added. 

The vehicles are typically fleet vehicles or self-insured vehicles that were at some point totaled, Bohi said. 

“The totaling of a vehicle isn’t a cut-and-dried process,” Bohi says. “The value is driven depending on whether it is self-insured, the state the vehicle was in, the insurer’s own practices, processes, and thresholds. There is a lot that goes into just determining if the vehicle is totaled.” 

Next, the vehicle often goes to an auction. If it is a public auction, an airbag deployment will possibly be reported to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). The system is a database meant to prevent the resale of stolen vehicles and track unsafe salvage cars. If the vehicle goes to a wholesale or private auction, the previous crash information is not always captured, she said. 

After the repair, vehicles are retitled, and the process can vary state to state, including the inspection process, Bohi says. Many don’t require airbag inspections.  

“There are a lot of gaps where attention could be focused that could help address these types of issues,” Bohi said.

 NHTSA “urges” owners of used vehicles that have previously been in a crash since 2020 to have their vehicles inspected. It also “urges” used vehicle owners and buyers to learn their vehicle’s history and ensure it has genuine airbag inflators. 

“If a vehicle has been in a previous crash where the air bag deployed, it should be inspected by a reputable mechanic immediately to ensure the air bag is a legitimate replacement equivalent to the original,” NHTSA says in the release. “Owners should not attempt to inspect their air bag themselves. If a vehicle is found to have a DTN60DB inflator, it should not be driven until the inflator is replaced with genuine parts.”

Technicians looking for guidance on identifying a DTN airbag can also refer to an NHTSA document. The document outlines the materials and design characteristics that can be used to indicate whether an airbag is a counterfeit. DTN airbags are also often marked with DTN60DB. Yet, it can be hard to identify DTN airbags when they’re still installed in a vehicle.  

Bohi said the council has reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to get clarification on those processes. 

“How do you safely handle these things, and what do you do if you get one? Because there are special permits to transport or get rid of these things if there is a counterfeit because we don’t know what’s in them. It’s an unknown explosive, potentially,” Bohi said. 

NHTSA’s technician guidance does offer warnings that strongly advise technicians not to electronically probe or electrify airbag connecting terminals because they can detonate and cause serious injury or death. 

Bud Center, I-CAR director of technical products and curriculum, previously told Repairer Driven News that electronic probes can be used to deploy a removed airbag. However, if a repairer believes an airbag is counterfeit, they should contact the vehicle’s OEM and ask for instructions. 

“You want to make sure you are not going to deploy something that is unsafe,” Center said. 

Center dives into the issue of counterfeit parts from the collision shop level in an I-CAR Repairers Realm series. 

Nearly all OEMs and many major aftermarket parts companies have people within their organizations who can answer questions concerning products, Bohi said. 

If an owner has a vehicle with one of these suspect inflators, they should contact their local Homeland Security Investigations office or FBI field office to report it or submit an online complaint to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.  

Owners should also contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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