Posted on 05/05/2025 10:49:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
At their best, used cars can be an incredible value. Heck, one of the best deals in the automotive world is to buy a car with under 10,000 miles on it; it's practically new, but you'll get a huge discount on the MSRP. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, there's always the risk that you're buying a lemon. There might be a reason that the car was put up for resale, especially if the savings are shockingly high. It could be a mechanical fault, paint or body damage, or maybe, just maybe, that's a stolen car you're test driving, and you're about to give your money to a criminal.
This more than likely won't be an issue at a trusted dealership. However, the risk of buying a stolen car does exist at a used car lot, and it's even higher if you're buying directly from the seller? Because of that, it's a good idea to double-check the car's history. The easiest way to do that is to search for the car's vehicle identification number (VIN) with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). They'll match the number against their registry of vehicles, looking out for both known thefts and also "cloned" cars, meaning the VIN in question was illegally copied from a different car altogether. You could also check to see if there is any record that the seller actually owns the car, such as by looking at the title or a vehicle history report.
Am I in trouble if I buy a stolen car?
Fotografiabasica/Getty Images Let's say you decide to check after you've already bought the car, and the worst case scenario happens — you purchased a stolen car. Are you a criminal? Did you just commit grand theft auto? Are you going to jail?
Probably not — if you do the right thing. The exact laws will of course depend on where in the world you live, but for the most part, such a purchase is only a crime if you knew beforehand that the car was stolen (and the prosecution can prove it in court). While it might be a good idea to get a lawyer just in case, generally speaking, you should be fine.
That said, this is where doing the right thing comes into play. Once you do know that your purchased car was actually stolen, it's now your duty to alert the authorities, who will immediately take the car back to its rightful owner. Sadly, even if you paid the money already, that rightful owner isn't you, and there's a chance you won't see that money again.
Why you might consider buying a stolen car (legally, of couse)
Alan Schein Photography/Getty Images
Is there any legal way to buy a stolen car? Actually, yes — once it's unstolen. If a car is back on sale after being recovered after a theft — say, it was taken from a dealership, but now the police have returned it — it will no longer be listed as a new car, and in certain jurisdictions, may even be given a new title indicating it had previously been stolen.
As you might imagine, that history of theft reduces the sale value of the car below the new MSRP. If you're lucky, you just might be able to find a car that somebody jacked for a quick joyride, only putting on a few miles, that you can now legally acquire for a massive discount. Thanks, crime!
Of course, you'll want to do some homework in this case and make extra sure that the car is in good condition and running smoothly. In fact, it's always a good idea to give a used car a full check-up before buying.
Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1844823/stolen-car-check/
Why would I want to check to see if my vehicle is stolen and leave a paper trail that proves I knew it was stolen? No thanks, I buy my cars incognito.
Check these Carfax type websites that promise vehicle stats. Most are scams. I sold a boat a while back and the first two inquiries I got were from guys wanting to me go to a website link they provided (different ones) and get a check run on my boat for damage maintenance, clean title, stolen etc...
I went and looked at them and both were listed as scam sites (10 out of 100 rating - 100 being best). I replied to the parties and sent them one I bought from an 18-year-old company with a 90 out of 100 rating. Both gave me the “I don’t trust sites I don’t know” spiel and said they would pay me back and pay my asking price for the boat if the report checked out. After I told them their site was a scam, one guy never contacted me back, the other tried to send me a “report” he got from his site. When I rejected buying one, he said, “you must not want to sell your boat”. I said not to you ass-—e. He didn’t respond.
One was VerifyYourDrive.com the other was CheckTheHin.com.
I just steal them myself and leave out the middleman. 👍🤣
I looked up my car that I traded in back in 2013 and it said I was the second owner. But I bought it new. What happened was that when I moved from Seattle to Kentucky, when I transferred my license to a different state it was seen as a sale.
VerifyYourDrive.com 119 days old.
CheckTheHin.com 83 days old.
As of a few years ago there was no national database for stolen vehicles. You had to run it in every state.
Son bought an old truck and there was no vin plate on the door so I found the one on the frame which didn’t match the title. We took the numbers to PD and ran them in all surrounding states and nothing popped up bad. So it’s probably not stolen…
My boss in high school had a classic ‘Vette. ‘64 I think.
He’d owned it for about 6 years. Just before the statute of Limitations expired he tried to sell it. The prospective buyer checked the VIN plate and also a hidden VIN. The numbers didn’t match.
It turned out my boss had a hot car and didn’t know it.
The insurance company collected the car. The $10,000 he lost in 1981 is $35000 today. Ouch
Cousins husband bought one from a car dealer. They lived in a small town and he was told not to drive it out of the town they lived in because the police & sheriff knew the situation but other law enforcement like highway patrol would arrest him.
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