How to find out if the car you want was stolen
I mentioned this group the other day when I was telling you this is Auto Theft Awareness Month. What is the National Insurance Crime Bureau? It's a nonprofit organization that receives support from approximately 1,000 property/casualty insurance companies and works with law enforcement agencies to help identify, detect and prosecute insurance criminals (sounds sexy, doesn't it? like CSI for insurancegeeks).
The cool thing about this Web site is that you can tap into its database for vehicles that were stolen, but not recovered, or declared totaled by cooperating NICB members. Unlike other companies that charge you for this service, NICB offers it to you for free. We love free stuff here.
If you're looking to buy a car, you need to check out the car's history. Don't buy a stolen car because you didn't check.
Also, you can check for flood vehicles on NICB's site, too. Millions of cars are declared totaled every year and every year, millions of those cars end up back in the market. Now keep in mind that this relies on honest dealers and insurance companies reporting on the history of cars accurately and honestly, but still, it's worth the check.
Categories: Cars, Consumer Web Site of the Week, Consumer protection, Consumer safety, Insurance
