How to Avoid Buying a Stolen Car in Australia: 8 Red Flags
Over 50,000 vehicles are stolen in Australia every year. A stolen car sold to you will be seized by police — and you'll lose both the car and your money. Here's how to protect yourself.
🚨 The Stolen Car Risk
If you knowingly or unknowingly purchase a stolen vehicle, police will confiscate it. You will not be reimbursed for what you paid. In some cases, you may face criminal charges. A PPSR stolen car check is your best protection.
8 Red Flags That a Car May Be Stolen
1. Price is significantly below market value
Stolen car sellers need to move vehicles quickly. If the price is 20–40% below what similar cars sell for, be very cautious. Use RedBook or CarsGuide to check market value.
2. Seller insists on meeting in a public place only
Legitimate sellers usually show you the car at their home. Insistence on car parks or petrol stations may indicate the seller doesn't want you to know where they live.
3. No service history or registration papers
A genuine car owner typically has service records and rego papers. Missing or "lost" documents are suspicious.
4. VIN plate appears tampered with
Check the VIN on the dashboard, door frame, and compliance plate. They should all match. Look for signs of re-stamping, scratching, or plates that appear to be added after the fact.
5. Seller can't answer basic questions about the car
If the seller doesn't know the car's service history, previous owners, or seems unfamiliar with the vehicle, this is suspicious.
6. Registration doesn't match the VIN
Run a VIN check and compare the details to the rego papers you're shown. Any discrepancy is a serious warning sign.
7. Seller is nervous, evasive, or pushes for a quick sale
High-pressure sales tactics or visible nervousness about your due diligence checks are red flags.
8. Keys seem unusual or there's only one set
Most legitimate car owners have at least two sets of keys. Only having one key, or keys that appear unusual, can indicate the car was stolen.
How to Check if a Car is Stolen in Australia
The quickest and most reliable way to check if a car has been reported stolen in Australia is to run a PPSR stolen vehicle check. The PPSR database is connected to national law enforcement stolen vehicle records.
Note the VIN or rego plate
Get the 17-character VIN from the dashboard (visible through the windscreen) or the registration plate and state.
Run a PPSR check
Enter the VIN or rego at CheckMyCars. The 5.99 full report includes a stolen vehicle status check against the national database.
Physically verify the VIN
Cross-reference the VIN in your report against the VIN plate on the vehicle itself. Both should match exactly.
Verify with your state rego authority
You can also run a free registration check through your state's transport authority (e.g., Service NSW, VicRoads) to confirm the registered owner details match the seller.
What is Car Rebirthing?
Car rebirthing is a sophisticated form of vehicle fraud where criminals swap the identity documents of a written-off or legitimate vehicle onto a stolen car. The stolen car effectively gets a new, legal identity.
Rebirthed cars can be very difficult to detect without a thorough check. Signs include VIN plates that seem slightly misaligned or newly installed, and PPSR reports where the vehicle specifications don't quite match the car in front of you (e.g., wrong engine type, different colour history).
A PPSR check combined with a physical vehicle inspection by a qualified mechanic is the best defence against rebirthed cars.
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