Motorists shopping for a new car in Nottinghamshire are being warned to be wary of buying online after more than 1,500 complaints in a year.
Nottinghamshire County Council says its trading standards officers get more reports about second-hand car sales than any other issue.
Officers have also noticed more and more of the complaints come from people who have bought vehicles they have seen for sale on social media sites such as Facebook, instead of established car trading websites or garages.
In total the council received 1,520 complaints about used car sales for the 12 months to March this year.
The most common complaints involved defects to cars, which made up nearly three quarters of the reports.
Next were misleading claims about cars sold, which make up one in 10 complaints. Bad service accounts for one in 20 calls.
A report to Parliament published in January and representing 22 local councils said the number of complaints about counterfeit or dodgy items sold on Facebook quadrupled in five years to 6,566 complaints in 2015.
Dodgy dealers: The most common complaints in Notts
• Traders denying buyers legal rights by posing as private sellers
• Failing to tell buyers about problems with the car or previous write-offs
• Misleading claims in adverts
• Poor service when rectifying faults such as sellers passing the buck to warranty firms
To avoid being conned, the council says buyers need to carefully research sellers, ask questions about documentation, check cars thoroughly and make sure any claims about a car are put in writing.
Councillor Glynn Gilfoyle, chair of the council’s community safety committee, said: “Every year hundreds of people fall victim to rogue sellers and end up buying a second hand car with a catalogue of problems they weren’t aware of.
“Many people are often unaware of their rights as a consumer when buying a second hand car, not knowing that any faults that appear within the first 30 days will mean the consumer is entitled to a refund, and a repair or replacement after that.”
More advice on buying second-hand cars is available from Citizens Advice.
