CENTREVILLE, Va. (Feb. 12, 2014) — Carfax Inc., the purveyor of vehicle history reports, claims online shoppers may have unknowingly purchased millions of used cars with unfixed recalls in 2013.
The company's annual research on the issue showed more than 3.5 million cars were listed for sale online with an open safety recall.
Texas, California, Missouri, Florida and Ohio led the nation with the most recalled cars for sale online last year. While every state has unfixed recalled cars for sale, nearly one-third of the total were in just those five states, according to the company.
"Open recalls are still a major public safety issue," said Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. "In fact, our research indicates that more than one in 10 used cars for sale online has an open recall.
"It's another reminder that consumers, especially those shopping online, need to know as much as possible about a used car before they buy. This includes if an open recall or other potentially dangerous issue exists. It helps make our roads safer for everyone."
VIN-specific open recall information is reported to Carfax directly from the auto manufacturers and is included on its Carfax Reports, the company said.
Carfax, which was acquired by IHS Inc. last year, said it maintains a vehicle history database comprising more than 12 billion vehicle records from more than 81,000 sources across North America.
