According to a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald ‘Back from the Dead’ (13/07/2007) Sydney is the capital of a booming criminal trade in cars that have been rebirthed, where a write-off can be repaired with parts from a stolen car then sold privately with a legitimate compliance label.
The gut wrenching reality is if you’re caught this way, you have no legal comeback, even though you may have performed all the necessary pre-purchase checks. Since the introduction of the CarWise service in April, NRMA has found that 1 in 4 vehicles have had some kind of outstanding issue that could cost a motorist thousands of dollars.
If there are simple ways manufacturers can help with this problem then why aren’t they?
For less than $2 a vehicle we could have high security, self-voiding labels, instead of the current aluminium ones.
Why isn’t data dot security compulsory on all new cars and why can’t the re-registration of written-off vehicles be banned?
If the government is really serious about stamping out this blight, they need to use some muscle and insist that car manufacturers comply.
Have you been caught with car rebirthing? What happened and what was the final outcome?
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No I have’t been caught. But I will be forced to buy a new car which I can’t afford. It means that because of our weak and immoral society that doesn’t send these low life criminals away and deal adequately with all criminals that my family wil have to survive on less of all other necessities. Wake up Australia. We need a justice system, some decent police, some decent judges, adequate jails etc.
I have not been a victim. Preferring to buy new. This problem will not be solved until we hav uniform legislation in all states, and stamp out all of the interstate rivalry. If i wanted to rebirth a car all I need to do is drive it over the border into Queensland os South Australia. Bingo!! I make plenty of bucks and am long gone when the poo hits the fan.
It’s a horrible situation to find yourself in. I’ve had a mate who had a cut job car and was devestated when he found out – he even had it professionally inspected before he bought it. So you’re never 100% covered.
What’s more alarming is that judges, police, etc aren’t the answer in this case. Even with CarWise, its left to a private enterprise to help pull together some protection for consumers.
The answers are really easy:
* National Car Database – shared by all states
* Proper inspection and pink slip procedures with heavy fines for those who don’t adhere to them – including submission of vehicle information to government
* Tracking of odometer readings
* Access for organisations to get this data – whether its NRMA, Car Dealers and consumers
* Stronger laws around collecting and maintaining of car records
* Much more effort by car manufacturers to develop systems and make them cheaply available to consumers – microdots, self voiding labels, computing and tracking systems
* Massive penalties for anyone caught rebirthing a car
* Common sense by consumers – don’t buy a car from other states, get a CarWise/REV’s check/CarFacts report whatever, do some background checking, buy from a reputable dealer
The reality is that if you build up a system that makes consumers as comfortable as possible with buying a car, those who don’t adhere to it won’t be able to sell their cars. Market forces always rule.
It is unfortunate that a lot of car rebirthing is mainly from particular ethnic groups, and confined to particular suburbs. One of the main things to do when buying a used car is to check that the registration papers are in the name and address of the seller. Ask questions about the vehicle history, if the seller appears evasive or it is too good a bargain, start running. Also get someone with a bit of knowledge of motor vehicles to check it out.
If the police would did regular un annouced licence spot checks and patrooled the streets a lot of problems would be solved.
Unlicenced drivers of all ages are the cause of many problems!
When an insurance company writes off a car, why don’t they remove the compliance plate?
Do away with the curren compliance plate and instead use microdots to identify the vehicle and link it back to the true compliance details held by the RTA or the manufacturer or both.
Spraying millions of microdots all over the vehicle would make it impossible to pass it off as some other vehicle. It would stop rebirthing of vehicles overnight!
Can’t be too hard surely.
This response is to BARRY who thinks that car rebirthing is confined to one spot . Firstly car rebirthing is not confined to one spot how careless are you to think that . Also to say that ethnic ‘groups” go on you can say it lebanese,greeks,asians and any other non anglo looking bloke , are all car rebirthers . I am sorry but you have a shallow vision on this topic and life in general. To sanp your statement in half i think there are many rebirthed cars in your suberb, it can be cut up at one place and sold at another . BARRY stick to buying the cars because i agree with you on these pionts you made …..Ask questions about the vehicle history, if the seller appears evasive or it is too good a bargain, start running. Also get someone with a bit of knowledge of motor vehicles to check it out.
A member of my family bought one of these cars. There was a REVS check done with NO problems listed. The RTA website history site stated NO problems with the car. The car was NOT a bargin……it cost markey price!!
Why did the RTA pass this car for roadworthness???
