Fraud when buying a car: A common annoyance
When buying a used car, many facts must be taken into account. You have to think about financing, learn which car is best suited to you, and which insurance is the best. Buying car insurance is an essential for any car driver. Make sure you have the right insurance through a site like www.gobear.com to keep car safe on the road and from situations like fraud.
But that’s not all: Fraud occurs often when buying a car. In our guide, you will learn the tricks and manipulations that the scammers use in order to reduce the price or get their money back after the purchase. Read our article about fraud when buying a car and recognize the unfair methods. We tell you how to deal with it and how to protect yourself.
How to detect fraud when buying a car
If you are buying a car, the methods and variants of fraud are numerous and imaginative. Below, we have listed the most important information for you so that you can recognize a manipulated speedometer or a fake service book and not be cheated out of your money when buying a car.
The car is equipped with poor tires
Properly control the tires of the car and also check the DOT number, which is located on the tire sidewall. Here are two examples and the accompanying explanations as to what this number may look like and what it means:
DOT WFAE LIJT 179 (?)
Most important is the three-digit number at the end, and the subsequent angle. The first two digits “17” stands for the calendar week in which the tire was manufactured. The last digit is the year, which is in this case 1999. The additional angle indicates that the tire was manufactured in the 1990s. If no triangle exists, this means that the tires were produced in the 1980s.
DOT CUNB A1 B6 0108
Once more, attention has to be paid to the sequence of digits at the end. The first two are for the first week and the last two for 2008 as a year.
Scam “Old tires”: The car is so far intact, but the tires are in poor condition, so that you would have to buy new ones.
Solution: Pay attention to the DOT number and control the tire’s profile. When in doubt ask for a new set of tires, a lower purchase price, or refrain from the purchase.
The odometer of the car has been tampered with
Scammers who would like to get a higher sales price for a used car, manipulate the odometer (or speedometer) to fudge the mileage for their benefit. This scam is highly illegal and can be punished with imprisonment or a fine. Therefore, always make sure that the kilometres coincides with the age of the vehicle and also the general wear and tear. In earlier days, a drill was used for this scam. Today the methods have become modern. Using special software the electronics of the car are tampered with until the desired value is achieved. You should also be suspicious if parts such as pedals, seats and steering wheel are abnormally worn. If the mileage is relatively low, a odometer manipulation is very likely.
Scam “Turning back the odometer”: The odometer was manipulated to conceal the actual wear.
Solution: Make sure the kilometres used approximately matches the age of the vehicle and how worn are pedals, seats or steering wheels. If in any doubt refrain from the purchase or have an expert control the odometer. Control the car’s service book and call the specified service garage to find out if all of the data is correct. They keep the information for oil change and the kilometres driven on service labels or in their database. Alternatively, come for a free car inspection at SellCarGetCash.com and we will take care of the entire process.
More attempts at fraud when buying a car
There are other methods for fraud from which you can protect yourself when buying a car. Stay away from used cars from abroad. If it is somewhat clear from the telephone number that the car is abroad, then there is a lack of transparency and you should check the trustworthiness of the respective seller. The same applies for payment in advance. Also, be careful if at first you have to make a small down payment so that the respective vehicle can be released from the credit institute.
Fraud method “down payment”: A down payment is requested so that the vehicle’s documents can be released from the bank. The seller keeps it and you never see him again.
Solution: Do not treat down payments lightly! This points to fraud. When in doubt, pay the down payment yourself directly to the bank or get a deposit as a security measure.
Another popular fraud method is sell a car under the guise of a private sale but it is really a front man from a car dealership. He would like to bypass the guarantee obligation that can be omitted for a private sale.
Fraud methods “dealer and front man”: The car is offered to you as a private sale, the truth is, it is a professional car dealership with a front man, who would like to bypass the guarantee obligation.
Solution: Let them show you the vehicle title document and check who the last owner was. If it does not match the present seller, it then means that you are dealing with a front man or a professional car dealership, who is pretending to be a private seller.
Car scams in the online car classifieds
There is a fairly deceitful fraud that is running rampant on various online car classifieds. A car is offered for sale and an incorrect telephone number is given so that the contact has to be done by email. It is guaranteed that the car is in an excellent condition and a meeting is made at a bus station in the next major city, so that the inspection and test-drive can take place. The seller states his concerns because he does not want to waste his time and money as it has happened to him before. Therefore, he asks you to transfer the money via Western Union to your partner or another close relative and to send him a scan of the order confirmation. The seller justifies this as he wants to see if he is dealing with a serious buyer. At this point, the fraud starts. The scanned order confirmation is forged and the seller changes the name of the receiver to his own so that he can withdraw the money himself. An appointment to see the car would not happen as the car never really existed.
Fraud methods “cash transfer advance payment”: A car is offered to you. The contact contacts this via email. As a security that you are really a serious buyer, you should send a payment confirmation to a relative and a scanned copy of the order confirmation to the seller. The seller then forges the document and withdraws the money illegally.
Solution: Pay attention to correct spelling in the mail and google a few sentences to see if they are standard phrases that have been used by other fraudulent attempts. Do not make a transfer of any kind but make an appointment for an inspection and a test drive.