In the last few years, we’ve seen our annual Australian car market running at around 1.2 million sales.

But according to the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, up to 180,000 of those reported sales don’t in fact exist.

They suggest many dealers are pressured by importers to meet higher sales targets by pre-registering cars each month. Pre-registering of cars, called pre-retail delivery advice vehicles or cyber cars, has been an industry practice for some time and the VACC wants an end to the practice to provide a more accurate picture of the national vehicle industry.

While they reflect in the official monthly V-Fact car industry registration figures, they are effectively still in dealer stock awaiting a genuine buyer. And the warranty starts from the moment they appear in the figures.

So buyers beware, your new car could have been in dealer stock for some time.  Check the build date and the warranty left and make sure you get a decent discount.

Download this podcast here