The RTA are the licensing body paid for by tax payers. They are corrupt and incompetent and DO NOT follow their own prodecures and when caught out will not take action against the people concerned.
They already have these cars on their own data base and still do not inspect them to their own standard.
We are taking legal action against the RTA as they are not worth their pay and will not take responsibility for their own mistakes.
THEY ARE A CORRUPT and INCOMPETENT government arm that preaches safety but cannot deliver when it comes to the crunch!
Some of the problems today are that not all cars written off ever make it to REVS or the RTA databases…..leaving space for these cars to be used in rebirthing scams as some companies self insure and aren’t required to report written off vehicles to REVS or the RTA/other road Authority. My advice is that you should either buy new cars. Or purchase from a dealer as they mean you have an option of compensation.
REVS and RTA just present the information pertaining to the vehicles history that they have…which is often by no means the complete or even actual history. Remember a car only has to pass a saftey inspection in order to be re-registered. Legitimate VINS,TAGS and other security devices can be swapped from one vehicle to another by skilled mechanics.
I am a victim of car rebirthing. I purchased a car 12 mths ago and did all the (so call) safety checks, REVs etc. I have been in the maintenance field all my life and also had a friend pose as a potential buyer for this same vehicle, he has been around cars all his life to. We thought we were bullet proof.
I found a few (small) problems a couple of weeks after purchasing the car.
Further investigation led me to believe i had been stung. I went about tracking the seller down and after extensive internet hours found the same seller with a different car. We were going to set up a rendevous and sort it out, get money back, tap him on the shoulder, what ever it took!!! Further research on internet regarding seller and i found car rebirthing was not their only criminal offence. Murder,assualt, drugs and the list goes on.
I made the wise decision to hand over to the police. Funny thing about this was if i said nothing i would still be driving around in my rebirthed car today and no one would be any wiser. But i thought the people need to be convicted and save others from the pain i have had over the last 12mths.
My car was brought as a wreck interstate, brought back to NSW and re built as a bottom of the line 4wd on cheap parts and re registered. Once registered the criminals than steal a top of the line 4wd and fit all those stolen parts to my vehicle and sell as a top of the line luxury 4wd. Come in spinner. My car has been impounded now for nearly 12mths. Many arrests have been made and more imminent. As a result of my actions another approximately 24 cars sit next to mine, some taken from buyers who had been driving them for over 2 yrs. (sorry to those poeple)
The irony of it all is i own most of my car and the insurance company who paid out on the stolen car owns the rest. I happen to be insured with the same insurance company and my research shows me that if i am going to get my car back i may have to negotiate a price with this insurance company to buy the stolen parts which are now belong to the insurance company. Funny thing about this is these very same insurance companies send these written off vehicles to auctions where they are purchased for a paltry sum by these criminals and than rebirthed with stolen parts and sold to other poor bastards like myself.
There in lies the 1st problem. These written off vehicles should be exactly that. “written off” never to see the tarmac again. The VIN number should die with the vehicle. Thats all these criminals need to keep their activities happening
REVS need to talk australia wide
Hopefully the criminals that have been arrested so far over mine and others get the book throw at them.
With regards to my car and getting it back when the department of prosecutions is finished with it, i will see how my dealings go with this insurance company. My query though is this??? If i tell the insurance company to stick their stolen parts on my vehicle where the sun does not shine, and if i do i will leave the rest of the vehicle parked outside one of their office’s with a large sign displaying their loyalties. BUT MY QUESTION IS THIS!!! If they take their stolen parts which they legally own back off me what are they going to do with them?????
Sell them back at the same auctions where they sell these written off vehicles to all these criminals.!!!! Maybe the insurance companies should take a look at themselves as well.
WATCH THIS SPACE.
I hope my little story may save other people from facing my dilemma.
When the court hearings and this matter is over i should published my story in all motoring journals Australia wide as there is plenty more to story but as yet i am not able to tell you.
After buying 3 internet-advertised used cars from private sellers in the past 4 years, I have found that the most simple protection against buying a re-birthed car from a private seller is to compare the age of the car against the age of the numberplate. Re-birthed cars have to be re-registered. Re-registered cars have to get new numberplates. Not all used cars with new numberplates are re-birthed, but nearly all rebirthed cars will have new numberplates. Numberplates are issued in a sequential, alphanumerical order from the RTA, making it possible to plot numberplate combinations against time periods.
