With the average age of the Irish fleet standing at nearly 9.4 years, most vehicles on the roads have had 2.64 owners over their life. However, according to new figures from Cartell.ie, there is one car that has had 34 owners over its lifespan. The car, reported to be a 1979 Opel Manta, has statistically had a new name on its logbook every year since it was first registered.
The Manta is not alone; there are 45 cars that have 19 owners, 177 cars that have passed through 17 hands and five vehicles with 25 owners or more. All told, Cartell.ie calculates that there are 22,181 cars on the Irish fleet that have had ten owners or more. Of these, 5,385 are located in Dublin, 2,579 in Cork, 1,080 in Galway and 1,042 in Limerick.
With 868,003 cars still on their first owner, the Manta and its friends are the exceptions rather than the norm and, warns Cartell.ie, something to look out for when buying a second-hand car.
"Obviously counting the number of previous owners and the dates of sale are a very important part of the history of a vehicle," says Jeff Ahern of Cartell.ie. "The higher the number of owners the more important a car history check becomes. If the car has a higher number of owners, and, if it changed hands recently, then you have to question whether the vehicle has mechanical issues."
Anything else?
Cartell.ie advises that when shopping for a used car buyers should use the '3' rule of thumb. Any less than three years between owner changes and a higher number of owners than three should impact on the selling price.
"Consumers can check the number of previous owners with us as part of the many checks we provide. If a car already has three owners then it is above average and this should impact on the selling price," adds Ahern.