Motorists should be extra vigilant when buying cars and vans in North Ayrshire, a Largs councillor has warned.

He was echoing the message from the council’s trading standards team following an investigation into vehicles being sold from garages across the region.

During the unannounced visit earlier this month, with partners Police Scotland and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, they inspected cars and commercial vehicles for sale on forecourts.

And they were left shocked by the levels of un-roadworthy vehicles for sale –with 75% of all garages inspected being found to have cars for sale that were not fit for the road.

Among the problems were bald tyres and missing suspension components and the garages were served with prohibition notices – which stops them selling the un-roadworthy cars.

Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “This is great work from our Trading Standards team. Preventing un-roadworthy cars from arriving on the road saves lives.

“Car buyers need to understand that as soon as the car is on the road, they are legally responsible for its roadworthiness. When you buy a house a Home Report is legally required. So when you a pay for the car, which is probably your second biggest single investment, does it not make sense to have that car inspected by a reputable independent engineer?"

“We will continue to try and ensure all cars for sale meet at least the minimum safety requirements for an MOT. At present 75% of garages inspected did not meet that standard.

“The message to the public is pretty clear – be vigilant.

"And to the garages themselves, please take your responsibilities seriously.

"We will ramp up the inspections and in future consider prosecuting."