Georgia Injury Law Blog
People who buy used cars in Atlanta may be at risk of a car accident when they purchase recalled cars, but have not been informed of the recall.Loopholes in federal policies allow used-car dealers to sell recalled cars without making buyers aware of this information.In fact, federal policies are so lax that they don’t even require automobile manufacturers to inform used-car dealers about a recall.Manufacturers are only required to inform their franchise dealers about recalled vehicles.
Besides, even if used-car dealers and franchise dealers are made aware of any recall information, they are not required to fix these cars before they’re sold.As a car accident lawyer, the Government Accountability Office report which indicates the serious dangers facing people who unknowingly buy defective used cars is a call to action.
What should be even more shocking to Atlanta buyers is that these car dealers are not even required to inform consumers about the recall before these cars are sold.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does not even have the authority to order dealers to make repairs to the recalled cars, or inform consumers about the recalls before they sell the cars.
In this entire mess, it is buyers of used cars who suffer.With the number of auto recalls that are announced in the United States every year, it’s not possible for a buyer to be aware of each and every recall bulletin.Such people may go ahead and buy a used car unaware that it has been included in a recall list for a potentially serious safety issue.These people may go ahead and buy the car, without getting it fixed, and without any idea of the safety hazards they face.
The Government Accountability Office minces no words when it outlines the clear dangers to consumers who buy these vehicles.According to the report, this is a serious risk to millions of people who buy used, and possibly defective, cars every year.The used-car business is a huge industry in the United States.In the year 2009 alone, an estimated 35 million cars were sold in the country, and of these, 11 million were bought at used-car dealers.
Dealers of used cars say that they do not have access to the kind of information they need to make consumers aware of a recall.For example, there is no database that they can check against to make sure that the vehicle has not been included in the recall.According to them, if there was a single database that they could go through using the Vehicle Identification Number, then they could find out if a particular model is slated for recall-related repairs.
The National Automobile Dealers Association is putting the onus for getting information about recalled vehicles on used-car dealers.According to the group, used-car dealers should check with the franchise dealers to see if all recall-related repairs have been made.This is a cumbersome process that is not likely to be popular in the industry.