Did You Just Buy A Stolen Car? Here’s How To Check

At their best, used cars can be an incredible value. Heck, one of the best deals in the automotive world is to buy a car with under 10,000 miles on it; it’s practically new, but you’ll get a huge discount on the MSRP. What could possibly go wrong? 

Well, there’s always the risk that you’re buying a lemon. There might be a reason that the car was put up for resale, especially if the savings are shockingly high. It could be a mechanical fault, paint or body damage, or maybe, just maybe, that’s a stolen car you’re test driving, and you’re about to give your money to a criminal.

This more than likely won’t be an issue at a trusted dealership. However, the risk of buying a stolen car does exist at a used car lot, and it’s even higher if you’re buying directly from the seller? Because of that, it’s a good idea to double-check the car’s history. The easiest way to do that is to search for the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). They’ll match the number against their registry of vehicles, looking out for both known thefts and also “cloned” cars, meaning the VIN in question was illegally copied from a different car altogether. You could also check to see if there is any record that the seller actually owns the car, such as by looking at the title or a vehicle history report.

Let’s say you decide to check after you’ve already bought the car, and the worst case scenario happens — you purchased a stolen car. Are you a criminal? Did you just commit grand theft auto? Are you going to jail?

Probably not — if you do the right thing. The exact laws will of course depend on where in the world you live, but for the most part, such a purchase is only a crime if you knew beforehand that the car was stolen (and the prosecution can prove it in court). While it might be a good idea to get a lawyer just in case, generally speaking, you should be fine.

That said, this is where doing the right thing comes into play. Once you do know that your purchased car was actually stolen, it’s now your duty to alert the authorities, who will immediately take the car back to its rightful owner. Sadly, even if you paid the money already, that rightful owner isn’t you, and there’s a chance you won’t see that money again. 

Is there any legal way to buy a stolen car? Actually, yes — once it’s unstolen. If a car is back on sale after being recovered after a theft — say, it was taken from a dealership, but now the police have returned it — it will no longer be listed as a new car, and in certain jurisdictions, may even be given a new title indicating it had previously been stolen.

As you might imagine, that history of theft reduces the sale value of the car below the new MSRP. If you’re lucky, you just might be able to find a car that somebody jacked for a quick joyride, only putting on a few miles, that you can now legally acquire for a massive discount. Thanks, crime!

Of course, you’ll want to do some homework in this case and make extra sure that the car is in good condition and running smoothly. In fact, it’s always a good idea to give a used car a full check-up before buying.