Author: Alex Buttle

Buckle up Londoners, there’s a new Motorway ad on the tube…

This week we are proud to announce we have launched our first tube ad across London’s underground train network.

The advert features a pink-haired passenger whizzing down the road as she enjoys the rush of comparing prices with Motorway. The ad explains how you might be smarter using Motorway when you sell your car – you could get up to £1,000 more.

We are running the ads London-wide for a couple of weeks this September across every underground line. Look out for them on your commute!

See the Motorway tube ad below:

And here it is spotted in the wild on the Bakerloo line:

• Sevenoaks is the UK’s worst railway station for vehicle thefts – 14 stolen between 1st April 2018 and 31st March 2019
• Commuter towns: ten worst stations for vehicle thefts are all within an hour of London
• St Albans Station: vehicle thefts have dropped 77% in the past 12 months 
• More than a third (39%) of thefts from stations were scooters, mopeds or motorbikes

The number of vehicles stolen from railway station car parks has almost trebled in five years, according to official British Transport Police data analysed by Motorway.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Motorway.co.uk, reveals that the number of vehicles (cars, scooters, mopeds and motorbikes) stolen from train station car parks has increased by 198% since 2014/15. 

The latest figures from the British Transport Police reveal that 414 vehicles were stolen from train station car parks between 1st April 2018 and 31st March 2019. This compares to just 139 thefts between 1st  April 2014 and 31st March 2015.

The most popular vehicle brands targeted by thieves were; Honda (67), Ford (47), Yamaha (46), Piaggio (32), Land Rover (18), Vespa (17), BMW (15), Range Rover (12) and Audi (11).  More than a third (39%) of vehicles stolen were scooters, mopeds or motorbikes. 

The figures also reveal that London commuter stations have the worst record for vehicle thefts. The top ten stations for thefts were all within an hour of the capital.

Sevenoaks is the worst UK train station for thefts, with 14 vehicles stolen from the car park between April 2018 and March 2019. Brighton recorded 10 thefts during the same period.

In the previous 12-months, St Albans City was officially the worst station, with 22 recorded vehicle thefts. But numbers have fallen dramatically in the past year, down by more than three-quarters (77%) according to the latest crime figures.

Network Rail owns and operates the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales including 20 of the largest stations. The other train stations, of which there are more than 2,500, are managed by the train operating companies.

The following table shows which UK train stations have recorded the highest number of vehicle thefts between the start of April 2018  and end of March 2019.

Railway station	County	Fastest Time/Distance to London	Number of thefts
Sevenoaks	Kent	32 mins/21 miles	14
Brighton	Sussex	52 mins/47 miles	10
Ebbsfleet International	Kent	18 mins/20 miles	8
Haslemere	Surrey	48 mins/39 miles	8
Godalming	Surrey	43 mins/31 miles	7
Hildenborough	Kent	27 mins/25 miles	7
Beaconsfield	Buckinghamshire	20 mins/22 miles	6
Cambridge	Cambridgeshire	47 mins/47 miles	5
Farnborough	Hampshire	34 mins/31 miles	5
Harlow Town	Essex	29 mins/20 miles	5

Alex Buttle, director of Motorway comments:

“These figures make depressing reading for commuters who split their journey into work across road and train. The rise in railways station thefts has been turbo-charged by the growth in popularity of scooters and mopeds, which are an easy target for thieves. 

“Although most, if not all, stations car parks will have CCTV cameras, that doesn’t mean your vehicle won’t be targeted. Seasoned criminals know how to quickly gain access to cars, and many aren’t bothered by on-site security. 

“Motorbikes, mopeds and scooters are particularly vulnerable, so ensure you have multiple security measures in place; such as wheel locks and clamps plus heavy-duty chain link or brake disc locks to make your vehicle less appealing to opportunistic criminals.”

• Motorway is a used car marketplace, connecting consumer sellers to professional car buyers through its price comparison website
• Launched in July 2017 – the platform has delivered over £130m in completed car sales and grown to a team of 40
• Today it’s announcing £11m in Series A funding from Marchmont Ventures and LocalGlobe

Motorway has announced today that it has secured £11 million in Series A funding to further expand its next-generation used car marketplace.

The funding round was led by Marchmont Ventures, which is managed by Hugo Burge and Alan Martin (the former CEO and CFO of Momondo Group), along with participation from existing backer LocalGlobe.

