South Africa’s car industry is pushing for a national vehicle history database to track a car’s journey, from the assembly line to the scrapyard. This ‘cradle-to-grave’ system, they say, would improve transparency and safety for consumers.
Current information is fragmented, making it difficult to assess a car’s true condition. Existing tools like the Vin look-up have limitations.
Advocates propose a UK-style system with vehicle codes defining a car’s status (new, used, written-off, etc). This would prevent unsafe, previously written-off vehicles from re-entering the market.
Benefits include:
- Informed decisions for buyers
- Safer vehicles on the road
- Increased transparency in the industry
Write-off categories are also legislated for vehicles, for example:
- Code A cannot be repaired, and the entire vehicle needs to be crushed.
- Code B cannot be repaired. The body shell must be crushed, but you can salvage other parts.
- Code N, where the vehicle can be repaired following non-structural damage so you can use the vehicle again, provided it is repaired to a roadworthy condition.
The South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association said it believes this system is easy and cost-effective to implement, leveraging existing infrastructure.
The proposal will be discussed further with industry stakeholders during he coming months.
Source: Cathy Findley PR / Photos: Caxton photo library
