Auto theft is a serious problem across Canada. If you purchase a stolen vehicle, when it is identified as stolen you are not only out your money but out your purchase when it is seized. How can you do your due diligence when purchasing a vehicle to avoid being a victim of such fraud?
Legitimate online sale and auction sites include various ways to protect the buyer. They can provide fact sheets with data on a vehicle’s provenance, and the results of police checks on the vehicle identification number (VIN). Having a ‘clean’ VIN doesn’t always guarantee that you are safe, however. Car theft and resale rings can ‘wash’ the stolen vehicle’s identities by altering their VINs.
Know who your seller is – you want to ensure they are legitimate used car dealers. In addition, find out the history of that vehicle. Ask for a mandatory used-car information package. However, even then it could be altered and look legit.
It is beneficial to use a service like Carfax. Carfax gives prospective buyers details on the history of the vehicle. If kilometre or mileage counts conflict with what you see when looking at a car’s odometer, it could indicate a stolen vehicle. If repairs or service data listed comes from cities, provinces, or from U.S. states where the car allegedly hadn’t been registered is also a red flag. Either of these discrepancies can indicate a vehicle may be stolen and possibly had its VIN changed.
The Canadian Police Information Centre provides a website where you can plug the VIN into to check if the car’s been stolen. You can click here to access the site: https://www.cpic-cipc.ca/sve-rve-eng.htm. If the VIN hasn’t been redone, in the case of the seller trying to make a fast sale, it will protect you.
If a seller asks for cash, be cautious. If you have any inkling something’s off and you’re suspicious – walk away.
Keep in mind that the vehicle may not be offered at an ultra-low price to avoid alerting buyers to a potential scam. Criminals are often selling the vehicles at fair market value, so that it looks like a legitimate offering.
So be wary when purchasing a used automobile and take all the precautions you can to find that vehicle just right for you!
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