Consumers should also be aware that differences in state procedures and reporting are important to understand. For example, some states exempt vehicles of a certain age from titling, and other states may collect and report varying levels of descriptive information on vehicles e. The Department of Justice recommends that consumers educate themselves on these types of issues before relying on any vehicle history report information, from this or any other service provider.
It is intended to provide data on only five key indicators associated with preventing fraud and theft. While 87 percent of the U.
Vehicle title
These sources are independent and are not required to follow or prescribe to a uniform approach for defining vehicle conditions and titling. For example, because a vehicle has been in the possession of a junk or salvage yard, does not mean that a state must brand the vehicle as junk or salvage.
State laws vary in this regard and may not require application of such a brand, despite the fact that the vehicle was treated as salvage at some point. The bottom line is that the standards governing these matters vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
What is a car title?
Consumers should be aware that the information in NMVTIS is not all of the information that a state may include in its vehicle title records. Consumers are encouraged to consider accessing the actual state title record to ensure that all relevant information is considered before making a vehicle purchase decision.
Each NMVTIS consumer access vehicle history report will include a link to access the current state's full vehicle title record. Click HERE to find out how to access state vehicle title records. How Do I For example: After Hurricane Katrina, authorities reported truckloads of flooded vehicles being taken out of Louisiana to other states as far away as the upper Midwest, where they were dried out, cleaned, and readied for sale to unsuspecting consumers in states that do not brand flood vehicles. Prospective purchasers of these vehicles may not have known that the vehicles had been subjected to a saltwater flood that made the vehicles' electrical systems including their airbag sensors more prone to failure.
In this multistate investigation, it was discovered that a criminal enterprise based in South Florida was stealing vehicles and replacing the VINs on the stolen vehicles with VINs removed from other vehicles of the same make, model, and year.
#1: Communication is Key
Because the stolen cars and their fraudulent title paperwork displayed legitimate VINs taken from other automobiles i. The criminal enterprise that was taken down in this investigation was linked to many other types of criminal activity, including major violent crimes.
Read more about cloning at vehicle cloning. In one western state, DMV clerks checking NMVTIS prior to issuing a new title have identified vehicles suspected of being stolen and vehicles with potentially fraudulent documentation and have been able to notify law enforcement instantly, before a new title was issued and while the suspects were still in the DMV offices. This has prevented crimes from occurring e.
NMVTIS was created to: Prevent the introduction or reintroduction of stolen motor vehicles into interstate commerce; Protect states and consumers individual and commercial from fraud; Reduce the use of stolen vehicles for illicit purposes including funding of criminal enterprises; and Provide consumers protection from unsafe vehicles.
Vehicle Titles | dmv
Back to Top Where implemented, NMVTIS has already produced results , including time and cost savings for state motor vehicle titling agencies, reductions in consumer wait time, decreases in motor vehicle thefts, improved recovery rate of stolen vehicles, increased ability to identify cloned vehicles prior to title issuance, and improved investigative abilities.
Results produced to date include: South Dakota and New Hampshire saving time and money by no longer requiring the clerk to manually update a state record with returned title information since such updates are automatically included in NMVTIS.
It's important to take advantage of the service and check the title before you buy the car. If that happens, you could become involved in a logistical nightmare trying to get your money back, but you should try. Attempting title fraud is a demonstration of illicit character, which could mean there are other problems with the vehicle.
- National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) | BJA?
- Additional vehicle information?
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Another concern complicating the title process is that Texas law is not clear on what constitutes a salvage vehicle , meaning one that has been damaged in an accident, by harsh weather, or by theft. There is no set percentage of damage before a vehicle receives a salvage title. A vehicle is considered salvage when repair costs, not including repainting, exceed the vehicle's value at the moment before the damage occurred.
This means that the older your car is, the more likely it can be considered salvage in the event of an accident. Keith Griffin is a member of the New England Motor Press Association and has been an automotive journalist and new car reviewer for more than a decade.
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