Stolen check
Stolen cars are still being sold. Often by people who think they bought them legitimately.
When you buy a stolen car, you don’t become its owner — even if you didn’t know. Police can seize it. Your insurer won’t pay out. The money is gone, the car is gone, and the legal recourse is against the person who sold it to you, who is usually long gone too.
74,000
vehicles reported stolen in 2025
46%
sold on within 30 days
£0
paid out by insurers on stolen vehicles
How it happens
Stolen vehicles are quickly cleaned, given cloned plates, and sold through private listings or via dealers buying at auction without checks. The buyer has a V5C that looks plausible. The car drives. Months later, an ANPR camera or a routine traffic stop returns the truth.
What to look for
VINs that look stamped or scratched on the chassis. Door, boot and bonnet labels that don’t match. V5C document numbers that fail validation. Sellers who can’t meet at a residential address that matches the V5C.
How we check it
We cross-reference the VIN against the Police National Computer’s stolen vehicles index. We also check whether the registration plate has been cloned — i.e. is in active use on multiple vehicles simultaneously.