Any used-car with a brand new numberplate, or a numberplate significantly newer than the car itself, should ring alarm bells, and you should only proceed if you are fully confident with the explanation given by the seller for the car’s re-registration, which may (or may not) be legitimate. Many used cars with brand new numberplates being offered for private sale seem to come from south-west Sydney. A car that has numberplates that coincide with the time the car was sold as a new vehicle will 99% of the time be a legit used-car (from there you can go on to do usual vehicle condition checks before buying).
LEARN HOW TO COMPARE THE AGE OF NUMBERPLATES WITH THE AGE OF THE CAR.
Firstly, there are three main forms of standard-issue number plate. The type with three letters followed by three numbers ABC-123 (I will refer to this style as ‘classic’) ended in mid-2004 and was replaced with 2 letters, 2 numbers, 2 letters, such as AB-12-CD (I will refer to this as ‘new-format’). Classic and new-format plates are black characters on a yellow background. Then there is also the slimline plate (because it’s a thinner style plate with black characters on a white background) which hasn’t changed format since it’s introduction in the early 90s – this has 3 letters, 2 numbers, one letter or ABC-12D (I will refer to this as ‘slimline’).
Here is a rough guide to ascertaining the age of a number-plate, some of the starting letters may overlap from one year to another slightly. If you’re unsure, check with the RTA and they can tell you when a plate was issued.
CLASSIC AND SLIMLINE
-1988: letters up to ‘P’
1989-1990/1: starting with ‘R’
1991-1993/4: starting with ‘S’, also slimline starting with ‘AA’
1994-1995: starting with ‘T’ then ‘Q’ (Q is an exception to the alphabetic sequence rule, I don’t know why), slimline with letters ‘AAx’ or ‘ABx’
1996-1997: starting with ‘U’, slimline ‘ACx’ and ‘ADx’
1998-1999: starting with a ‘V’ then ‘W’, slimline around ‘AGx’
2000-2002: starting with ‘W’ then ‘X’, slimline ‘AHx’ through ‘ALx’
2002-2003: starting with ‘Y’, slimline ‘AMx’ – ‘AQx’
2003- mid2004: starting with ‘Z’, slimline roughly around ‘ARx’
Classic replaced: NEW FORMAT and SLIMLINE
mid2004-2005: starting with ‘AA’ thorugh to about ‘AE’, slimline around ‘ASx’
2005-2006: ‘AF’ to about ‘AJ’, slimline around ‘ATx’ to ‘AZx’ *N.B. in mid-late 2006, slimline plates gained a black border around the numberplate.
2007: ‘AJ’ to about ‘AR’, slimline ‘BAx’ to ‘BDx’
2008: ‘AT’ to about ‘BA’, slimline ‘BEx’ about ‘BHx’
2009: ‘BA’ to ‘BE’, slimline ‘BHx’ to ‘BMx’.
Use the above as a guide only. Use the major number-plate milestones to make quick assesments – any car sold new before 2004 should not have ‘new format’ plates unless they were changed for some reason (such as reregistering). Any car sold new previous to late-2006 should not have slimline plates starting with a ‘B’ unless they were changed for some reason.
Generally, I would avoid cars with non-period original numberplates unless I was offered an explanation for the change of numberplates that satisfied me. Remember that even cars with original-period plates may have been involved in serious accidents! Perform all the usual checks before buying a used car – use number-plate scanning only as a preliminary safety precaution against re-birthing.
Learn ‘plates and buy safe people!
Based on Pauls theory i found such a car
07 mazda 6 with rego BMN50C classic sports with 15,000 kms and selling for 19500
other cars sell from 26k and above. The medium price is 30k
Where can we submit such vehicles to catch these crooks?
I’m having to have my vehicle “inspected” when transferring registration between states where we now live .
The national data register says my VIN is “corrupted” and I’ve owned it over 8 years! I’ve never heard of this happening to a new one owner car or am I mistaken naieve ?
The ACT Roads and traffic have never rejected or quierred my annual rego renewal! so why does this happen after so many years !
I think I have been stung ?
I just picked up our new car from the Interstate carrier as I live in Perth and the car was brought over from NSW.
The car does not have the log books, user manuals, spare keys and service history information – which was said to be in the glove box. These belong with the car, I thought.
The car appears to have been in an accident or worse. I did ask if it had been in an accident and I was told no.
The car has 2 different VIN# numbers and 2 different date of manufacture stamps. Plus the VIN tag has been removed from the dash. This is ILLEGAL. The registration papers for the car is for a different VIN# (but correct engine #.) I will have to contact the RTA NSW on this issue.
