A car is a big expense. However, it could end up a lot more expensive if you’re not careful. There are many scam artists out there who like to take advantage of buyers. This includes selling stolen vehicles or vehicles with hidden faults. You could even end up paying for a car that doesn’t exist.
This post outlines a few tips on how to avoid getting scammed when buying a car.
Buy from a trusted dealership
You’re much more likely to get scammed by a private seller than a dealership. Private sellers can much more easily disappear without a trace by using incorrect personal details or meeting you at a false address. Dealerships can’t get away with this.
Some dealerships may still try to rip you off by selling cars with hidden faults. However, you can usually avoid these by looking out for negative reviews or a lack of online visibility altogether. Try to stick to dealerships that you know have a good reputation. Look out for dealerships like Chapman Ford that have a comprehensive website and good online presence. Make sure there are a suitable amount of positive reviews.
Look up the vehicle history
When buying any car, it’s always a good idea to look up the vehicle history. You can see exactly who the past owners are and how many there have been – a car with a lot of different past owners could be a red flag.
Of course, when it comes to avoiding scams, you want to make sure that the vehicle history matches up with what the current owner is claiming. If the vehicle is not registered to the current owner, this could be a clear sign that it is stolen. You should also be careful of people using stolen or fake registration plates – make sure that the registration plate isn’t registered to a different model of car.
There are a few sites that you can use to get a free VIN check. This post at Clark lists a few examples of sites worth checking out.
Meet at the seller’s address
If the seller tries to meet you somewhere other than their home address, you should be concerned. They could be using fake personal details and may not want you knowing where they live so that you cannot track them down after making the purchase. When buying from a private seller, make sure that you always meet at their home address.
When it comes to dealerships, it’s safest to always visit the dealership premises in person when making your purchase. Of course, there are lots of online dealerships around nowadays that will transport the vehicle to you – these dealerships should still have a physical address listed and you may want to look this up on Google Maps to check that it truly exists.
Go for a test drive
A test drive is useful for helping you to work out how well a vehicle drives. It could also help you to detect any hidden faults that a dodgy seller may be withholding information on such as warning lights that come on during driving, strange noises or controls that don’t work.
If a seller refuses to allow you to take a test drive, this is always a red flag. They may not want you detecting hidden faults until you’ve purchased the car. A trustworthy seller will always offer a test drive.
Be wary of buying cars online you’ve never seen in person
It’s become more popular for people to order cars online from sellers without even seeing them in person. In these cases, you’re often relying on photographs. There are cases where these photographs may not be genuine or they may be strategically taken from certain angles to hide faults. As a result you need to be careful.
Sometimes it can be worth asking the seller for extra photos – if a seller is happy to do this, you can usually trust that there are no hidden issues and that the photos are genuine. Don’t be afraid to also ask for information such as mileage and service history if this is not provided.
It’s best to buy through trusted sites like eBay. If a seller tries to direct you to another dodgy-looking site to make the purchase, you should be cautious – there are scam artists who have stolen money from people doing this. You have more protection when buying directly through a site like eBay.
Be wary of old cars with low mileage
Older cars typically have a higher mileage. An old car with a low mileage should raise suspicion – why has it got such a low mileage? It’s possible that the current or previous owner didn’t drive it much, however it’s also possible that the vehicle has been clocked (this occurs when a high mileage car is illegally tampered with in order to display a low mileage).
Clocking is much harder to do on modern cars, however there are criminals who have figured it out regardless. You can usually tell if a car has been heavily driven because there will be small signs of wear and tear. Things like worn seating or a worn steering wheel are a giveaway that a car has been heavily used and most likely has a high mileage.
Know when a deal seems too good to be true
This is the case with anything in life – if a deal seems too good to be true, it’s usually because it is too good to be true.
If a car is being advertised for $500 and other sellers are all selling that same car for $3000, there needs to be a clear reason as to why the price is so low. If a seller does not provide a clear reason, it’s possible they could be trying to quickly shift a stolen car. There are sellers who will underprice vehicles, but generally they shouldn’t be drastically underpriced. Always question the motive of the seller in these situations so that you’re not falling victim to a scam.
