Auto recalls have been happening more often now than ever before, making 2014 the definitive auto recall year.

While this is not the kind of achievement we should be celebrating, the current recall rates should say a lot about the state of the auto industry. Should consumers be concerned about how dangerous the vehicles they are driving regularly are and what should they do about it?

Experts have been urging consumers to avoid ignoring the risks by simply contacting their car’s manufacturer whenever they learn their vehicle has been subject to a safety recall, but is that enough to ensure their vehicles won’t expose themselves and others to serious dangers?

But veteran car owners are not the only ones who should be concerned about this dangerous trend; according to a series of reports, tens of thousands of used cars being sold at this very moment in the United States have not been subject to an inspection and repair routine after being impacted by a safety recall.

In the country, 52 million vehicles have been subject to recalls up to now. General Motors is currently the number one auto seller as well as the number one in car recalls in the nation. When consumers hit the auto dealerships this holiday season, keep in mind that, unfortunately, many of the vehicles they are considering to purchase may have been recalled. While the law does not require auto dealers to have the vehicles fixed before they are sold, consumers are urged to make sure they look up the vehicle they are interested in purchasing before they say yes to deal. Too often, vehicles that are impacted by recall campaigns linked to issues that could eventually lead to a deadly accident are not fixed before being sold, putting the life of the consumer and his or her family in danger.

According to a spokesperson for Carfax, recalls are not necessarily bad things. They help consumers to ensure their vehicles are performing well, which boosts safety. The issue, however, is when car owners are unaware that their vehicle has been affected by a recall.

According to the company, many of the recalls that are left unaddressed involve issues that could lead to car fires, crashes, inadvertent air bag deployment, and other safety issues that could lead to personal injury.

These aren’t light, easy to fix issues, they are life-threatening problems that should not be ignored.

Reporters from Michigan decided to investigate this problem by going to auto dealers in the state and asking salesmen about cars they were interested in purchasing. What salesmen did not know, however, is that they were aware that the vehicles they were after had been recalled.

In many cases, salesmen simply did not mention any open recalls. For more details on how dealerships deal with recalled cars, you can watch the video below.
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