Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that (a) insurance write-offs and (b) other faults are clearly advertised when second-cars are marketed.

As set out in published guidance for vehicle buyers, second-hand vehicles are subject to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 where purchased from a dealer and must be ‘as described’, ‘of satisfactory quality’ and ‘fit for purpose’. Additionally, the sale of a vehicle which is not in a roadworthy condition is an offence per s.75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. These cover vehicles that have previously been written-off.

The Department encourages buyers to take steps to investigate the safety and history of a vehicle, for example by getting a private history check, checking the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) agree across the vehicle and that they match the VIN recorded in the logbook, and reviewing the vehicle’s MOT history for free on GOV.UK. Buyers may also wish to obtain an independent engineer’s check to confirm the condition of the vehicle.