Automotive

5 Tips to Avoid Second Hand Car Fraud

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The art of car fraud is as old as an option to buy used cars themselves. Sellers always try to gain as much as they can on their vehicle and no matter what is your experience, you will never consider all suspicious details yourself. Unless you don’t ask somebody experienced who will reveal you the most frequent schemes and how to avoid them. As the reader of this article, you will not need to look for such people anymore.

5 Tips to Avoid Second Hand Car Fraud

Tips to Avoid the Most Popular Second hand Car Schemes

Although it seems not a good idea to view each seller as a potential criminal, it is better to identify him at the first minute than to not identify at all. The first option is possible if you:

  • Request its identification number and a license plate code: Now, it seems not difficult to instantly obtain information on this vehicle using faxvin.com or other similar websites. So, ask these numbers, include into necessary fields and verify sellers information. If this “completely new car” has a salvage title, put your phone down;
  • Ask the seller about a car he sells without mentioning this car itself: Fraudsters rarely operate with a single car. And even if people who don’t know the car they sell are not fraudsters, they might be unofficial dealers who don’t even know what do they sell. Anyway, you’d better not buy your car from such people;
  • Check mileage of this vehicle. Now use of computer technology enabled fraudsters to instantly change odometer readings. As a smart buyer, you also have a lot of sources, which can reveal you the latest DMV records on odometer readings and compare with a number, shown by its seller;
  • Check market value of vehicle: In the second hand car market miracles rarely happen. If seller sells below the market value, it is possible that he hides something (or why else he doubles vehicle’s price knowing that its fair value stays twice higher). And if he sells over the market value, it shows that reasonable negotiations can lower it.
  • Check the owner of the vehicle: It is a very rare occasion that fraudsters know names of past owners of vehicles they sell. It stays normal when some vehicle is sold by past owner but if it’s name is different it sounds completely weird.

Always Use a Friends’ Help When You Can

Two are always better than one, especially when you come to seller’s residences and ask about a car. If one cannot admit any deception dreaming about how he will cut prairies on his new Jeep Cherokee, another person will be more clever-minded. It is also good if the person knows car mechanisms and can provide quick inspection to observe any significant damages.

Conclusion

Hope the above used-car purchasing guide has given you a good insight on buying used vehicles. We would like to hear your own experience, if you’ve bought a used vehicle.