Launched in 2017, Motorway’s website enables consumer car sellers to instantly see live offers from multiple car buying services and specialist dealerships. They can compare headline offers, read buyer reviews, fees and collection options to find their best deal. By comparing offers, consumers can get up to £1,000 more than going direct to one buyer.

As a two-sided marketplace, Motorway’s buyer platform provides a fast, efficient way for car buying firms to buy the best used car stock, direct from consumers – cutting out middlemen, and helping everyone get a better deal.

A year ago, Motorway raised £2.75m in Seed funding from Marchmont Ventures and LocalGlobe. It has since grown rapidly – the platform now has over 100,000 monthly customer sales enquiries, and has achieved over £130m worth of completed car sales through its buyers in just 18 months.

This new investment will facilitate further development of its team (currently 40), software platform, expansion of its network of car buyers and marketing of the service throughout the UK.

Motorway was founded by Tom Leathes, Alex Buttle and Harry Jones, an entrepreneurial team with three successful internet startups behind them. As part of the round, Hugo Burge is appointed to the role of non-executive Chairman.

Tom Leathes, CEO & Co-Founder of Motorway said:

“We started Motorway with the vision to bring speed, choice and transparency to the process of selling a car – an experience that’s gone mostly unchanged for decades.  

This is a complex industry that frequently delivers a bad experience for sellers and buyers alike. We simplify the process – bringing instant price comparison into the hands of sellers, and powerful technology tools for car buying firms. That’s helped us grow rapidly in a short space of time, but we’ve really only just got started.

With this new funding, we will now be doubling down on building the best possible car sales platform for consumers, and enabling car buyers to improve their stock acquisition processes at scale. We’re thrilled to have the continued support of Marchmont Ventures and LocalGlobe in this round, and it’s amazing to have Hugo’s deeper involvement in the role of Chairman going forward.”

Director of Marchmont Ventures, Hugo Burge says:

“It’s an honour to be part of this exciting journey. I’m delighted to be taking on the role of Chairman to work more closely with the team at Motorway. They are bringing energy, transparency and exceptional technology into a complex and inefficient market, and the momentum is already quite breath-taking.

“However, a far bigger opportunity lies ahead – to build the true consumer champion in an industry going through unprecedented change. Motorway is setting new levels of customer experience and transparency in the UK used car market and I am confident that the team can capitalise on this opportunity.”

Notes to Editors:

For further information contact:

For more information please contact:

Jonny Stevens, Rhizome PR on 07977 119 579

Tom Leathes, CEO at Motorway, Email: press@motorway.co.uk

About Motorway

Motorway (motorway.co.uk) is a next-generation used car marketplace, connecting consumer sellers to professional car buyers through its price comparison website and apps for car dealers. Motorway was founded by Tom Leathes, Alex Buttle and Harry Jones in 2017 and has grown to a team of 40 based in London and Brighton.

About LocalGlobe

LocalGlobe (localglobe.vc) are a Kings Cross based venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments. Over the last 16 years, LocalGlobe has invested in early stage technology companies including the likes of Zoopla, LoveFilm, Improbable, TransferWise, Citymapper, Graze and Moo.

About Marchmont Ventures

Marchmont Ventures (marchmontventures.com) is focused on investing in scale-up opportunities. Its purpose is to build sustainable creativity. In all their projects the team are willing to take a long-term view to build value and work closely with founders to share their experience and passion for developing high-growth, disruptive enterprises.

• Car thefts in City of London fall by a fifth (21%) in 2018 vs 2017
• Five police forces in England and Wales have seen car thefts more than double in five years

Staffordshire Police recorded the largest increase in car thefts of any police force in England and Wales last year, with crimes up by more than a third (38%) on 2017 figures, according to analysis of GOV.UK data by Motorway.

The latest government data on recorded police crimes*, reveals that, alongside Staffordshire, four other police forces – Bedfordshire (27%), Thames Valley (27%), Surrey (22%) and Durham (20%) – saw car thefts rise by more than a fifth last year vs 2017.

Only seven police forces in England and Wales recorded fewer car thefts in 2018 than the previous year, with the City of London (-22%), British Transport Police (-12%) and Wiltshire (-11%) all reporting double-digit cuts in thefts.

Five police forces – British Transport Police (217%), Surrey (138%), Nottinghamshire (122%), Staffordshire (115%) and the West Midlands (114%) – have seen motor vehicle thefts more than double in the past five years.

