BRITISH Car Auctions (BCA) has rejected a proposal from an independent trader to sell around 300 grey import cars a month at dealer-only auctions. The approach was made by Tim Charlesworth, a founding member of the British Independent Motor Trade Association (BIMTA) and an importer of Japanese cars.

BCA rejected the approach, citing Society of Motor Auctions' (SMA) policy on the sale of grey imports and 'sound business common sense'. Tom Madden, BCA's director, customer affairs, said: 'The SMA very sensibly raises concerns that consumer protection regulations could be breached as vehicle histories are almost impossible to verify, as are mileages with the need for speedometers to be changed to read miles per hour. 'Additionally, there are concerns over reliability, security, environmental and safety issues.'

BIMTA said it was disappointed by BCA's decision but hoped it would reconsider the matter in the future. The proposal involved Japanese imports aged between three and five years old such as Toyota MR2s and Celicas and Mitsubishi Pajeros and FTOs.