How to know if a car is stolen
If you do not take the necessary precautions, you can Fall into the trap of buying a second-hand car stolen . That is why it is very important to master the necessary checks to know if a vehicle really belongs to the person who sells it.
In this article we are going to give you three methods to know if a car is stolen . Although not all are applicable only to a second-hand vehicle that you have been offered. At least two of them can be used in any circumstance.
Method 1 - Checks 'in situ'
Let's start with the most obvious method, but many people pass by ignorance or being too trusting. When you go to buy a used car, you should pay attention to several important signs:
Details of the seller
If the person who wants to sell you does not show you your ID, passport or green card , something is wrong. It does not have to be that the car is stolen, but if you do not want to be identified when making the sale, it may be because the car is seized or has loads. A situation almost as bad as if the car is stolen.
If the seller does not give you their phone number or personal data strong> as their address is also a bad symptom. Many scams in second-hand market are perpetrated through a seller with whom you can only contact through email. The situation is just as suspicious as with the DNI. You always have to have all the real information of the seller, because besides that the car can be stolen, you lose the possibility of claiming any problem.
Data of the car
See also that the number of the frame corresponds to the one that appears on the papers of the car. If you do not do this, in the following checks that we are going to mention you will not use the correct data and you will lose everything you do to know if it is stolen. If it is not the same number, do not even buy it .
Method 2 - Consultation of the full report in the DGT
It's It is highly recommended that request a full report of the vehicle to the DGT . At least as long as you do not know for sure that the seller is reliable. This way you will know if the person who is selling you the car is really the owner. That is, you have the right to sell it legally.
Advice: online it's much faster and easier
Most of the procedures with the General Directorate of Traffic can be completed telematically . It is much more convenient, but you will need some form of electronic identification . If you do not have one, get one. Because the most normal thing is that you do not have to return to a Provincial Traffic Headquarters anymore.
The DGT allows two methods of remote identification: the Cla @ ve or the Digital Certificate . For the request of a complete vehicle report we recommend that you opt for the certificate . You will have to pay a fee of 8.50 euros and the Cl @ ve system does not allow you to do it online.But before doing so you will have to make an appointment. You can consult the article How to request a prior appointment in the DGT for procedures in a traffic headquarters. It is an indispensable step to do any paperwork there. The only procedure that can be done without making an appointment is to pay the fines.
Information obtained
In the full report of the car will appear : the legal owner of the car and the registered address, the date of the first registration and each re-registration made afterwards, if it has passed the ITV and the number of km that it had when passing it, if it is of Renting, the losses that the car has had during its useful life, if it has paid the Circulation tax, if it has been imported or exported and if charges, seizures, seals or limitations .
By the way, look carefully if you have passed the last ITV that you had and if you have paid the Traffic Tax, because if you do not have it, you will not be able to complete the procedures derived from the purchase of the car. With the consequent extra expenses and paperwork that you would have to do.
Another tip:
When you request the report complete, you will be given the option to request information from several cars at a time . If you have more than one second-hand car in mind, take advantage of this procedure to do the check for all of them.
Method 3 - Consultation of the Register of Assets Furniture
You can also use the Register of Personal Property . With this you can verify the same thing: that the person who sells you the car is really its owner. Only the signature of the owner will be valid in the contract of sale of a vehicle. You can use this method as a way of confirming what was obtained in the DGT report or in substitution of it. Use the method that is most comfortable for you.
Contract a company to check if it is stolen?
In principle it is not necessary contract the services of any page. At least if during your checks you are clear that the DNI is not false, that the seller is the owner and that the contract has everything legally required. Anyway, p can be an option if you do not want to complicate any procedure and let them do the checks for you. Of course, you will have to pay the cost of the service they provide.
Even if you hire a company to find out if the car is stolen, you have to take one thing into account: if the theft has not been reported, They can know if it is stolen. Only identifying the seller in person and contrasting the data with the records of the DGT or the Movable Property, you will know if there is a cat locked in.
What if the seller tells me that he acts on behalf of the owner?
What matters to you is that the contract includes the owner's data and its authentic signature . To make sure it's not a fake, the safest way is for the owner to sign it in front of you. You will have to show your identification, you must verify that it is the one in the photo and see if the DNI is false.
How to know if the DNI of the seller is false?
The Spanish DNI is a document very protected against counterfeiting, but its protections are not impossible to violate. Here we leave some methods so you can check if it is authentic yourself: Anti-forgery measures of the DNI released by the police.There are pages for this, but the reliability of this method is doubtful. It only serves to detect the false DNIs in which the letter does not correspond, but if it corresponds, nothing assures you that it is authentic.
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