I bought the car through CarSales.com.au at a reasonable price but how can I re-register it over here with these VIN discrepancies ? I did not send payment until I was faxed a copy of the NSW rego papers and doing a little background check on the seller.
Dodgy seller or rebirth or crappy NSW RTA for failing to pick this up ?
Can I get a refund ? keep the car ? re-sell?
Car rebirthing was existant well before the migration of any ethnic groups. Going back to the 1960’s when the anglo saxons were populating most suburbs, car re-birthing of Holdens, Fords and the like was very common.
The only difference between back then and now is that there is a media conception that the ethnic (and by saying ethnic I refer to the constant attacks at the Lebanese, greek, Italian, and Asian groups) are the sole groups responsible.
Don’t tell me that this legislation is good for the NSW as it effects numerous industries in a negative manner.
Its not hard to hire RTA Inspection Officers that have a trained eye in the specifations of motor vehicles. Take Victoria for example, an engineer inspects the car with a thorough inspection of the vehicle conducted, the car is scanned, measured and generally checked all over for imperfections. The car simply doesn’t pass if it isn’t road worthy.
Then you look at NSW, cars with NO compliance plates are passed, cars with bent chasis are passed, cars with faulty airbags are passed.
The problem doesn’t lie with the innocent public repairers, the problem lies with the RTA Administration who can’t get their act together.
The reason 60% of cars that are passed are lemons is because the RTA is passing them! NOT because of the faulty workmanship. Its not hard for the inspector to knock back an unroadworthy car…ofcourse he’d need to know what he was looking at first and this is only possible if they are provided with the adequate training.
I am a male of Middle Eastern descent and, while it hurts me that people are stereotyping car rebirthing as a crime dominated by people with the same background as me, I can’t escape the fact that it’s happening. In fact, I suffer from it because when people see my name in carsales, I’m sure many just pass it by. I would be just as happy for these criminals to be caught and put away as any other taxpaying, God (or Allah)-fearing Australian citizen.
For those who think all people who look like me are “in on it”, please note that these things are unique to the criminals and their families (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/car-rebirthing-scam-busted/story-e6freuy9-1111118728653). It only “looks” like they have a cultural heritage in common because they appear to hail from multiple suburbs and have different names. The truth is a large number of these cars (and there are a lot!) can be linked back to the same criminal organisation. If not one then a handful of them. It’s something most people (ME or not) would touch with a 12-foot barge-pole.
Many people of middle eastern descent themselves are victims of these crimes. I know because many of them come to me to help them buy their NEXT car so they don’t get stung again.
You see, I am the friend they bring along who knows about cars and can pick the dodgy ones. I have managed to avoid them all my adult life but I’m getting to the point where I might start recommending my friends buy a new car to avoid this problem.
It’s so prevalent and there are so many of these cars on the market I’ve lately started to wonder about 2 things:
1) It would be VERY easy for the folk at Carsales (and tradingpost, drive.com.au, etc) to do a query on their database for ads with the same contact number. In fact they could even log the ip address of the computer on which the ad was submitted. I’m in IT and I know this can be done. Give that to the police and hey presto! you’ve got ‘em. Has this been done? If not, why? would it hurt Carsales’ business?
2) How on earth did these cars get re-registered? I mean, if I can pick them from the ads alone, surely the inspectors can tell by looking at the cars in person???
On this latter point I agree with Mustafa, above. The RTA inspectors need to be more vigilant or better trained.
Thanks for the information and this is truly happening. The cars are stolen and there parts are soled. My father has purchased a new car and it has been only three weeks. Within this three week time the few parts of the car is stolen and this has been brought into the notice of police department and they still not trying to stop such things to happen. The car rebirthing can be a other way to but this problem has to be sought out by the management. onedaycarinsure.co.uk
Thank goodness for the new stat write off rules in NSW, these will make it alot harder for the people who make massive profits on quick dodgy backyard fixes!!
The quality panel beaters will see an increase in business, as it will become harder to write off a car, and proper repairs will be required, and insurance companies will guarantee them!
Unfortunately this will not stop the whole problem from occuring, however it will limit the amount of backyarders out there buying up cars at the auctions from NSW and interstate for “quick dodgy fixes”. Other states need to follow suit, whether it be making all write-off’s as Statutory or strict VicRoads inspections, it needs to be a National effort!!!