Don’t Buy a Stolen Car

WATCH THIS Before Buying a Stolen Car in 2025!

[salimrandall]

My first comment Lucky replied to was me asking if I should do Turo. He said don’t do it thank goodness I listened

[memario]

It always comes back full circle to Bob's G-Wagon

[AnthonyGuzmann]

UPDATE Last year I got my car Vin swapped I didn’t know until I went to register my car I was told it’s not my car I bought it new with 0 miles and was the owner ever since. After they sent me to special investigation they found my VIN on two other Honda accords they verified that the Honda was mine after checking the whole car for a hour in the engine bay. They showed me the fake titles they had that they sold the other two people in California and confirmed I didn’t sell the car and they were fake they repossessed both Honda accords but one was burned “insurance fraud” and claimed the car got stolen, for a month i was driving my car reported as stolen!! One year later they changed the title back to my name and confirmed it was always my car. Unfortunately my car fax now has 3 owners reported I’m going to try to dispute that. Everyone buying a car private sale please be careful!! This is very common and they were so busy it took one year to get to me and close the investigation.

[ko]

A pre purchase inspection can help with this. Plug in a scanner and compare VIN’s.

[SCH]

"No title". That's the biggest RED FLAG right there. How do people fall for this?

[TheCarCrazyGuy]

I sold my 2019 Civic Type R to a buyer who wanted to pay cash. I said meet me at my bank, hand the teller the cash and I’ll sign over the title to you. I got the car smogged and then went to the DMV so he could register it. He was a happy camper. 4 years later no issues.

[cousinjohncarstuff]

I take my scan tool plug it in, and it pulls up the vin. Just a consumer grade scan tool, but at least a layer of defense against vin swap.

[davidgorin]

I appreciate you, Lucky. I was thinking of flipping some cars with an independent dealership I am friends with as well as picking up a few toys for myself. Now I have a list of things we will do to protect ourselves from the scammers. Thank you.

[AndyFL]

I gave you a thumbs up simply for the masked thumbnail.

[finshaw]

Even if it's a normal car purchase, always double check the VIN and title. I bought an old car, the title was missing a digit for 15 years. No one noticed. It didn't amount to a problem because nothing was tampered with, but it could have turned into a real hassle.

[gtvs]

Not all theft recovered vehicles are scams. I am a dealer that buys theft recovered vehicles from insurance auctions. They are legit cars that go through a process to ensure that the vins are replaced or retagged on the vehicles. They are a good way to save money on a low mileage late model car and I’ve been doing this for years with no issues. I’m not saying that there aren’t scammers out there, but make sure you buy from a licensed dealer that has a history in this business.

[kevinbarry]

if someone is buying a car that is significantly cheaper than it should be; then they get what they get

[garystarkey]

I bought a motorcycle off my friend 6 months ago. Prior to me buying the bike had been stolen then later recovered which I knew about. Went to DMV to transfer and register, well apparently the tweaker who stole the bike was able to forge a transfer and got a title in his name!!. I fought Sacramento and my local field office for months. The first lady I dealt with at the office told me I had to contact the tweaker that's currently in prison for the theft to have him transfer it back to my friend then to me!!. After going in there a third time to try and get a temp tag to operate I told the much nicer lady this visit the whole story she was able to fix the whole situation and get me a title and I left with a new plate and tag. Insane!

[marcsarfati]

Buying a stolen car

Worse then

Getting 25% interest rate.

[hannapaws]

Yesterday I went to the Chicago Auto Show. It was 1/2 the size that it used to be! The show used to occupy ALL of McCormick Place. This year it did not fill only one of the pavilion! This includes four test drive courses that there would have not been room for in a "normal" Chicago Auto Show. Is this a sign that we are in a second great depression? A crashed Auto Market?'
A destroyed automobile manufacturing infra structure. The entire GM exhibit was smaller than the Buick exhibit once was. Mercedes Benz was not even there. Lucky, do you think this is a symptom of a crashed economy?? I would like to hear your take on this.

[JohnDoe-zotu]

If you're dumb enough to buy a G-Wagon for $10k from someone that says "don't ask questions" then that's on you. That $10k you just lost is what's known as a stupid tax.

[PassportBrosBusinessClass]

A lot of people don't understand the used car buying process. If you avoid corporate dealerships, which pretty much have to do everything on the level, and you don't understand the buying process, you're putting yourself at risk.

A lot of people don't report accidents to keep their CarFox clean. A lot of people roll back odometers if they can. A lot of people participate in multiple levels of fraud.

In a market like this, you must be extra vigilant.

[morningsalute]

Got some training from Las Vegas VIPER squad. These thieves are very smart with vin swaps and paperwork. Like you said if its too good to be true it probably is.

[krassimirpetrov]

In my city, registering your car is optional, everyone uses fake temp tags . So I’m sure most of them are stolen

[gfuentes]

constant battle between sales guys trying to sell and KYC trying to disqualify