Nine ways to avoid online car scams

With online car sales at record levels, consumers have been warned to stay safe and be wary of scams when buying a car over the internet.

Crimestoppers, An Garda Síochána, and online classified websites Carzone and DoneDeal have launched a campaign giving consumers practical advice to follow when they’re buying or selling cars and commercial vehicles online.

Last year, more than 300m searches were carried out on Irish car websites by people interested in buying a vehicle. Almost 125,000 new cars were sold in Ireland last year, an increase of 30% on 2014 with further increases expected this year.

The most popular car brands searched for online in Ireland are Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, BMW, and Opel.

According to the campaign, the top tips for people considering buying or selling a car or commercial vehicle online are:

• Do your homework — if the price of the vehicle is way below its current value, the “bargain” may indeed be too good to be true;
• If you’re contacted by a company promising to buy your car or claiming to have buyers ready and waiting, beware. These are usually scams — some even use an official website’s name to appear legitimate;
• Face-to-face contact with the person you are buying from or selling to can reduce the likelihood of you transacting will someone involved in illegal activity;
• Is the seller the same person named in the vehicle registration certificate? If not, why not? Don’t be afraid to ask for proof of address, identification;
• When carrying out a transaction, make sure you meet people in a public area, preferably somewhere that has CCTV cameras;
• If someone wishes to pay by bank draft, meet them at the bank so that you can verify its authenticity before handing over the item for sale;
• Make sure you get to meet the person selling or buying the item themselves, and not a person acting on their behalf. Take their photo if possible;
• If you have a concern about the bona fides of a buyer or seller, do not go through with the transaction;
• If you suspect that a buyer or seller is engaging in illegal activity, call your local Garda station.

Finbarr Garland of DoneDeal said that while “the vast majority of people have a positive experience when buying and selling goods through classified advertising, there are occasions when buyers or sellers can be misled and taken advantage of”.