Pssst: Fancy (non) Buy a stolen car?

Do you want to buy a used car - with money - someone you just met in the bar and you have a dark back street market to show you a car? Unlikely. How from a topic well-dressed, friendly, middle-aged man or woman who placed a small advertisement in a local newspaper, and you meet twelve o'clock at a restaurant of your choice?

Oops! You may be more likely to be deceived by the number two vendor. This is the story of Jennifer Warwa, who bought a minivan and its engineer had to examine it. The engineer said later how he was shocked that Jennifer had been scammed:

"Because I met the gentleman who sold the vehicle. Very clean cut. In his fifties. Spoken very sweet .... And he went with her to get an inspection. There was no indication that was just the kind of person he was "Dit engineer CBC Marketplace.

A few months later, Jennifer received a call from the police. They said she had bought a minivan stolen, and they came to seize it. She was so upset, she tried to hide the truck by the police. Eventually they took with her and she eventually pay for a year and a half, $ 5000 for a bank loan on a van she could not drive. Ouch!

Jennifer was just a victim of the chain which includes the original owner, the insurance company, other consumers whose rising insurance rates keep, and the police, who spend thousands of hours tracking theft. According to the FBI, a vehicle is stolen every 25 seconds in the United States, which amounts to $ 8 billion annually problem.

Here is how these scams often work. Target of stealing cars: to value, ease of resale as a whole or in part, or because they are easier to steal. Years ago, most cars were stripped for parts, including unusual items, such as airbags. But today, some thieves are so brazen they sell cars through the newspapers.

This type of scam is called "newer VIN cloning" because the vehicle identification number is stolen from another car. VINs get criminals by copying from the dashboard of the car in the parking -- even among dealers. Some even physically remove the VIN plate of motor vehicles, salvage yards that enable customers to "pick up pieces." (They do not mean that literally!), The number is used wrongly property obtain new documents, or documents are false. However, a cloned VIN allows them to turn stolen cars into pseudo-legal vehicles that can be officially titled and sold. Many thieves work across state lines: cars can be stolen in the East, registered in the Mid-West, and then sold in California. Scary!

Here's what you can do to avoid buying a stolen car:

• Check the VIN on the dashboard against the VIN in the amount of the driver's door, under the hood, and the paperwork
• Use the VIN to get the car's history to carfax.com for about $ 20
• Ensure title and registration documents match the name and address of the seller Is the car out of the state? Be suspicious if you meet an individual in a parking lot. Better to see that they live at the address where the car is registered
• Does the vehicle was recently transferred?
• Does the seller of a house or use the phone number of work, or a single cell?
• Does the selling price strangely low?
• Caution, some used car dealers become scam, too
• Payment by certified check or money order, not cash.
  

Keep in mind that most individuals are not thieves, but honest, ordinary people like you. And prices tend to be lower with private sales. So if you follow my advice, you can greatly improve your chances to hunt with a "real" car.