See all Motoring NewsFollowing analysis of nearly 6,000 vehicles offered for sale, Cartell.ie, the vehicle data expert, concludes that cars from certain registration years are more likely to be on sale with outstanding finance than they were a year ago.
The trend appears to affect younger cars the most. Finance is outstanding on 22.6 per cent of 2012 models on sale (up from 15.9 per cent last year), while 2011 cars have jumped from 18.5 per cent to 20 per cent.
Based on extensive data checks carried out by Cartell.ie, the proportion of vehicles offered for sale with finance outstanding is 10 per cent. Historically, the highest level recorded by the company is 16 per cent. The overall decrease is reflected in relative drops in finance levels for three-year old and four-year old vehicles.
Statistics indicate that buyers have a one-in-eight chance of purchasing a five-year-old vehicle with finance outstanding. The figures show that 11.7 per cent registered in 2008 are still on finance. Even older vehicles are regularly offered for sale with finance outstanding - 8.4 per cent of all 2007 registered vehicles offered for sale had outstanding finance against them.
Director Jeff Aherne, Director of Cartell.ie says: "Once again these results show the importance of checking for outstanding finance - just because a vehicle is older doesn't mean it's free of finance. Every day customers are getting caught buying an older car assuming the finance has been paid off."
Cartell.ie also revealed that the car manufacturer owned finance divisions are growing quickly. Between them, BMW Financial Services and Volkswagen Bank hold a combined 16 per cent of the automotive finance market in Ireland.
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