Common scams on used cars


Japan is a main source of automobiles with millions of cars being produced and exported within a year only. Everybody at some point of their life thought of buying a vehicle, if not a new, then a used one. Along with new vehicles, large numbers of used vehicles are also exported from Japan. Even though these vehicles are used, but still they offer great value and are reliable. For a very long period, Japanese vehicles dominate the automobile market by offering the most consistent and convenient cars at reasonable prices.


With the availability of large numbers of used car portals, importing a used vehicle is now easy. There are many trustworthy and experienced used vehicle exporters in Japan, who help used vehicle importers to purchase a quality vehicle at reasonable prices. But sometimes buying a used vehicle is risky as there are some dealers who are involved in scams and try to cheat customers. Japanese exporters are known because of their services and honesty. Maximum of used vehicle exporters are legitimate dealers, but few are there to con buyers. The most common consumers complain are scams as dealers in order to make more money, sometimes tamper the odometer or even mask the engine condition.

It’s not that all dealers are scammers; one just has to look for an honest one. While buying a used vehicle it is important for buyer to have complete information regarding the dealer they are dealing with in order to avoid any problem. Here is the list of few common frauds done on used vehicles:-

  • Odometer Fraud:- A serious and most widespread crime on used vehicles in which buyers are left with worthless vehicle. Odometer fraud occurs when the seller of a vehicle falsely represents the actual mileage of a vehicle to the buyer. The myth that digital odometers cannot be tampered is baseless as it is easy to tamper digital odometers in comparison to analog. On an average, every year billions of dollars are lost by customers to odometer fraud and up to 1 in 10 used cars sold may have had their odometers tampered. Odometer inspection is done on used vehicles to protect customers from buying a faulty vehicle.
  • Curbstoning:- State laws prohibit private citizens from selling multiple cars or vehicles. Curbstoning is when a used dealer poses as a private seller and buys and sells vehicles in order to gain profit. Frequently, curbstoners sell vehicles with hidden problems that can affect both the safety and the value of these vehicles. Curbstoners are generally people who buy cheap cars, fix them and sell them to earn swift gain. So, before buying a vehicle, just give it a thought.
  • Title Washing:- A dirty trick in which history of the vehicle that has been retrieved is hidden. It is a known fact that value of used car drops drastically if the car has been recovered from any damage. So, some of the dealers rebuilt the vehicle and sell it with a new title. This is known as “Title Washing” as the title of a car has been cleansed by the seller. To avoid being scammed, look at the history of the vehicle. Examination of title document is also required to see if it has been physically altered.
  • Hiding Engine Problem:- Another common scam on used cars is hiding engine problem. When a used car has engine issues, then diesel oil or diesel fuel is put in the engine to hide the problem for the time being as diesel oil is thicker than regular oil. This is the problem that mechanics see regularly.
  • VIN cloning:– A growing crime in which stolen vehicles are sometimes sold with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) that has been taken out from a similar legally registered car. In order to avoid being a victim of this fraud, match all the VINs on the vehicle.
  • Misinterpretation Vehicle condition:- Dealers sometimes sell the used vehicle to buyers, even though the vehicle have problem. Dealers intentionally put up buyers with defected vehicles just to gain profit. Dealers sell the car “as is”, misinterpreting vehicle’s exact condition.
  • Airbag Fraud:- Once airbags are installed, it is difficult to replace them; in some cases they are irreplaceable. It is also difficult to determine whether or not airbags are present or not in the vehicle as airbag covers can be replaced on the dashboard, hence there is no clue that whether or not airbags are present or not. There are cases where airbags in a used vehicle are nonfunctional; they are either outdated, or made of badly chosen materials.
For many people in the world, buying a new car is still unaffordable, making used cars most convenient route to ownership. While buying a used vehicle, importer should know what to watch out for. It is important for an importer to have complete knowledge regarding the exporter they are dealing with.


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