ASA Adjudication on NBR Motorgroup

Ad

A classified ad on the Auto Trader website stated “2000 X Reg BMW Z3 3.0 Sport 2dr Harmon Kardon & Beige Leather £6,000 p/x welcome … Features: 81 miles".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because he believed it did not state the mileage of the car accurately.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

NBR Motorgroup trading as Bon Autos (Bon Autos) said they described the mileage of the car accurately and included a picture of the speedometer with its current reading of 81,000 miles.  They argued that it was a common practice on the Auto Trader website to express mileage in two digits to ensure that ads were seen by as many people as possible.  Bon Autos asserted that it was unlikely that a reader would realistically think a nine-year-old car would have a mileage of 81 miles and thought the ad was unlikely to mislead, especially in the context of other traders deploying vehicle mileage in the same format.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted Bon Autos argument that they had described the mileage in a format commonly adopted on the Auto Trader website.  However, we noted the  mileage of the car was presented in such a way that it was displayed as a low mileage car when searching on the website.  We considered that mileage was a significant feature of a second-hand vehicle likely to influence consumers decisions about whether to purchase and therefore that the expression of mileage in a condensed form was likely to mislead.

On this point, the ad was in breach of CAP Code rules 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Bon Autos to ensure that future marketing communications accurately described vehicle mileage.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)