Four in ten car thefts in England and Wales during 2018 were reported by the Metropolitan Police (30,752) and West Midlands Police (11,140).

The following table shows police forces recording largest rise and fall in car thefts in 2018.

Police Force	Number of car thefts in 2017	Number of car thefts in 2018	% rise in car thefts  2018 vs 2017
Staffordshire	1,332	1,831	37.5
Bedfordshire	1,054	1,342	27.3
Thames Valley	2,574	3,265	26.8
Surrey	1,257	1,537	22.3
Durham	631	760	20.4
Gwent	681	813	19.4
West Midlands	9,386	11,140	18.7
Derbyshire	1,055	1,252	18.7
Northumbria	1,411	1,667	18.1
Essex	4,216	4,915	16.6
London,  City of	78	61	-21.8
British Transport Police	464	409	-11.9
Wiltshire	636	565	-11.2
Humberside	1,489	1,352	-9.2
Dyfed-Powys	211	195	-7.6
Merseyside	3,063	2,836	-7.4
Avon and Somerset	2,476	2,352	-5.0

Alex Buttle, director of Motorway comments:

“These troubling car crime figures suggest that over-stretched and under-resourced police forces are struggling to curb the rising number of car crimes, and in particular keyless car thefts.

“Advancements in anti-theft systems do not seem to be discouraging thieves, who are using a variety of ever-more sophisticated techniques to break into and start cars.

“The 21st century thief isn’t using a hammer to smash a window and hotwire a car. They’re armed with wireless transmitters, signal jammers and key programming devices, and can open car doors and start engines in seconds.

“The police can only do so much, and there is a responsibility on drivers, particularly those with highly desirable prestige motors, to check they are not being watched, to keep their car keys in a safe place away from windows and front doors, and to consider fitting a tracking device as an added level of protection.”

Notes to Editors

Methodology

Motorway.co.uk analysed the latest Police recorded crime data on www.gov.uk, updated on 25th April 2019, for 43 out of 44 police forces in England and Wales. Lancashire wasn’t included in the research due to the lack of a complete data set.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

N.B. Aggravated car thefts weren’t included in the research.

The British car market has seen some dramatic changes over the last 25 years. Walk down any UK road in 2019 and the brands and models you’ll see parked up in driveways are very different to 25 years ago.

To show just how much things have changed, we’ve visualised data from the DVLA on makes and models on UK roads between 1994 – 2018.

Take a look at the most popular brands over time:

For the specific models, the speed of change is even more apparent:

What to make of all this then?

🇺🇸US brand Ford remains the king of UK roads with its ubiquitous Focus and Fiesta models thriving with sustained numbers. However Escort, Mondeo and Sierra models saw quick declines over the period. Ford’s dominance is beginning to look shakey as competitors from Europe start to take a chunk of market share.

🇩🇪German car manufacturers including Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi made massive inroads with numbers on UK roads increasing by 156% over this period. It would seem that a growing reputation for build quality, efficiency and safety has convinced more and more Brits to go Deutch.

🇫🇷French brands Peugeot, Renault and Citroen have been consistent over the period, but in recent years that ‘Va Va Voom’ has all but dried up with numbers on UK roads declining by -30% between 2010 to 2018.

🇬🇧As for UK brands, Vauxhall leadership has remained strong, propped up by solid Corsa and Astra sales. The picture for Rover isn’t so pretty – it went from being the second most popular UK car brand in 1994 to total decimation after the turn of the millennium, before barely registering by 2005.

What other stories can you see?  Tweet us @motorwayhq and tell us your views.

Feel free to embed these graphics from Motorway on your website (with a link/ credit back to Motorway.co.uk who produced the graphs)

Credit for the source data to DVLA, 2018.

More than 2.5 million UK motorists have at least three points on their driving licenses

• 6.8% of Bristol population have at least three penalty points on their driving licence
• More than 5,500 drivers in BS16 postcode have incurred at least three penalty points
• Currently, just over 11,000 UK drivers have at least 12 penalty points (automatic ban) on their license
• Almost 80,000 drivers currently have nine penalty points on their licenses, and are only one more offence away from an automatic ban

Bristol officially has the worst drivers in England and Wales, with 6.8% of the population having at least three penalty points on their current driving licences, according to research by car selling comparison website Motorway.co.uk.

