Car Title Fraud Can Leave You With a Broken Down Car

Oct. 14, 2009 - PRLog -- Chicago (InsuranceAgents.com) – When buying a used car, there are ways to check out the history of the car and whether or not it has ever been in an accident, been damaged by natural disaster and had any structural improvements done to it. While that sounds like a perfect set up, there are disruptions that can cause the car’s title to be less than truthful.

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In a recent article by InsuranceAgents.com, “Car Title Fraud: An Introduction,” they discuss how car title fraud occurs and how buyers can avoid it. “When a vehicle is severely damaged by a natural disaster, involved in a serious collision, or stripped as a result of theft the insurance company can take possession of the car after reimbursing the insured driver and repair it,” states the article. After the car is repaired, they note on the title about the damage and repairs and then auction the car off at an insurance auction. Its after the auction when fraud can occur. Because there is such a difference between states as what is considered a salvaged car, a car that has been severely damaged and repaired, it is easy for people to buy these cars in one state and re-register it in another with a clean title. Once they have a clean title, they can sell the car easily to anyone for a very large profit and walk away, leaving an unsuspected driver with a less than perfect car and not even realize it.

While the federal government is working on regulating state regulations of salvaged cars so everyone is on the same page, there is another way to avoid becoming a victim of car title fraud. Instead of just running a title history on the car, also run the vehicle identification number (VIN) history to get a more honest report.

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