How To Avoid A Car Import Scam?

Is my car an import?

By : Jessica McNeel Category : Car Import Check

While buying make sure that you check if car is an import or not, Avoid a car import scam by following some guidelines that we have listed for you.

If the vehicle history is never checked and the seller isn’t identifiable, it can put you in a situation where you happen to pay for a car and never see it again or the money.

While getting a car imported, it is best to get authentic reports and have recent pictures that clearly indicate the registration number as mentioned in the documents.

Some of our Tips:

Do thorough research, try Google! – enter the vehicle’s VIN and foreign registration number, this can let you in on some interesting information on the car’s history, past scams, or accident damage.

If a deal is too good to be true, then it quite possibly is. Don’t go for a car import purchase that seems too cheap, you need to consider shipping costs and everything when it comes to importing a car, which itself should let you know if it is a scam or not.

Ask for vehicle registration documents, and the seller’s name, if you get a copy of the seller’s passport, then you can easily verify their name as well.

Be careful– take a long look at the advertisement and check for yourself if it sounds genuine.

If a seller offers to ship the car for you to check – no one, literally no dealer ever does that, no one will take responsibility for shipping a car back and forth, it is a scam

There are numerous online car shipping scams going on all over the world, targeting buyers of cars, boats, motorbikes and other high value items.

Fake Website – Car Shipping Scam

Swindlers usually copy some car dealer sites and pose as them, while reaching out to potential car buyers, saying that they will handle all the shipping charges, get it imported via their approved shippers and also pay for the shipping charges.

Check a website before you trust in its authenticity, you can normally notice several changes in the real and fake one, if you are observant enough. They are minute changes that people fail to notice.

Some swindlers can easily fake an escrow services website and make it seem very genuine, this can be dangerous if you don’t really know how to look out for its authenticity. Copying a website is not a hard thing to do nowadays and the contact details are changed, so that they reach the fraudsters. These numbers are untraceable and emails are sent via bulk email accounts. Learn more about crime and fraud protection

For example; support@bestcarshippers.com is good, bestcarshippers@aol.com is most likely a con. Always check the emails thoroughly before clicking on any link, and if it is suspicious don’t click anything at all.

It is good to be cautious when you are dealing with imported cars, complicated transactions involving various middlemen could be a scam. Collect all the proof of online transactions please and check vigorously, know the credentials of the person you are dealing with.

UK shipping companies, belong to the British International Freight Association (BIFA). You can call the shipping agent personally and verify.

Avoid sending money through western union, legit companies have bank accounts and bank accounts are traceable.

How do I know if my car is imported?

Get to know if your car is imported or not via a imported car check, it can help you figure out your car’s import status. Avoid a car import scam by making sure that the vehicle is authentic, by various pictures of the car, verifying the seller and by understanding the specifics of importing a car with care.