More than 60,000 drivers, registered in the BS postcode area, which is made up of 47 postcode districts covering Bristol and surrounding areas, still have points on their licence having committed at least one recent motoring offence. Over 14,279  are multiple offenders, with at least six points on their licences.

These figures are supported by speed camera data obtained from local police forces, which shows that the two most active speed cameras in the UK, are on the M32 to Bristol and between Bristol Junction 19 and 20 on the M4. While, twice as many drivers were caught speeding in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which covers the Bristol area, than in any other constabulary, between June 2016 and May 2018*.

The SL postcode area, which covers Slough and surrounding areas, has the next highest number of car drivers with at least three penalty points on their licence as a percentage of population, with 6.4%. Slough is close to the M4 which is used frequently by commuters to and from London.

Across the UK, almost 2.7 million drivers currently have at least three points on their licences, and 11,090 have at least 12 points and are likely serving an automatic ban. Almost 80,000 drivers have nine penalty points on their licenses, which means 79,463 drivers are one more motoring offence away from receiving an automatic ban.

Motorway.co.uk obtained the most up-to-date data on penalty points by postcode across England & Wales from the Driving Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made in February 2019. The courts endorse your driving licence with penalty points if you’re convicted of a motoring offence. Drivers are disqualified if there are 12 or more points on their driving license.

The following table shows postcode areas ranked in order of highest number of drivers who have at least three penalty points on their driving licence as a percentage of population.

Postcodes	Town/City	Population	No. of drivers with at least 3 points on licence	No. of drivers with at least 3 points on licence as % of population
BS	Bristol	940,241	63,747	6.78%
SL	Slough	373,607	24,017	6.43%
HX	Halifax	160,378	10,209	6.37%
HG	Harrogate	138,343	8,709	6.30%
HD	Huddersfield	262,814	16,294	6.20%
TA	Taunton	322,197	19,720	6.12%
BH	Bournemouth	551,987	33765	6.12%
LU	Luton	335,950	20,360	6.06%
HP	Hemel Hempstead	488,351	29,126	5.96%
WR	Worcester	287,414	16,988	5.91%
NN	Northampton	653,215	38,330	5.87%
BD	Bradford	578336	33,487	5.79%
DN	Doncaster	755,713	43,718	5.79%
BA	Bath	434,166	24,309	5.60%
WF	Wakefield	512,657	28,613	5.58%
WD	Watford	255,988	14,177	5.54%
DT	Dorchester	213,203	11,577	5.43%
CM	Chelmsford	653,492	35,026	5.36%
YO	York	562,439	30,082	5.35%
SS	Southend-on-Sea	518,677	27,660	5.33%

Postcode districts

The most prolific postcode district for penalty points is Bristol postcode BS16. Over 5,000 drivers in BS16 currently have at least three points on their licences, more than any other postcode district in England and Wales.

The following table shows postcode districts ranked in order of highest number of drivers who have at least three penalty points on their current driving licences.

Postcode	Town/City	Number of drivers with 3 points on licence	Number of drivers with 9 points on licence	Total number of drivers with at least 3 points on their license
BS16	Bristol	4,124	220	5,530
CR0	Croydon	2,945	143	4,688
NN3	Northampton	3,245	144	4,454
SL6	Maidenhead	3,431	110	4,452
LE2	Leicester	3,039	142	4,227
LE3	Leicester	2,880	156	4,146
NG5	Nottingham	2,894	154	3,966
BH23	Christchurch	3,117	91	3,922
LU7	Leighton Buzzard	2,866	128	3,809
NG16	Nottingham	2,935	113	3,803
SL1	Slough	2,562	141	3,799
BA2	Bath	2,827	71	3,506
PR2	Preston	2,556	125	3,502
SL3	Slough	2,415	129	3,437
CF14	Cardiff	2,600	86	3,390
BS4	Bristol	2,504	130	3,367
NG8	Nottingham	2,386	111	3,333
PR4	Preston	2,538	104	3,315
GL2	Gloucester	2,523	102	3,298
CV6	Coventry	2,178	105	3,286

Alex Buttle, director of car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk comments:

“Almost two million people currently have at least three points on their driving licence. That’s not just a staggering number of people who have committed a motoring offence, it’s also a nice little cash generator for the Government in the form of fines. A large number of these fines will have been incurred for speeding, and in particular speeding on motorways.

