Australia‟s expert body on vehicle crime, the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC), today welcomed the imminent introduction of the national Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) which opens for business on Monday.
NMVTRC Chairman, Mr David Morgan said, “Today marks a red letter day for used car buyers. For the first time consumers and motor traders will have easy, low-cost access to a true one-stop-shop to check the history of any used vehicle they may be considering buying. Importantly, the PPSR also completes a vital element of the NMVTRC‟s strategy to combat the activities of car criminals and fraudsters who try to misrepresent the vehicle‟s true identity.”
While some vehicle status information has been available from encumbrance registers and registration agencies, Mr Morgan said they have generally been limited to state based checks rather than a single, national "source of the truth‟. As a consequence, they have been generally greatly under-utilised by consumers.
Mr Morgan explained that the PPSR will confirm—
basic vehicle description information (e.g. make, model, colour, etc.) is consistent with the national registration database;
if a third party, such as a bank or other lender, has a financial interest in the vehicle;
whether the vehicle is recorded as stolen; and
whether the vehicle has ever been declared a total loss (i.e. write-off) as a result of damage induced by a collision, fire, water inundation, other weather event, malicious action, dismantling or stripping.
A written-off vehicle is one that has been assessed as being too expensive to repair, or too damaged for safe repair. Mr Morgan said, “Written-off status is a vital piece of information because criminals may use the identity of a write-off to disguise the true identity of a stolen vehicle, or rebuild the write-off with stolen parts.”
Mr Morgan explained that there was considerable evidence that some re-registered write-offs had been repaired by non-expert repairers and may pose potential reliability and safety issues.
The NMVTRC estimates that there are more than 1.4 milion private to private sales every year, but only around one-third of buyers have checked the vehicle‟s history because it has been just too hard. According to Mr Morgan, the new service will make such checks much simpler and affordable. “No one would buy a house without making the available provenance checks. The PPSR will now offer used car buyers peace of mind before they hand over their hard earned cash.” He said.
The PPSR is an initiative of the Australian Government. An on-line check will cost $3.70 at www.ppsr.gov.au. The NMVTRC‟s web site (www.carsafe.com.au) also includes a direct link to the service from the home page.
Courtesy carsafe.com.au