{"id":10837,"date":"2018-08-28T16:55:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T16:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/?p=10837"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:22:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:22:25","slug":"how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car &#8211; Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Buying a car can be time-consuming, mostly because your ideal car needs to tick every single box on your product checklist.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a risk, though, that you may end up buying a car that was stolen, which makes things way more complicated and costly.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, nobody wants to go through that strenuous experience, so what can you do about it?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nicb.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The National Insurance Crime Bureau<\/a> found that over 750,000 vehicles are reported stolen in the United States each year.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the fact that nearly half of these vehicles get eventually recovered by authorities, there&#8217;s still a huge number of stolen cars getting sold in the black market.<\/p>\n<p>Stolen cars are usually chopped and sold in parts, but many others are also transported and sold overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Another method for thieves to cash in on stolen cars is to post their ads on classifieds and benefit from making sales without any complications.<\/p>\n<p>Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where unscrupulous people operate.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, here are six tips on how to avoid losing money and getting your &#8220;new&#8221; car back to its original owner.<\/p>\n<h2>Check the price and compare it to the market price<\/h2>\n<p>Prices are always good indicators of the value of the car you plan on buying.<\/p>\n<p>If the car is sold at a price that is below the market price, watch out! You may be negotiating a car that has been stolen.<\/p>\n<p>Thieves often get rid of stolen cars by selling it at very low prices in order to get an immediate profit.<\/p>\n<h2>Ask for a second set of keys<\/h2>\n<p>If you are handed one set of keys, feel free to ask them for a second one, which is an easy way to find out whether or not the car was stolen.<\/p>\n<p>Normally, thieves do not bother getting a spare set of keys for a stolen car as it can be a real hassle for them to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Not to mention that modern cars come with key fobs that are expensive to replicate.<\/p>\n<h2>Read the paperwork you need carefully<\/h2>\n<p>If you are suspecting that the seller is offering you a stolen car, ask for documents that prove the legal ownership of the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Read the paperwork you need meticulously and pay attention to anything that looks sketchy.<\/p>\n<p>Never be afraid to verify the authenticity of the documents with your local authority.<\/p>\n<h2>VIN searches and history reports are vital<\/h2>\n<p>Never rely on the information that the seller is providing you regardless of how much you trust the seller.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s in your best interest to run a Vehicle Identification Number search with a government agency or vehicle history report service.<\/p>\n<p>It won&#8217;t take you too long to find out more information about the background of the car you plan on buying.<\/p>\n<h2>Keep copies of every interaction and communication with the seller<\/h2>\n<p>Take a copy of every digital communication and transaction documentation you exchange with the seller.<\/p>\n<p>Buying a stolen car puts you in a situation that you need to keep track of everything for your own benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping a copy of the seller&#8217;s ID and saving a screenshot of the advertisement helps authorities handle your case. Every proof matters.<\/p>\n<h2>Make sure you bring someone with you<\/h2>\n<p>Whenever you schedule a meeting with the seller to discuss the offer, you are strongly advised to bring someone with you for your own safety.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it&#8217;s just to check the car out, ensure you meet the seller in a safe a location. Many buyers pick places located next to a police station for an extra level of security.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.safetradestations.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Safetradestation.com<\/a>, for example, offers a list of departments where you could meet a seller without having to face any risk.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/you-love-your-car-a-bit-too-much\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>SEE ALSO:\u00a0How To Know If You Love Your Car A Bit Too Much (8 Signs)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buying a car can be time-consuming, mostly because your ideal car needs to tick every single box on your product checklist. There&#8217;s a risk, though, that you may end up&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eTags - Vehicle Registration &amp; Title Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"361\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"146\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eTags\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@eTagsTweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eTags\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eTags\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6\"},\"headline\":\"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car &#8211; Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":664,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car &#8211; Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/email.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/email.gif\",\"width\":361,\"height\":146,\"caption\":\"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/eTagsTimeline\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/eTagsTweets\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6\",\"name\":\"eTags\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eTags\"},\"description\":\"Driven by technology, eTags is revolutionizing online vehicle-related transactions while providing an unparalleled customer experience. Online vehicle registration and car tag renewal, title transfers, and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etags.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/etagstimeline\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/etags\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/etagsdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.twitter.com\\\/etagstweets\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)","description":"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)","og_description":"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/","og_site_name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration &amp; Title Services","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline","article_published_time":"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":361,"height":146,"url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"author":"eTags","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets","twitter_site":"@eTagsTweets","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eTags","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/"},"author":{"name":"eTags","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6"},"headline":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car &#8211; Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)","datePublished":"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/"},"wordCount":664,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/","name":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car - Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-08-28T16:55:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-09T15:22:25+00:00","description":"Stolen Car. Buying a stolen car not only ruins the whole experience, but also adds fuel to the black market where those unscrupulous people operate.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/how-not-to-buy-a-stolen-car\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Not To Buy A Stolen Used Car &#8211; Guide For Buyers (6 Tips)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/","name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/email.gif","width":361,"height":146,"caption":"eTags - Vehicle Registration & Title Services Driven By Technology"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTagsTimeline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/eTagsTweets"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/49fd63ec6797c062fb10b8872dce8be6","name":"eTags","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b7db7056f653add9bff5595b34c90a3f7e8cbd022d60b614fcca28cec72734a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eTags"},"description":"Driven by technology, eTags is revolutionizing online vehicle-related transactions while providing an unparalleled customer experience. Online vehicle registration and car tag renewal, title transfers, and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.etags.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/etagstimeline","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/etags","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/etagsdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/etagstweets"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10837"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27759,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10837\/revisions\/27759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etags.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}