Let the Buyer Beware!

I have previously blogged about the hazards of buying used vehicles. Here is another reason.

Special Agents of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB - an organization that I didn't even know existed!), recently seized the Escalade Limo pictured here from an unsuspecting limo company in Texas. The problem? When the limo company went to register the vehicle the VIN turned out to be counterfeit.

Investigating further, the NCIB found that the limo company thought they had legitimately purchased the vehicle from a Southern California limo manufacturer who had purchased it from a "popular online auction site" (Can anyone say "eBay"?). The problem however was that the unstretched Escalade had been stolen in Coral Gables, Florida on February 1, 2008. Now the Texas company is out $125,000.

To prevent this from happening to you, I suggest that you check out the NCIB's VIN Check system. Its free, and only takes a moment to find out whether the vehicle you are considering has been reported stolen and not recovered, or reported as "salvage".