Unlicensed Dismantlers / Stolen Cars / General Misery
 

I follow lots of social groups - Audi ones, generic car ones, and stolen car ones.


There is a clear trend at the moment that dozens of cars daily are disappearing daily, or mostly, nightly. Burglaries, taken to order. Violent daylight car jackings, keyless entry thefts. Audis and Fords seem popular at the moment.


Every time I see a car 'breaking for spares' I cringe. Where did those parts come from ? Whos' pride and joy now lies in pieces for the sake of a quick few hundred quid.


Any person that buys a car with the explicit intention of dismantling it, is committing a trade operation. This is very different to an individual who's personal car has broken and is beyond economical repair, and decides to dismantle it to recoup some of costs, usually at a loss overall.


Any trade dismantling operation needs to have the consent of both the local council, and far more importantly, the Environment agency.


This is summarised very nicely in a permit which allows a business to operate legally as an 'Authorised Treatment Facility' for 'End of Life Vehicles'.


The vehicles that pass into here are dismantled only after thorough and correct depollution and the hazardous waste is then passed off to suitable handling facilities.


So, if you're buying cheap used car parts for cash you could be :

• Encouraging Car theft
• Increasing Environment pollution
• Condoning personal injury - Of those resisting carjackings and robberies
• Fuelling increasing in car insurance premiums
• Getting ripped off with parts that don't fit, wont work and can't return
• Leading the criminals straight back to your home address to take your car next

So please be vigilant. There is no such thing as used parts on the cheap. If you see a car being dismantled at home, on the garden, in an anonymous storage unit, stop and question where the parts came from, or the car came from, or what their environmental registration number is. Any genuine End Of Life vehicle dismantler will be happy to give you such information.




I am particularly pleased that Ebay is now taking the issue far more seriously:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e...hicle-breakers

https://www.mrw.co.uk/latest/ea-and-...035788.article



Please share this information far and wide, link to it, and start questioning part sellers - whether you're interested in their parts or not - for the details of their operation.



Here are some links for your further reading:

https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/...theft-campaign

https://www.facebook.com/notes/dalla...1692538758716/

https://environmentagency.blog.gov.u...tal-criminals/