Buyer Beware: A Guide to Types of Salvage Car Scams and how to Avoid them

Buying a new car can be an expensive affair and can leave you thousands of dollars poorer. If money is a concern, look for damaged vehicles auctions that sell salvage cars at dirt cheap prices. Every year thousands of car enthusiasts visit USA salvage car auctions to buy a car of their choice without breaking the bank. When buying a salvage car keep your eyes open for signs of car selling scams. Many scamsters dupe unsuspecting buyers by lying about the car’s title. These fraudsters stop at nothing and even introduce minor repairs to make the car look roadworthy. In many cases, buyers learn the truth the hard way when a law enforcement authority breaks the news to them about the car’s dubious past. To help avoid losses and legal repercussions, the post lists some common salvage car frauds to watch out for and how buyers can avoid them. Take a look.

Salvage Car Scams

Title Washing

Title washing or lemon laundering  is one of the most common car title scams in the U.S. To dupe the buyer, many unscrupulous car owners transfer their salvage car title from one state to another to get it registered there, and later sell the car as a vehicle with a clean title. Many dealers get vehicles registered at several states.


Car Clipping

Car clipping involves sourcing parts from different cars and welding them together to repair a severely damaged vehicle. It is extremely difficult for an ordinary car buyer to detect clipped cars, which is why it is advisable that buyers before taking the final decision request their mechanic to inspect the vehicle.

VIN Cloning

Sellers trying to sell stolen vehicles often swipe VIN from legally registered cars  and sell the damaged vehicle with it.

Odometer Fraud

Odometer fraud involves rolling back the car’s odometer to fudge the mileage data displayed by the odometer. Odometer rollback is illegal and violates federal law, however, it is a prevalent practice among unscrupulous car sellers and dealers to make easy money.

Avoiding Salvage car Scams: It's Easier Than you Think

When it comes to avoiding salvage car frauds, taking simple precautions can go a long way. Always:

• Ask for a title document 
• Go through the wording and look for words such as junked, totaled, or rebuilt.
• To learn about the car’s past, get a vehicle history report.
• Make sure the VIN on different parts of the car’s  body match. 
• Most importantly do not give into pressure tactics by sellers to act quickly.
  

Conclusion 

Buying a salvage car can help you save precious dollars, however, you need to be cautious to avoid falling prey to scams. Request your mechanic to accompany you to inspect the vehicle and ask them to provide their input on whether the vehicle is repairable.