“But while the stats suggest otherwise, are Bristol and Slough drivers really more dangerous than drivers from elsewhere? Rather than being ‘boy racer’ districts, one has to ask if the prevalence of a high number of main roads and speed cameras in these areas is a main contributing factor to the higher number of offences seen.

“It was perhaps not surprising to see most Greater London areas at the very bottom of the list for motoring offences as anyone who has spent time on main roads in the capital will understand the opportunity to break the speed limit is minimal with most main roads highly congested during peak hours.”  

• Valuations of used diesel cars, five years old or less, fell £1,478 (-10.3%) on average between the start of 2017 and the end of 2018
• Equivalent petrol car prices were up £895 (+10%) across the same period – suggesting a major shift in demand from diesel to petrol fuelled vehicles
• Most major car brands (including Ford, VW & Vauxhall) saw diesel prices drop – biggest falls seen with Land Rover, BMW & Audi
• Data based on a sample of 130,000 valuations of up-to-5 year old diesel and petrol cars on Motorway.co.uk in 2017 and 2018

London, 29th January 2019 – The average price of a used diesel car fell by -10.3% between Q1 2017 and Q4 2018. Diesel car values dropped 5% through 2017, on the back of consistent negative news about the fuel, and new data shows that slump continued through 2018 at a near-identical rate.

The analysis from car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk also shows equivalent used petrol prices increasing +10% between Q1 2017 and Q4 2018, suggesting a fundamental change in mass consumer sentiment away from diesel towards petrol. This is now a clear trend over two years that shows no signs of changing.

Motorway.co.uk analysed two years of valuations for more than 130,000 used cars valued on its website, which aggregates live offers from popular online car buying websites and used car dealers. The study looked at trends over time for cars under five years old across all brands, and the two major fuel types – diesel and petrol.

The following table shows average quarterly prices of used diesel and petrol cars from Q1 2017 to Q4 2018:

2017 & 2018 used car valuations – diesel & petrol
Vehicles less than 5 years old

Period	Diesel	Petrol
2017 Q1	£14,327	£8,912
2017 Q2	£13,799	£8,979
2017 Q3	£14,338	£9,668
2017 Q4	£13,605	£9,765
2018 Q1	£13,608	£9,611
2018 Q2	£13,073	£9,386
2018 Q3	£12,622	£9,370
2018 Q4	£12,849	£9,807
Q1 ’17 to Q4 ’18 Change	-10.31%	10.04%

Source: Motorway.co.uk, Jan 2019

As the data shows, diesel prices fell -5% a year in both 2017 and 2018 – a total of -10.3% over the two-year period, representing a consistent downward trend. The average diesel value in Q1 2017 was £14,327, dropping to £13,605 by Q4 2017, and £12,849 a year later – a fall of £1,478 for the average used diesel.

Meanwhile the average petrol price went up +10% from £8,912 in Q1 2017 to £9,807 by Q4 2018, an increase of £895 over the same period of the study.

Car makes

Motorway.co.uk also analysed diesel and petrol valuation data for individual car makes. The research revealed significant differences in how different brands have changed over the past 12 months and two years.

Looking at the most popular makes valued during 2017 and 2018, most major car brands including Ford, Mercedes and Volkswagen saw diesel price drops, with the biggest falls seen with Land Rover, BMW, Vauxhall & Audi.

The average price of a used BMW diesel car has slumped by –16.1% since the start of 2017, falling almost £3,000 from £17,269 in Q1 2017 to £14,441 in Q4 2018. This compares with average prices of BMW petrol variants which have remained steady (falling just –0.6%) over the same period. While the average price of a diesel Audi has fallen –14.3% since the beginning of 2017, compared to a +8.4% increase in price for the petrol variants.

The average price of a Land Rover – almost all of which are diesel-powered – was down more than £6,000 from £30,493 to £24,399 between Q1 2017 and Q4 2018 (a fall of -20%).

