Excerpts from an Article by Terry Gray, chairman of Find-a-Part Ltd - Car Parts Search Specialists Since 1978. Full Article is available here, and you can check out the Green Footprint news feed here :
I have during my 40 years of working within the motor industry seen many legislation changes launched by those politicians we actually vote into office. Like many of the thousands of Professional Businesspeople I know who are engaged in the business of Decontaminating Vehicles and Providing Quality Recyled Auto Parts I often wonder if some of our so called leaders or their advisors have ever lived in the same world as us mere mortals.
$15,000 Fines, Huge anomolies and holes in the basic concepts, One Billion US Dollars and 50 Million US Dollars for "administration". When will politicians realise that the Professional Auto Recycling Industry is a Multi Million Dollar Industry with the potential to benefit the Environment. Replacing a worn out Engine in a so called clunker with a lower mileage, Tested, Guaranteed Recycled Engine would not sell more new Cars but would save CO2 by the bucketload.
My personal observation is that In their rush to bring in bills which are designed in part to "Move New Vehicles and help manufacturers" as well as "Attempt to help the Environment" virtually every Government in the world who has created a "Clunker or Scrappage Scheme" has missed some very simple facts of what happens out there in the real world.
The most obvious fact is that vehicles up to 25 years old and liable to be used as an "eligible trade-in vehicle" are also liable to have had many parts replaced, not least of which is likley to be the "Engine" In the UK there is a central vehicle registration Centre called the DVLA where every Vehicle in the UK has its registration plate Issued and by the rule of Law if a replacement engine is fitted then the DVLA is supposed to be informed.
In the real world however the majority of Garages, Replacement Engine Fitting Centres or DIY Motorists ignore this requirement. It follows therefore that a search on the VIN Number at the DVLA in the UK on a "Scrapped Vehicle" would result in a high chance of their being a mismatch on Vin and Engine Number Details.
In the USA each state has its own Vehicle Registration Centre and the combination of intertrading of vehicles state to state and a similar attitude to informing the relevant authoritie/s regarding Engine Number Changes a virtually nightmare of potential fines of $15000 could unfold especially on the Genuine Professional Auto Recycler.
This situation in the US especially could be caused by any circumstances by which the Engine of a Vehicle has been changed and that fact not known to the Vehicle Owner, missed by the Dealer only for the Genuine Recycler having removed it to discover it is in fact a replacement and mismatched to the VIN. In fact the problem may even expand itself outside of the ring of Vehicle Owner, Dealer and Recycler involved in a single Cash for A Clunker Transaction.
Imagine for example if the engine has been replaced and the original engine has years ago entered or subsequently enters the "Core and Reconditioning Market", what then happens to the unfortunate Genuine Auto Recycler entwined in an investigation.
