How to check if a car is stolen

Stolen cars are rarely sold as they are. Criminals typically give them a new identity first — a practice known as cloning. They copy the registration and details of a similar, legitimate car, so the stolen vehicle appears clean in a casual check. Some are fitted with altered or swapped VIN plates.

Because the clone matches a real car of the same make, model and colour, nothing looks obviously wrong. That's why a visual once-over is never enough.

• The price is well below market value for the age and mileage.
• The V5C logbook is missing, a duplicate, or has spelling mistakes and a suspicious watermark.
• The VIN (stamped on the bodywork and visible in the windscreen) looks scratched, altered or freshly riveted.
• The VIN, V5C and number plates don't all match each other.
• The seller wants to meet somewhere other than their home address, or pushes for cash quickly.
• The service history and MOT records don't line up with the car's condition or mileage.

A proper stolen vehicle check queries the Police National Computer (PNC) and insurance industry databases for markers against the registration and, where available, the VIN. This is the same data the police use to identify stolen vehicles.

The free government services (MOT history, tax status) do not tell you whether a car is stolen — there is no free public stolen-vehicle register. That information is only available through a paid vehicle history check.

• View the car at the seller's home address and check it matches the V5C.
• Check the VIN in the windscreen, on the bodywork (often under the bonnet or in the door frame) and on the V5C — all three must match.
• Run a stolen check on the registration before handing over any money.
• Pay by a traceable method and get a proper receipt with the seller's details.

If a check comes back with a stolen marker, walk away and report it — do not confront the seller.