Protect used car buyers with strong laws on safety recall repairs

State and federal lawmakers should craft legislation that would require used car sellers to make safety recall repairs before striking a deal with customers.

Purchasing a used car may be cheaper than buying a sparkling new set of wheels — but it can end up costing you your life.

Without a state or federal law requiring used car sellers to fix safety recalls, buyers may never be cognizant, until too late, of the potential dangers lurking every time they go for a spin.

Defects that lead to safety recalls but go unrepaired could result in a fire or a collision, causing serious injuries or, worse, death. Even when drivers aren't hurt, they are likely to end up paying higher car insurance premiums after such wrecks.

Federal law requires rental car companies to address safety recalls in vehicles before a client drives off. And car dealers selling new inventory are also legally bound to ensure that the necessary recall repairs have been made. State and federal lawmakers should get the show on the road with legislation that would mandate used car sellers do the same.

A settlement last year between CarMax and 36 states, including Illinois and Florida, was just a small step in the right direction: CarMax got the green light to keep selling vehicles with unrepaired recalls as long as it intensified its disclosures.

The goal should have been to ensure that all similar businesses can boast that every pre-owned car listed on its site "is certified and recall-free" like CarBravo.com. Instead, the General Motors-operated site remains an outlier.

Some used car sellers offer up eye-catching recall disclaimers, have customers sign an acknowledgment and make fixes, if they have the parts on hand. But in many instances, written warnings online are difficult to find, or are drowned out by positive descriptions of such cars, which are still being sold on a regular basis, as the Sun-Times' Stephanie Zimmermann reported.

In just a few hours online, Zimmermann came across several available cars that had National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalls, including a Dodge Charger SE that had an open recall for a defective airbag inflator. Zimmermann even found recalled cars for sale on the federal government's General Services Administration website.

The problem is widespread: In an analysis of used cars offered for sale in 16 metro areas, including Chicago, through just one major automobile retailer, consumer groups found one in nine cars had unaddressed safety recalls.

Used car industry officials say it would be too expensive and take too much time to fix recall repairs. The concerns are legitimate, but those aren't valid excuses when lives are at stake.

Used car buyers deserve good protection as well as good deals. Consumer safety should not be second-rate just because a car is second-hand.

An editorial from the Chicago Sun-Times.