Oct. 17, 2019—One of every nine vehicles sold by one auto retailer has an unresolved recall, reports Vox.
The story cites a new survey from U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Foundation. It found that out of 2,429 vehicles sold by AutoNation, 285 open recalls existed. The survey covered 12 states and 28 dealerships, according to the story.
Federal law prevents the sale of new vehicles with unresolved recalls, but the same isn't true for used vehicles. AutoNation's former CEO pledged in 2015 to not sell vehicles with open recalls, but the company has since reneged on that commitment, Vox reports. One estimate was that the multitude of new recalls kept 15 percent of their inventory off the sales floor at any given time.
The underlying practice of selling used cars with open recalls likely isn't reserved for AutoNation. If a customer pulls up in a vehicle they recently bought, it could be a helpful tip to run their VIN number through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database.