The following table shows average used diesel and petrol car values for popular makes of car, comparing Q1 2017, Q4 2017, and Q1 2018:A

Average valuations for diesel & petrol variants

Popular brands – change 2017 – 2018

Diesel Models	Q1 ’17	Q4 ’17	Q4 ’18	Change
Audi	£17,195	£15,933	£14,740	-14.30%
BMW	£17,269	£15,057	£14,481	-16.10%
Ford	£10,153	£9,666	£9,447	-7.00%
Hyundai	£9,773	£9,386	£9,414	-3.70%
Land Rover*	£30,493	£28,395	£24,399	-20.00%
Mercedes	£17,346	£16,805	£15,351	-11.50%
Nissan	£11,110	£9,863	£9,905	-10.80%
Peugeot	£7,353	£6,953	£7,145	-2.80%
Vauxhall	£8,064	£7,038	£6,860	-14.90%
Volkswagen	£12,437	£11,426	£11,087	-10.90%

Petrol Models	Q1 ’17	Q4 ’17	Q4 ’18	Change
Audi	£16,467	£17,444	£17,854	8.40%
BMW	£18,347	£18,940	£18,245	-0.60%
Ford	£7,784	£8,711	£7,967	2.30%
Hyundai	£5,078	£5,870	£5,708	12.40%
Land Rover*
Mercedes	£22,537	£21,244	£20,924	-7.20%
Nissan	£8,431	£9,347	£9,202	9.20%
Peugeot	£5,625	£5,998	£5,676	0.90%
Vauxhall	£6,051	£5,714	£5,628	-7.00%
Volkswagen	£10,270	£9,693	£10,053	-2.10%

* Land Rover vehicle valuations are 97% diesel from 2017-2018

Source: Motorway.co.uk, Jan 2019

Alex Buttle, director of car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk comments:

“It’s been a tough couple of years for diesel owners. Having been penalised by the Government and ripped apart by the press, diesel prices slumped in 2017. Although we saw early signs of resilience in the first half of 2018, any recovery has been undone recently by worsening consumer sentiment towards diesel. This followed the announcement of wider, more punitive emission zones in London and more rigorous emissions testing for all cars later in the year.

“Increasingly, people looking to buy a used car are deciding on fuel type before choosing what make and model they want to purchase. More people are opting for petrol and diesels are suffering.  Despite newer Euro-6 diesel engines now matching many petrol equivalents for emission levels, consumer sentiment has simply moved away from diesel – possibly forever.

“Perhaps the most interesting trend was used diesel Land Rovers dropping in price by a massive -20% over two years. This suggests they are losing their appeal at the expensive end of the used car market, as more affluent buyers are opting for other options from the likes of Audi, BMW, Volvo and Mercedes – where petrol variants are showing comparatively buoyant valuations.

“But it’s not just with bigger, premium SUVs and 4x4s. Smaller, cheaper used diesels are seeing falling prices too. To add to its woes, Vauxhall has also suffered with a -14.9% average drop in used diesel prices. Meanwhile, most petrol variants of smaller cars across the market are increasing in price, unlike their diesel counterparts.

“Across the UK car market, diesel prices are struggling to maintain buoyancy and this long term trend could be irreversible. The outlook for diesel values into 2019 looks very bleak indeed. Is the era of the diesel gas guzzler over?”

More than one million cars registered to drive on UK roads have failed MOT tests this year because of defects considered so dangerous under new, more stringent MOT rules, that they pose an ‘immediate risk to road safety and/ or serious impact on the environment’.

This worrying finding was revealed on analysis of DVSA data on MOT tests obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Motorway in November 2018.

The data reveals that since 20th May 2018 when new MOT rules came into force, 1,131,376 cars have failed their MOTs because of dangerous defects. In October, almost 9% of cars failed their MOT because of a dangerous defect. On average since May, MOT testers failed almost a third (32%) of cars because of a dangerous fault.

Under new MOT rules, defects are categorised as either: dangerous, major or minor, and a vehicle will fail if it has a dangerous or major fault. With the old MOT your vehicle either passed, passed with advisory faults or failed.

According to the DVSA website, a dangerous defect ‘has a direct and immediate risk to road safety or has a serious impact on the environment, and the vehicle cannot be driven again until the defect has been repaired.’

There are many things that can be considered ‘dangerous defects’. Here is a few examples:

• Leaking hydraulic fluid – leaks from a brake value such that brake functionality is affected
• Brake problems – brake disc or drum missing and/ or the brake lining or pad is missing or incorrectly mounted
• Dangerous wheels – a wheel with more than one loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud or the wheel is distorted or worn to the extent it is likely to become detached

A vehicle will be recorded as “no longer road legal” if it fails due to a dangerous fault. If you do drive the car, you could be fined £2,500, be banned from driving and incur three points on your licence.

