If you are interested in buying a second-hand car, here is an excellent tip for you. You would have come across news at some point in time, where somebody ended up buying a stolen car. Car stealer, steal the Cars, prepare fake documents like the registration certificate, etc. and sell off the car in the second-hand market. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to instantly find out if the vehicle you are going to buy is the stolen one?
Buying a second-hand car? Find out if it is a stolen car
Earlier, there was only an SMS service by Delhi Police to find out if the vehicle was stolen. Now, we have a bunch of services that can help you figure out if the car sold to you is genuine if there are any pending cases against it, how were the terms with the insurance company, if there are any road taxes to be paid and so on.
1] Find out Registration Date, Car Owner name and so on
Indian Government offers Parivahan service where you can enter Car number, and find details including Registration Date, Chasis no, Car owner name, Road Tax Paid Upto, Insurance, and so on. If the document offered by the seller doesn’t have the exact info or there is no affidavit of the sale (in case it’s being sold the second time), then you should not buy it.
2] Check Fines and Dues against the second-hand car
It is a good idea to check if there are any dues and fines for the second-hand car. Depending on which city it is being sold, you will have to check with the local traffic Police Website for any pending cases. You will also have to check E-Challan – Digital Traffic/Transport Enforcement for any pending eChallan. You can search by Challan number, vehicle number, and driving license number.
3] Check with Vahan Samanway Service for any
It is a government-owned service where you can enter details of the car and check whether the vehicle was reported stolen or status if its a 2nd hand vehicle but stolen. It will download a PDF file containing information about its stolen status.
Local Traffic police websites also maintain a public portal of registered stolen vehicles. It would be wise too to get the number checked on those websites as well. Kolkata Police maintains a page for the stolen cars. Here you can search by car number, or you can view the full list of stolen vehicles.
These are some of the ways you can figure out if the second-hand car you are planning to buy is a stolen one. It is essential that you also connect with the last insurance company, and find out details about it.