Buying a new car is always a big event for the person who purchases them. When you think about that, it makes perfect sense. Many people tend to their vehicles with the utmost care. The reason is that this tending is some sort of hobby for them. That’s why you can see that many people are buying a new vehicle whenever they have enough funds to do it.
For some of them, this happens every year or two years. So, this sort of purchase is something that happens quite often for many. Those who have a lot of experience in conducting these deals have an idea about how they should handle it. There are a lot of different aspects you need to check before you are ready to say that it was done most efficiently.
One of these factors is checking whether the vehicle you have bought was stolen. According to the statistics provided by the FBI, roughly 800,000 vehicles are stolen every year. So, checking the status of the one you have just bought is an absolute must. There are a couple of ways you can conduct this sort of research.
Now, let’s provide you with a couple of these ways, and you will choose the one that fits your need and preferences the most. Without further ado, let’s check these out.
1. Go to the Police Station
What you need to do before the deal is concluded is visiting a police station, accompanied by the person who sold you a vehicle. It is something you need to do even if you don’t have any doubts about it. But you should do it, especially if there is something that worries you. Make sure to bring all the documentation that can prove the current owner truly is the person who owns that particular car.
The police will do all the work on your behalf. They will confirm the identity of the seller and see whether the car is its property. Furthermore, they will run a background check through their database there they have every stolen car in the country. We are talking about an effective way you can determine whether you are buying something that has been previously stolen.
2. Check VIN
The next way we would like to discuss is checking the VIN of a car in question. For those who don’t know, this is practically the same thing as a chassis number. The only difference is that machines that were produced before the 80s have it on their chassis. Every vehicle has its VIN number, and it will not be hard to determine whether it was stolen, no matter how long before the deal it was done.
There are a couple of sites where you can run this sort of check. If you are interested in taking a look at one of these, make sure you visit quickppsr.com.au. As you can see, this is probably the most convenient way to check whether you are buying legit merchandise from someone. Of course, you will need to ask the current owner to provide you with this piece of information. If that person hesitates, don’t sign anything.
3. Look for Signs
There is one way that you can do before you run a check for a VIN. We are talking about being aware of what are the signs of a stolen automobile. We will call these signs red flags that point out that you shouldn’t do business with a person who introduces himself as an owner. For instance, one of the signs is that the owner is interested in meeting with you at a location where he or she doesn’t live.
That can be a parking lot or some other locations that don’t look so representative. Another sign is when an owner is looking to close down the deal as soon as possible, without offering its help to run any sort of check. However, the most obvious sign is when the number on plates doesn’t match the one you can see in the car. All of these signs will tell you that there is something wrong with the car in question.
4. Reach Out to NICB
The last thing we would recommend you to do is pay a visit to National Insurance Crime Bureau, or NICB. You can pay a visit to the official site of this institution and check the VIN on it. We wouldn’t say that this is something necessary, but it surely wouldn’t hurt you to run as many background checks as you can. Only by doing that you can be sure that everything is in order.
The reason why you should visit this website is that this is a national institution that has a large database of practically every automobile out there. Therefore, it can be said that there is no better way to perform this check than visit this website. Naturally, doing something like this will not require the presence of a current owner. So, it can be said that this is a quite convenient way to do it.
5. Be Careful
Despite all of these ways you can check the status of a car, it needs to be said that no method can provide you with 100% accuracy. For this reason, you will need to be extra careful when doing business like this. For this reason, we’ve included a couple of signs that can help you determine whether you are talking to a real owner or you are about to be scammed.
Be sure to run all sorts of investigations you can. There is no doubt that these will provide you with a clear picture of the status. As you can presume, there are many headaches you can face if you don’t perform these inspections in a way it should be done. Therefore, do all of them. Only by doing that you can be certain that you have legally purchased a vehicle.
We have no doubt you will find all of these insights equally informative and useful in the future.