How the scam works:
(with video below) If you didn’t buy your car brand new, you should read this article. A salvaged car is a vehicle that has been in an accident or caught up in a natural disaster and deemed a total loss by the insurance company or was perhaps going to cost more to fix than the previous owner felt the car was worth in the long run. These cars are fixed up and made road worthy; though, they may still have hiccups here and there or even need more work done to them to improve the overall performance of the car and make it safer for the driver and passengers. Your car might be one of them. How does the scam work?
Watch the video below the see the Car Title Washing Scam, as exposed in the news:
Car Title Washing Scam In The News Video
These salvaged cars are sold, mostly on used car lots; this process is completely legal so long as the seller gets the right sort of documentation informing the buyer that this vehicle is indeed a salvaged car.
Because these cars have been repaired they are usually safe to drive; however, their life expectancy is usually shorter than that of an average used car. Also many of these salvaged cars do require ongoing repairs that most well taken care of used cars would not. When a car is salvaged it is usually sold for less than what a used car would be sold for, which might be a leading factor in a new scam going on called Car Title Washing. How does the scam work?
Many dealers are buying cars in one location and then driving them all around across borders, states, and possibly even territory lines. This causes the paper trail to be lost somewhere along the way so that when the current owner of the vehicle applies for a new title the word “Salvaged” is not listed. Ergo these scammers are able to sell these salvaged cars as though it was a good, clean, used vehicle.
As a result of this swindle buyers of such a car could potentially loose thousands of dollars in auto repairs and even put their lives at risk while driving it because they are unaware of the things that are wrong with the vehicle. Not to mention money lost in the purchase of said vehicle as it would be sold for a much higher price tag.
How to avoid:
The best way to avoid this scam is to look up the vehicles VIN number on specialty services. Every car has a VIN number which is like its own personal record which follows it everywhere. Every accident and damage to the car such as hail or other natural catastrophe is recorded and can be researched about through this number.
Watch the video below the see how you can find the vehicle identification number on a car.
How To Find A Car’s Vehicle Identification Number Video
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