If a car fails because of a major defect, the repair needs to be made as soon as possible. However, the car may be driven if it is still roadworthy and the MOT is valid.

Alex Buttle, director of car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk comments:

“Looking at this data from the DVSA, we were really surprised by the high number of cars registered to drive on UK roads that are considered ‘dangerous’. And these are just the vehicles that have been tested since the new rules came into play in May 2018.

“New car sales are currently falling at a dramatic rate, but the number of licensed cars on the road is remaining comparatively stable at around 38 million. This suggests owners are hanging onto cars for longer – and because of that, the UK’s used car stock will get older year on year unless that trend is reversed. That means more dangerous cars, requiring frequent safety checks.

“We could be heading towards becoming a ‘country of clunkers’. Only an uptick in sales of new cars will cause a higher % of older cars to start exiting our roads. Until then, highways will likely become even more full of older, more dangerous vehicles which should be getting fixed by a mechanic or headed for the scrap heap.”

Car MOT failure rates have fallen (rather than risen) since new tougher, more stringent MOT rules came into force on 20th May 2018 to curb dangerous cars being driven on UK roads.

This unexpected finding was revealed on analysis of DVLA data obtained by Motorway, through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The request, submitted to the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in October 2018, asked for the total number of MOT tests, fail and pass rates, every month since January 2017.

The data was obtained to see if more stringent rules had increased MOT test failure rates, but the data revealed the opposite.

The data showed that across June, July and August 2018 – the months following the shake-up in MOT rules – the average failure rate was 34.1%, compared to 34.5% between January 2017 and April 2018 – preceding the changes.

The average fail rate across June, July and August 2017 was 35%, almost 1% higher than the corresponding months this year.

August 2018 saw the second lowest monthly fail rate this year and the fourth lowest since the start of 2017, with just 33.4% of cars failing their MOT. With all cars on the road requiring MOT after three years, this lower monthly fail rate could be put down to a higher % of newer cars being on the road that were purchased 2014-15 who required an MOT for the first time (reaching three years of age).

However, this drop off in MOT failure rates could also suggest that garages operating on tight profit margins for MOTs may not be adhering to the new rules on every car. If they are having to spend more time on all vehicles, they may be under pressure to hit targets and could be rushing through tests or just ticking boxes and not performing them at all.

The DVLA figures also revealed that the failure rate from 1st to 19th May 2018 was 35%, but increased to 35.5% from 20th to 31st May 2018, suggesting that more car owners were caught out by the new rules.

Although, looking at actual test numbers, there were 1,679,965 MOT tests from 1st to 19th May and 986,178 tests over the rest of the month, which indicates that car owners were keen to get their cars tested before the new rules came into force on the 20th May.

The new MOT rules include changes to how defects are categorised, stricter rules around diesel car emissions and additional items checked during the MOT such as whether tyres are under-inflated or any signs of brake fluid contamination or leakage.

Alex Buttle, director, car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk comments:

“It’s surprising to see MOT fail rates drop since the more comprehensive tests came into force, when logically you’d expect them to rise.

“Other than 2014 and 2015 being very strong years for new car sales and these new cars needing an MOT for the first time, there’s no clear evidence to explain why rates have fallen in 2018 and it might just be a coincidence. However, it could also reveal a lot about the time most garages allocate for tests and the tight profit margins they are are operating under.

“The tests are now more stringent and time consuming – especially for diesels, yet there has been no tangible increase in MOT prices across the UK since May 2018.

“The maximum fee garages can legally charge for an MOT test is £54.85 and many charge less than that to attract customers. A longer list of things to check on each car equals longer tests and that could be putting pressure on the bottom line.

“It’s very hard to pin the reasons for the MOT failure rate fall on any particular thing, but if a garage spends more time on some cars, they may need to make up the time by ‘waving through’ other cars with issues that under the previous rules might have failed. Time is money and tougher tests mean less time for everything on the longer list. There were always going to be knock on effects.”

Investigation by Motorway reveals car buying sites often give inflated online valuations to attract customers. The company has released “TruePrice” technology to improve valuation accuracy

• Motorway data suggest 60% of sellers received less than their online valuation on day of sale
• Investigation shows buyers ‘chip down’ price when the car is inspected by an average of 6%
• Motorway launches its TruePrice online tech to improve the accuracy of buyers’ online valuations

An in-depth investigation into online used car sales by Motorway.co.uk has found that some instant car buying websites quote unrealistically high car valuations online to attract customers, but then offer significantly less on the actual day of sale.

