Used car buyers warned of lingering Covid symptoms

Cars with odd specs delivered during the pandemic are now hitting used forecourts

- JOHN EVANS

Covid may have struck four years ago but car dealers and buyers are being warned of a worrying side effect: cars registered at the time whose equipment level didn't match their official specification and are now entering the used car market, often undetected and incorrectly priced.

Called 'Covid cars', these vehicles are victims of the global parts shortage caused by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Semiconductors, the brains behind everything from heated seats to wireless phone chargers, were the hardest parts to get hold of as phone, games console and computer manufacturers rushed to satisfy the surge in demand for their products from people confined to their homes.

Faced with the possibility of limited supplies or even none at all, some car makers deleted many of the features that depended on semiconductors.

As a result, a significant proportion of new cars delivered in 2022 were missing features from their specification, including wireless phone chargers, infotainment screens, head-up displays, sat-navs, mood lighting and electric seat adjustment. Industry experts at the time warned of the risk of such cars entering the used car market within two years.