Mar 09
W5 & the APA go after real safety issues while Transport Canada fiddles with bumpers?
Last Saturday March 8th, W5 and the APA teamed up to expose the ugly side of the Canadian used car business. The show was titled “a bad road trip” and they examined the legitimacy and safety of cars being sold to hard working unsuspecting Canadians. Cars that have been written off in accidents, completely totaled, were being rebuilt and sold to Canadian families as safe vehicles!
- (Note: remember Transport Canada is in charge of safety! - Protecting Canadians with stricter laws than the U.S. on Anti-theft devices, bumpers, stickers to protect you and make sure you know you are driving in Kilometers. They also decide that Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems will not save lives or protect the environment nor should they ban the use of the types of Vans that were involved in the Bathhurst accident - like the US has done!…. anyway we digress a bit)
Some of the numbers were stunning. With only four of 18 used-car dealers passing, Toronto had a shocking 78 per cent failure rate. Vancouver received a 55 per cent failure rate, with ten of 18 used-car dealers not making the grade.
Seventy per cent of all vehicles sold are used. That translates into nearly four million used cars sold last year in Canada.
If you missed it you can catch it now at the W5 site - on the right of the article under the title “a bad road trip” we also saved the report for you
So in conclusion are Transport Canada’s thousands of civil servants, contractors and lobbyists really working the right issues? Is it better for Transport Canada to spend all it’s time colluding with the Canadian Car manufacturers to prevent Canadians from purchasing new cars in the U.S. at substantial $$$$ savings. Forcing them to settle for less, possibly a used-car.
Maybe they should be busy enacting laws and auditing the used-car business in Canada. That is where we can really save lives. Heaven help the family that purchases a re-built “totaled” car, thinking it is completely safe and up to Transport Canada’s strict safety standards and has a serious accident! In the meantime maybe we can just adopt the New York State Safety Laws. If they are good enough for New Yorker’s they should be good enough for Canadians!
Are you fed up with Transport Canada, send a letter to your MP, Cannon, or other top civil servants.
March 9th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Should not our Safety Minister Mr. Stockwell Day be involved in some of these situations.
I realize that Our Mr Harper keeps a tight rein and muzzle on his ministers, however, this is ridiculous.
Where is everyone?
Question: Have they run out of Stock?
March 9th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Good job APA - we need to expose more of the dark side of this whole industry and at the same time show off the stars of this industry. Let’s protect consumers - pocket books and safety.
March 9th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Hey TC! Why not provide “history reports” to all Canadians free of charge?
March 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Another idea would be ALL cars require a out of province type of safety EVERY time they are sold (done ONLY at shops registered by GOVT)
March 11th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Since some people do not do their history homework when
shopping for a used car, make a history report and
safety inspection mandatory for registration. Too much
government interference already but at least these
two requirements would save a lot of trouble.