December 14th, 2021Victoria’s most stolen vehicles revealed

As the second-hand car market booms, Australians are being warned to check the history of a used car twice before buying, or risk an expensive mistake. 

With more than 12,500 cars being reported as stolen in Victoria each year, experts at CheckTheCar.com.au said those purchasing without doing an official written-off and stolen vehicle check risk losing thousands.

The warning comes as the Holden Commodore VE (MY06-13), Ford Ranger PX (MY 11+) and the Nissan Pulsar N15 (MY95_00) were listed among the countries’ most at-risk vehicles for car theft, according to the latest statistics from The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC).

In the last financial year alone more than 247 older model Holden Commodores have been stolen from Victorian streets.

Other models Toyota Hilux (MY05_11) and Nissan Navara D22 (MY01_15) also sat in the top five most at-risk vehicles in Victoria.   

In the last year alone (12 months to October) Victoria recorded 12,651cases of car theft (unlawful use of a motor vehicle), down slightly from 4,108 the year prior.

Rafe Berding, head of CheckTheCar.com.au, part of technology company Dye & Durham said buyers are at risk of car repossession, if a car is stolen or finance is still owing on the vehicle.

“Buying a car should be an easy thing to do; however, those looking for a vehicle should be very wary,” Mr Berding said.

“We know car rebirthing and cloning happens to thousands of stolen vehicles each year, so drivers need to take steps to ensure they aren’t purchasing something that isn’t theirs.

“Drivers can also avoid long term mechanical issues from written-off vehicles and more by doing a little research before purchasing,” he said.

Mr Berding said prospective owners can easily check the official status of a vehicle by simply entering a plate registration or vehicle identification number (VIN).

“Finance owing checks aren’t the first thing people consider but it could save you a lot of heartbreak and money.

“We regularly hear horror stories where a buyer has had their car towed, all because it still technically belonged to the bank, and the previous owner failed to pay their bills.”

CheckTheCar.com.au offers affordable and instant PPSR checks on vehicles which cover a vehicle’s stolen status, written-off status, finance owing and more.