This practice, known in the industry as ‘price chipping’, has become so commonplace that six out of ten car sellers received less than their original online valuation on the day of sale. Just 40% of sellers received the original valuation they were quoted.

The investigations revealed that prices were ‘chipped’ by 6% on average – that’s a huge £600 on a £10,000 vehicle.

To collate its figures, Motorway the UK’s leading car selling comparison website, analysed more than 4,000 completed sale transactions through instant online car buyers featured on its website, supplementing this data by surveying customers that sold to other car buyers that don’t feature.

Motorway compared the actual sale prices received for each car sold with its original online valuation. It found that while cars valued above £5,000 were chipped down by 6% on average, for those below £5,000, the average ‘chip down’ was as high as 11%.

To put this into context, a 6% chip down on a high-end car valued at £35,000 would mean a £2,000 reduction in the price at the point of sale. On a car valued at £4,550, an 11% reduction would see the valuation reduced by £500 on inspection.

But Motorway’s data showed that not all car buying services take the same approach. Some do offer realistic valuations online, which rarely change by much at all on the day of sale, while others have an average chip down rate of up to 14%.

Why are prices reduced on the day of sale?

Professional car buyers have to make reasonable assumptions on the condition and history of a vehicle in order to generate an instant valuation online, and this is notoriously difficult. If a buyer assumes that a car being valued is in ‘fair-to-good’ condition, they should expect the car to have some wear and tear consistent with its age and mileage, and present a valuation that reflects this.

While some changes to online prices are inevitable, some buyers assume all used cars valued are in perfect showroom condition despite their age – and very few are. This leads to significant reductions for typical vehicles when light scratches, dents and other normal wear-and-tear is revealed on the day of sale.

Motorway found that sales were much less likely to fall through when buyers priced realistically.

Solving the problem – TruePrice

Launched in 2017, Motorway.co.uk is a price comparison website enabling car sellers to compare offers from online car buying websites in order to find their best price. Having completed thousands of successful car sales to its panel of online buyers, Motorway today unveils its own technology called TruePrice that enables sellers to compare actual likely sale prices for their car, as well as the online offers provided by buyers.

With TruePrice, Motorway is working to deliver more accurate online valuations and a greater level of price confidence for consumers. It’s an industry first in a sector crying out for transparency.

How does TruePrice work?

Motorway proprietary TruePrice technology uses ‘guide price’ instant valuations from online buyers, and analyses historical sale prices from thousands of similar completed sales in order to calculate what customers are statistically likely to receive for their car in ‘fair-to-good’ condition.

Comparing TruePrice offers, car owners can make a more informed selling decision in seconds.

Alex Buttle, director, car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk comments:

“Consumers are increasingly looking to sell their car online to car buying sites because the process is quick, hassle-free and there are some great instant deals to be found. Many sellers simply don’t have time to wait for offers on classified sites or to drive between car dealerships to negotiate a good price. Selling online is the fastest way to get a vehicle sold and it’s why the instant online car buying industry is growing at around 15% a year.

“But speed and convenience should not mean consumers have to accept unnecessary price reductions as part and parcel of selling online. Not all buyers routinely inflate their online valuations, but sadly chipping has become so widespread that many consumers have already accepted it as common practice. Unrealistic online valuations could really damage the reputation of this growing industry if it’s not tackled head-on.

“We felt it was time to introduce smart technology to solve this problem, so we developed TruePrice to bring pricing clarity and transparency to motorists across the UK. Car buyers featured on the Motorway.co.uk platform are now actively collaborating with us to instantly provide the most accurate valuations they can for sellers, that reflect the money customers ultimately end up receiving.

“Price transparency has transformed every other e-commerce space, it’s about time the car industry embraced the inevitable transition to a consumer-first, data-led experience. Car sellers deserve to be empowered with technology and should never be treated like ‘valuation victims’.”

Notes to Editors

Data and methodology

Buyer chip down rates were calculated by looking at the difference between online car buyer valuations and the price sellers actually received on the day of sale. Motorway analysed the online valuations and final sale prices for over 4,000 completed instant car buyer sales through it’s comparison platform during the past 12 months.