Car dealers’ poor advice puts people at risk

Car dealers could be putting customers’ safety at risk by giving them poor quality advice, reveals which.co.uk.

Undercover researchers posing as potential customers asked dealers three safety questions and found that just one in four answered all of them satisfactorily.

Dealers gave inconsistent advice when asked about carrying a six-month-old baby on the front-passenger seat. Fitting a rearward-facing child seat in front of an active airbag could result in injury or death.

Electronic stability control (ESC) can prevent drivers from losing control of a car, but dealers were often unclear about its benefits and whether it was fitted as standard.

‘Active’ head restraints can reduce whiplash, but many of the dealers did not know what they were and which cars had them.

which.co.uk says dealers’ advice must improve so that car buyers aren’t sold short on safety. It recommends that people check what safety features are available on their chosen model before they buy.

Malcolm Coles, Editor, which.co.uk, says: “Car safety may be streets ahead of where it was ten years ago, but too many important safety features are optional. As many shoppers have a very limited knowledge of what safety kit they need, getting good advice from a dealer is crucial.

“Our research shows it’s a lottery as to whether customers get the right information and that simply isn’t good enough. Dealerships must take more responsibility to ensure that their staff are trained to give proper advice.”