Both among car dealers and private individuals who want to get rid of used cars, there are rotten vessels. Their fraud is unfortunately quite widespread, the media point out.
This is not necessarily always the case. But also among car dealers and private individuals who want to get rid of a used car – there are rotten vessels. Some more serious than others.
And according to Auto Bild , the fraud perpetrated by car dealers is unfortunately widespread. However, the car dealers – or private individuals in bad faith – do not use just one trick to cheat. Because there are more of them.
In fact, the scams that car sellers can use are almost countless. It is no wonder that used car dealers in particular are time and time again at the bottom of credibility surveys.
Here at Boosted, we have previously described how up to 50,000 cars in Denmark alone can be cloned. Something that fraudsters make use of to a great extent. But more on that in a bit.
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Kilometer spooling: It's not illegal, but…
Fast-forwarding or rewinding an odometer is not illegal. But although there may be completely legal reasons for it, it is often car sellers with insidious ulterior motives who make use of it.
Often the car salesmen try to turn back the speedometer to get more money for a car that is 'newer' than it really is. Enrico, who thought he had bought a Mercedes with 230,000 kilometers on the odometer, was among other things. Read more about it here.
A good piece of advice is to always ask the seller for the mileage, check the service book and the publicly available inspection reports.
Hidden damage: New paint can cover a lot
Unless you are a car expert, it can be extremely difficult to spot hidden damage. They are hidden for a reason. Mostly to get more money out of you.
But hidden damage can be dangerous. Among other things, because they can go beyond the car's safety and handling characteristics. Openly different shades in the car's paintwork can, however, be a very good indicator that something is hidden in the car's history. Therefore, always ask the seller and check the car's papers for this kind of history.
Cloned cars – there are thousands of them in Denmark
It is inherently difficult to say anything precise about how many cloned cars are driving around Denmark. But we can safely assume that it is several thousands.
Cloning, which involves hacking a new registration number in, for example, a stolen car so that it changes identity, can be terribly difficult to detect.
Unfortunately, as a private individual, there is not much that can be done to avoid standing on a cloned car. It is especially when we reach the much more expensive cars that cloning becomes a widespread scam.
But if the car's registration certificate – or the service booklet – says that it is blue, and you are looking at a messy car, the alarm bells should ring. Especially if the seller doesn't mention it in one word.
False ads – never pay upfront for a used car
It may sound silly with a fake sales ad. But nevertheless, it is a way that fraudsters succeed time and time again.
The ads obviously do not say anything about prepayment. But when you call on the car because it might sound like a really good offer, the salesperson suddenly starts talking about a deposit to hold the car until you come and look at it.
Obviously there is no car. The pictures of it may have been stolen from the real and in that context completely innocent owner. But the 'seller' says that there are 'a lot of people interested'.
It was a collection of the most widespread scams among car salesmen. We know we don't have all the pitfalls with us. Did we forget someone? Then share them with us in the comments section of this article on Facebook.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
