Buying a stolen vehicle

By: Drivers.com staff

Date: Friday, 02. December 2011

The Warawas bought a minivanan last year and everything looked good. Jennifer Warawa says she did everything by the book: checked out the vehicle's history, did a lien search and did a government inspection.

The mechanic who did the inspection thought everything looked fine. Including the VIN - the Vehicle Identification Number. However, police called to tell the Jennifer and her husband that the minivan had been stolen and they would have to give it back.

The Warawas, who live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, would have been out $10,000 (about US$ 7,700). But since they had done nothing wrong and had carried out their due diligence on the vehicle, they decided not to hand it over to police. It worked for a while. Then one day, when they decided to stop at a restaurant for dinner, the cops pounced. They had been watching and waiting for their opportunity.

You can never be 100 per cent sure that the vehicle you buy is not stolen, says a spokesperson for a major insurance company. However, you should check into the person who is selling you the vehicle (Do they have a real address, for example) and check warranty and registration records in addition to the checks the Warawas made.

Nevertheless, the Warawas experience might be another nail in the coffin for the old-fashioned "curbside" sale of used vehicles.