I CLONED a car and SOLD it!

Cloned cars are a serious issue in the UK. Some reports say there may be as many as 20,000 cloned cars on UK streets, while other reports say the number may be much higher!

To get to the bottom of how criminals do this, Mat’s turned to the dark side and is going to attempt to clone a car himself!

We’ve picked up a second-hand Mk6 Golf for just £500. It was so cheap because it’s received some damage, so it’s listed as a CAT N write-off, meaning it’s received some non-structural damage which is repairable. Mat's now going to follow in a proper criminal’s steps by attempting to pass this car as another Mk6 Golf (which is in better condition, of course) and try and sell it on for a profit!

We’ve enlisted the help of the RAC and Devon & Cornwall Police to see what steps criminals take to clone a car, and we’ll also share some tips on how you can make sure you don’t buy a cloned car yourself.

Have you ever been the victim of a cloned car? Let us know in the comments!

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Carwow would like to thank the following individuals and organisations for their help with this video:

Owen Messenger and the Road Casualty Reduction Team, Devon and Cornwall Police

For further information relating to vehicle cloning, including official guidance on what to do if you suspect your car has been cloned, download the Government’s DVLA Vehicle Registration Numbers and number plates advice booklet:

If you suspect a car has been cloned, contact your local police force – many have dedicated online reporting services for incidents relating to car cloning. If you aren’t sure which police force serves your area, you can search by postcode here:

Carwow does not condone or encourage any of the activities or topics discussed in this video. This content is created solely for educational purposes and in the public interest to help viewers avoid becoming victims of such crimes. All driving scenes featuring incorrect registration plates were filmed on private land with the explicit consent of the landowner. We own both the vehicles featured in the video, at no point did we order registration plates for a car we do not own.  Additionally, all individuals appearing in this video have provided their consent to be filmed.

[Alez]

Mats going from car journalist to scammer

[nmes]

Should use the golf as a constant in all of the drag races, so we can visually gauge how fast some of these super cars are!

[Jfhr]

We got Mat Watson scamming before GTA 6

[cp]

DVLA should be stopping these companies selling number plates without proof of ownership. DVLA are too busy fleecing honest drivers 🤬

[JonathanWinton]

He's worked for Carwow for 8 years, and one of your employees is only interested in a £2, 000 VW?
You mustn't be paying him enough 😂😂

[michaelpeebs]

Highly recommend Mark McCann's new video on this subject.
Shows how car thieves do it. Scary honestly.

[allanhaze]

£500 for a car? Where? How? Sign me up!😭

[Meek]

In Estonia it’s basically impossible to get scammed this way because in the government website you can see the car vin and ownership changes because when selling your car you have to transfer ownership to the new owner when selling it so there are 4 ways to spot a scam 1. The vin doesn’t match 2. The ownership history doesn’t match 3. When receiving the ownership change the number plate doesn’t match 4. You don’t receive the ownership change

[rinima]

Another thing I would do is to use the gov website to check the MOT history. If the mileage on the last MOT is way off compared to the odometer on the car that would be a red flag.

[AM-xfmu]

I had a family member getting weekly fines, he had to go court and prove it wasn't him. Thankfully at the times of the ticket he was at work which had cameras

[pizzel]

thanks matt for this step by step tutorial

[victorradu]

In Canada you don't get replacement plates but new plates with a new combination of numbers and letters

[caolancoogan]

Cheers for the tips Mat! Ill try it out and let you know how it goes.

[richardjackson]

When buying a car, have look first before committing to buy. Make a note of the VIN number when you view the car, pay around £30 for an HPI check and use the VIN details, it will be very apparent that the car is cloned. It doesn't help that Tax Discs don't exist any more as that made this sort of thing harder.

[ZaKTricKzzz]

My rule number one is don’t buy a car from Bradford or Birmingham

[raiden]

Bros tryna min max that algo with the tweaked title n thumbnail. Love the hustle matt

[God-gpqu]

I mean of course a carwow employee wouldnt think its suspicious if its on a carwow website, sold by mat watson and being told that his has been used for work?

[IrishDilly.]

I guess Matt watched Mark McCann video

[linorst]

Nicely done Mat raising awareness and teaching members of the public what too look out for ;-)

[tomdowning]

Strange that's Mark McCann video on this has been deleted