How to check if a used car is stolen

Each check sees different records, so do more than one.

• NICB's free VINCheck?

  Insurer reports only
  It shows cars reported stolen to participating insurers and not recovered. It doesn't search police records, so an uninsured car or a clone can come back clean. Run VINCheck.

• A police check?

  If reported
  Police log reported thefts in state and national records. Washington State Patrol says any officer can check if a car is recorded as stolen, so ask your local police or sheriff. A clone can still pass.

• A title-⁠history report?

  Not reliably
  It shows when and where the car was last titled, plus brands and total losses. But the Justice Department says NMVTIS has theft history only in some cases, and a clone's report describes the real car, so a paper title from a different state or date is a warning sign.

• Your state's DMV?

  Not online
  We found no state DMV lookup that shows whether a car is stolen, and many states release full records only to the owner or others with a legal reason. In Texas, the county tax office can check the title before you finish the deal.

• A title that matches the VIN?

  Not proof
  Thieves make fake ownership papers to go with a copied VIN, NICB says, and New York's DMV has found stolen cars sold online with forged titles.
  Signs of a fake

• Your own look at the car?

  Sometimes
  A sloppy clone can give itself away with a VIN that doesn't match or a tampered plate or label, but some match everywhere.
  How to check the car

Florida also has a public stolen-vehicle search, run by its Department of Law Enforcement. It covers only thefts reported to Florida police, may not be current or complete, and FDLE says to confirm any match with police.

1. 1

   Get the VIN before you go

   Ask for the VIN, the plate number, and the name the car is registered to, as the FBI suggests. Run the VIN in the VIN check above and in NICB's VINCheck. If it comes back as a different year, make, or model than the ad, walk away.
2. 2

   Compare the price

   Look at what similar cars sell for. Kansas Highway Patrol says cloned cars are often listed $20,000 or more below market value, so any price far below similar cars is a warning sign.
3. 3

   Meet at a police station

   NICB suggests it, and New York City has marked exchange spots at its police precincts. Be wary of a seller who has no fixed address or will only meet in a parking lot.
4. 4

   Match the VIN everywhere

   Check the dashboard plate (read it through the windshield), the label in the driver's door frame, the title, the registration, and the VIN you were sent. If any is missing or different, don't buy. Where to find the VIN.
5. 5

   Look for signs of a clone

   Go through the warning signs below. The seller's photo ID should match the name on the original title, not a copy, and Texas's DMV and Austin police say to check the address too.
6. 6

   Have police check it before you pay

   NICB advises having authorities check the title and VIN before any money changes hands, so call your local police non-emergency line and ask how. Then pay by cashier's check made out to the owner on the title, so there's a record, and get a signed bill of sale.

Thieves copy the VIN from a legally owned car, make a fake VIN tag and papers, and put them on a stolen car of the same kind, NICB says. Checks by VIN then show the real car's history, with no theft record.

In a South Florida case from before the national title database was fully in place, the Justice Department says, buyers, state title agencies, and police couldn't tell that about 250 cloned cars were stolen. Watch for these signs:

• The VIN plate on the dashboard is scratched, bent, loose, or missing rivets, or there are scratches or extra glue around the windshield.
• The label on the driver's door or door frame is loose, torn, scratched, or looks replaced.
• The VIN's 10th character doesn't match the model year on the title. That character stands for the year: L is 2020 and M is 2021, for example. How to read a VIN.
• A loose dashboard or ignition switch, or only copied keys for a newer car, Austin police warn. In one NICB case, a seller handed over one key fob, and authorities believe he planned to use the other to steal the truck back.
• A price far below similar cars, or a seller who wants cash only.
• The title isn't in the seller's name, or they say they're selling for a friend or relative. What to do when the names don't match.
• The title was issued in the last few months or comes from another state. An out-of-state title is common on its own, but Kansas Highway Patrol says recovered clones are generally sold with them, and fewer people know what another state's title should look like.
• The state or issue date on the title doesn't match the latest title in a title-history report, like the one in the VIN check above.
• Misspellings, erasures, white-out, typed-over text, or faded or bleached paper on the title or registration.
• A car only a few years old with no lender on the title. Newer cars are often still being paid off, and NICB says to look closely at who has owned a late-model car with no lender listed.

Don't buy it or confront the seller. Kansas Highway Patrol says to contact law enforcement with what you found. You can also report the sale to NICB at 800-TEL-NICB (800-835-6422) or online.

Some buyers find out only when they register the car. In 2021, Colorado State Patrol found that two pickups bought for $26,000 and $28,000 in cash were stolen. Both went back to their owners.

1. 1

   Contact your local police

   Bring the title, the bill of sale, and anything else from the sale. NICB says a cloned car is never legally yours, even if you paid for it.
2. 2

   Expect to lose the car

   It can be taken and returned to its owner or the insurer that paid the theft claim. Texas's DMV warns you could lose the car and your money, and Florida's says you'd still owe any loan on it.
3. 3

   Save every record

   Keep the ad, the seller's profile, phone number, and messages, plus the title, bill of sale, and payment records. The FBI asks for details like these in a fraud complaint.
4. 4

   Report the fraud

   Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, if you found the car online, to the FBI at ic3.gov.

New York's DMV says private-sale buyers are on their own to resolve problems with the seller or in court, so ask a consumer attorney or legal aid office about your options. This isn't legal advice. Paid by app, wire, or gift card? Here's what to do first.