The Hidden Risks of Used Cars

To better understand how these problems play out in the real world, Consumer Reports had a team of secret shoppers look into purchasing used cars with known safety defects.

CR’s car safety experts picked the most serious defects they knew of: Takata airbags in 2001 and 2002 Honda Accords and Civics, such as the one Vargas-Ortega drove, as well as those in 2006 Ford Ranger pickup trucks.

Thirteen of the 16 known deaths in the U.S. linked to Takata airbags involved one of those vehicles.

NHTSA considers all those vehicles so dangerous that it warns drivers, “Do not drive these vehicles . . . unless you are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired.” Ford, in fact, says it will take affected 2006 Rangers to an authorized repair shop to be repaired free of charge.

Yet CR’s secret shoppers found these risky cars for sale at used-car dealers across the country—and few dealers warned them about the danger or offered to fix the car.

CR first identified every 2001 and 2002 Honda Civic and Accord, and 2006 Ford Ranger, listed on Autotrader and Cars.com, the nation’s two largest websites for listing used cars, in early 2019. (Cars.com is a business partner of CR.) Overall, we identified 826 such vehicles, most of which were for sale by independent dealers, not individuals or automaker-owned dealerships.

We then ran the vehicle identification number (VIN) for each car through a tool that checks to see whether a car still has an open recall. (The tool was developed by Carfax, a website that allows users to check repair records of vehicles.)

We found 102 vehicles, or 12.3 percent, with open Takata airbag recalls. Some had more than one recall, for both driver’s-side and passenger-side airbags. Certain cars and trucks had other safety defects, too. Overall, 119 vehicles, or 14.4 percent, had a total of 186 open recalls.

Autotrader and Cars.com, which list used cars but don’t sell them, include language on their sites encouraging users to check on a car’s recall status before purchasing it. Cars.com also offers a tool allowing prospective buyers to look for recalls by VIN.

When CR’s secret shoppers called dealers expressing interest in purchasing the listed vehicles, only four of those selling the Fords—and none of those selling the Hondas—volunteered information that the car was subject to recall or about the danger of the faulty airbag.

When our secret shoppers asked directly about the Takata recall, saying that they had heard about it on the news, the dealers’ responses varied, with some refusing to fix or even acknowledge the problem.

For example, a dealer at the Richmond Truck Authority in Richmond, Va., told our shopper that it couldn’t do the repair on the truck because it wasn’t a Ford dealer but that once the truck was sold, it would be done for the new owner free of charge. “I can’t even take it to them because being another dealer, they will charge me for it,” our shopper was told. “But you being the owner, they will do it for free.”

But under federal law, recall repairs are free to the legal owner of a vehicle, which includes used-car dealers. And Ford spokesperson Monique Brentley says that anyone, including independent dealers, can take any Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle to an authorized dealership for a recall repair at no charge.

When asked for an on-the-record comment, Richmond Truck Authority’s used-car sales manager, who didn’t give his full name, said it would be impractical to get all recalls repaired. And in any case, he said, “we are pretty short-staffed,” adding that he was the only one available to schedule and take a car to a franchised dealership for repair.

A spokesperson at the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association says the difficulty of getting repairs done is one reason the industry opposes laws requiring that used-car dealers repair open recalls.

But CR’s secret shoppers found that certain dealers were willing to make these repairs. For example, when one shopper asked about a 2002 Honda Accord at Rich’s Car Corner in Seattle, the dealer simply replied, “Yes, we can do the recall repair.”

Getting recalled cars repaired has long been recognized as a challenge, even for models as dangerous as the three CR looked at. That’s partly because the auto industry and its regulator, NHTSA, struggle to reach consumers, especially after a car has been resold.

Recall completion rates decline sharply as vehicles age. Vehicles that are 1 to 3 years old have average recall completion rates of 80 percent. For vehicles 6 to 10 years old, only 56 percent have the work performed.

Automakers have taken some steps to expand outreach, reportedly even using social media, sponsoring public service announcements at sports stadiums, and, in at least one case, hiring private detectives to track down vehicle owners.

Congress has also taken steps to improve recall rates by forbidding the sale of new or rental cars with open recalls. In 2015, consumer groups, including Consumer Reports, helped push for the passage of the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act. That law was named after two sisters, ages 20 and 24, who were killed in 2004 when their rented Chrysler PT Cruiser caught fire. That car had an open recall for a defective power-steering hose.

But the same protections don’t apply to used cars, despite calls from numerous advocacy and driver-safety groups. That doesn’t make sense, says Shahan at Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. She says older used cars with open recalls are the most difficult ones to get fixed.

Used-car dealers and their trade groups have opposed efforts to require dealers to fix cars with open recalls before selling them. In effect, they say, doing so “grounds” these cars, costing dealers business. It could hurt consumers, too, by reducing the value of a trade-in car by an average of $1,210, says Jared Allen at the NADA, citing an analysis his organization commissioned from J.D. Power.

Several states, spurred by industry-led lobbying campaigns, have tried to protect used-car dealers from lawsuits related to recalls. Last year, Tennessee enacted a law saying dealers were, in most cases, protected as long as they disclosed open recalls. Pennsylvania has a similar law. Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York reportedly also have similar measures under consideration.

Consumer advocates, however, say simply disclosing the problem isn’t good enough. “That puts the burden on the buyer to sort through what needs to be fixed right away and what could wait,” says Wallace, CR’s policy expert.

He says that dealers not only routinely repair cars before selling them but some also interact directly with carmakers about other problems.

Moreover, the carmakers will make all those repairs free of charge. “Removing the danger to consumers is worth any additional step they realistically might have to take,” Wallace says.

Honda also favors laws requiring that used cars be fixed before they’re sold, says company spokesperson Chris Martin. And though dealers are not required by law to make these repairs, many automakers have policies that forbid their own dealers from selling vehicles with open recalls. “We have advised our dealers that they should not sell any vehicle, new or used, from any brand, with an unrepaired safety recall,” Martin says.

Similarly, Ford has a used-car checklist for its dealers that allows them to check for open recalls and, if any are found, to fix them, says company spokesperson Brentley.

That, Wallace says, should be the standard for all used cars. Private individuals selling their personal cars shouldn’t be required to take that step, but they should check their car’s recall status and try to get problems fixed before selling the car.

And for commercial dealers, both franchised and independent, it should be mandatory.

Says Wallace: “If there’s an open defect, it has to be fixed, period.”