The head of Ontario dealer policing says that unless the seller was a neighbour or close family member, he wouldn't risk buying a car privately due to the high risk of curbsiders trying to sell vehicles of questionable history, and the lack of financial recompense if you don't buy from a registered car dealer.
"People shouldn't buy cars privately at all - there's no way you can check a full history of the car," said Carey Smith, director of investigations for the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.
Speaking days after a PR blitz launched by the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council about the dangers of unregistered car sellers posing as private individuals, especially online, the former Halton Region police officer suggested that he would only do it if he knew the complete history of the car. "If it was in my neighbour's driveway the entire time, that'd be one thing, but otherwise, I'd have to say no."
This may not come as a huge shock considering that half of his time is spent sniffing out and charging curbsiders, while the other half is devoted to cracking down on dealers acting in contradiction of the MVDA 2002 legislation. It was updated on Jan. 1 to include new consumer protection clauses, such as the clear display of "all-in" pricing in car ads and on the windshield, as well as the legal need to disclose any major prior damage, and the right to cancel a contract within 90 days if this disclosure is not provided.
The act was a sweeping piece of legislation 12 years in the making - with consultations starting in 1998 - before it was passed in 2002 as part of a wide range of consumer protection reforms. That was followed by another six years of consultations and tweaks with various auto industry parties and interested groups. Finally, a 15-month changeover and education period was put in place before its terms came into effect at the start of this year.
Smith says that he is a fan of services that look up vehicle histories for prospective buyers, but that those services only provide information as good as the ones entered into various databases, which is "better than nothing." As for the Used Vehicle Information Package that all private sellers in Ontario are supposed to supply to prospective buyers, Smith says there can be holes in this information as well, such as with liens registered outside the province.
The group is highlighting the fact that buyers should look for the OMVIC sticker at their local new or used car dealer to make sure it offers access to the Ontario Motor Vehicle Compensation Fund - an industry fund paid for by dealer and vehicle fees on each car sale that provides up to $45,000 to settle issues between consumers and dealers. A website has been set up to educate buyers on the new law and their rights in disputes with dealers and manufacturers, at buywithconfidence.omvic.on.ca.
Sneak peak of customer cars on the line
BMW and Saab are both set to offer an up close and personal view of customers' own ordered cars on the production line, so that buyers can see their cars being built.
BMW announced last week that its custom-order program for the 2011 X3 compact crossover/SUV/SAV in the U.S. would allow it deliver buyers' custom-ordered vehicles quicker than when the X3 was produced in Austria by Magna Steyr - now that the X3 is being built at BMW's Spartanburg, S.C., plant.
Custom buyers would be able to watch their vehicle being built online, their VIN serving as sufficient identification for strategically placed video cameras to zoom in on the owner's vehicle. But the custom-ordering program BMW has launched in the U.S., dubbed CORE, is still not confirmed for Canada.
Saab has a similar though less ambitious plan, according to a recent British report in What Car? magazine, with digital cameras set to be installed next year to send or make available online photos of cars being built for its customers, with the possibility of expanding to live feeds in the future, according to Saab's global product manager Christopher McKinnon.
Google's driver-less car unveiled
Search giant Google recently unveiled a specially engineered Toyota Prius that could relieve the driver of such arduous tasks like, say, driving. Lasers and special servotronic motors could be employed to brake, steer and avoid objects and people when requested to do so by their "drivers."
The project was unveiled on Google's blog, which said that the specially modified robotic cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to get through traffic and unexpected obstacles, but always have an operator on board who can manually take control if needed.
"Our goal is to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use," wrote "Distinguished Software Engineer" Sebastian Thrun on the blog.
Chevy Volt revolt: EV or plug-in hybrid
GM's upcoming November launch of the Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. is being tainted by controversy by two well-known auto sites that claim that GM continues to falsely state that the Volt is an electric vehicle (EV), and that it is really just an advanced plug-in hybrid.
GM has long said that nothing but electricity would power the Volt's wheels, even when the car's plug-in electrons are exhausted and its on-board internal combustion engine powers the electric drive unit.
However, InsideLine.com claims that Chevrolet Volt vehicle line exec Doug Parks confirmed to The New York Times that there is, on occasion, a mechanical connection between the internal combustion engine and drive wheels.
Even that rare, high-speed only scenario makes the Volt not an EV, but a super plug-in hybrid, a view echoed on sites like Jalopnik. An online poll at widely read autoblog.com found more than half of more than 16,000 online responders (53.9 per cent) thought that GM lied about the Volt being a true EV, 11.3 per cent still considered it a true EV, and 34.9 per cent "didn't care, as long as GM engineers used the most efficient design."