More than 40 million used vehicles roll off car lots in America each year. And an unknown number of those cars sold to unsuspecting consumers are subject to manufacturer recalls that require repairs.
That means a used car that a buyer assumed was safe to drive may need to have a recalled Takata airbag or a faulty General Motors ignition switch replaced, among other potentially deadly defects.
It’s against the law to sell or lease new vehicles that are subject to recalls, but that law doesn’t apply to used cars. And investigations by news organizations in the last year have shown that in many cases, car sellers aren’t even warning buyers about the recalls, much less taking care of them.
The issue has prompted U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.) to reintroduce a bill first proposed in 2017 that would prohibit dealers from selling, leasing, or loaning vehicles to consumers unless all safety recalls have been addressed. The law would extend protections to all vehicles, new and used, which is a sensible and urgently needed reform.
Most consumers assume, falsely, that such regulations already exist. Many would not believe any car dealer would let a customer drive away, unwittingly, in a vehicle that is subject to a safety recall.
But many Americans have unknowingly purchased vehicles with potentially exploding airbags and other defects.
To help consumers check whether their vehicles are subject to a recall and whether the vehicle has received the necessary repairs related to that recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration created an online search tool that allows users to search by the unique 17-digit vehicle identification numbers, or VIN. The search tool identifies whether a vehicle is subject to a recall and whether it has been repaired.
The pending Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act is supported on both sides of the aisle, as well as by consumer groups, including Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, the Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Federation of America, and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
Congress should move swiftly to approve it, and President Trump should sign the bill. Until it becomes law, countless American consumers will be in danger from unknown, unrepaired vehicle-safety issues.
First Published October 25, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
