Covid may have struck four years ago but car dealers and buyers are being warned of a worrying side effect: cars registered at the time whose equipment level didn’t match their official specification and are now entering the used car market, often undetected and incorrectly priced.
Called ‘Covid cars’, these vehicles are victims of the global parts shortage caused by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Semiconductors, the brains behind everything from heated seats to wireless phone chargers, were the hardest parts to get hold of as phone, games console and computer manufacturers rushed to satisfy the surge in demand for their products from people confined to their homes.
Faced with the possibility of limited supplies or even none at all, some car makers deleted many of the features that depended on semiconductors.
As a result, a significant proportion of new cars delivered in 2022 were missing features from their specification, including wireless phone chargers, infotainment screens, headup displays, sat-navs, mood lighting and electric seat adjustment.
Industry experts at the time warned of the risk of such cars entering the used car market within two years. Their prediction has proved correct, with one leading trade organisation observing that as the cars have started arriving in volume, used market dealers and traders are finding they are missing key items present on the official spec sheets.
“These can include heated seats, head-up displays, electric door mirrors, electric seats and duplicate keys,” said Marcus Blakemore of the Vehicle Remarketing Association, which has set up two working parties to investigate the issue. “Some cars were even built with analogue instrument clusters and clocks and fitted with smaller wheels,” he said.
“We’ve had conversations with franchise dealers who have looked at their databases and insisted that models with certain specifications just can’t exist, when we’ve had the car in front of us.”
A lack of manufacturer data on the cars is making it hard for the motor trade to value the vehicles accurately, according to Blakemore. He said: “If even car makers don’t know what they were sending out, it makes the trade’s job very difficult.”
However, valuation guides insist data is available, at least for some of the cars. Dylan Setterfield, head of forecast strategy at Cap HPI, said: “Our new vehicle data team was being asked questions every day by manufacturers about creating IDs with revised or reduced specifications.
“On each occasion, a decision was made as to whether the requested change would be likely to have an impact on the valuation of the vehicle and, in these cases, new IDs were created. However, for some vehicles that were only available for a short period of time, it appears that manufacturers may not have kept detailed records regarding how all cars were decontented.
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So, the shortage of semiconductors forced some car manufacturors to sell their cars without sat navs and actual infortainment screens! I take it they ripped out the screens and then sold the cars as seen? What a poorly written piece of fiction
What a load of nonsense. These 'missing' parts will be treated no differently from adding optional extras to a new car. Stick a £1700 sunroof on your new car and it adds £100 at most on the used market. Many safety systems such as rear airbags which cost hundreds as an option add nothing to the used value. Go to any online valuation site and you'll find none of them want to know about £1000 upgraded hifi systems etc. Adding a £600 digital instument cluster will not affect the used price in the slightlest.
Remember, a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what any 'expert' says it's worth.
I can see this being used as an excuse by the buyer... the cheap suited car salesman taking in a sharp breath when you ask him how much the car is worth, " You'll have a problem selling that car sir", but when they selling it on, their asking price will be no different from a car that doesn't have parking sensors or whatever.
So the lack of global semiconductors forced some manufacturers to fit smaller wheels.... ? Sounds like a very dubious article for self promotion