Protecting Yourself From Title Washing

What Is Title Washing?

Title washing is a common form of fraud in which car buyers need to be aware. Title washing is done to hide the history of a vehicle that was previously reported as salvaged, which means it was previously totaled or damaged and then rebuilt. In most states, there are laws against title washing, however, there are dishonest people out there who try to pass off a car that was rebuilt or salvaged.

A car title may be marked as salvaged because it was rebuilt after it was damaged by any of the following:

• Fire damage
• Water damage or flooding
• It was involved in an accident
• Other catastrophic events

When a car that was damaged or totaled is salvaged or rebuilt, most states require the title of that vehicle to be stamped or “branded” with this information. This might make the car harder to sell since most people do not want to purchase a vehicle with a checkered past. To get around this, dishonest owners sometimes take the title to another state without such laws and register it there. This is called title washing.

How To Protect Yourself From Title Washing

A good way to protect yourself from buying a vehicle with a “washed” title is to obtain a history report using the vehicle identification number (VIN). Once a vehicle is marked as salvaged, this information is reported and recorded in the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Even if a car is bought in one state and sold in another, this information follows the vehicle through national computer records.

Vehicle history reports allow you to verify that you are making a good choice in an auto investment by offering vehicle history reports. When you order one of these reports, it will list the following:

• Salvage history
• Odometer information
• Date the title was issued
• Status of the title from current and previous states
• Insurance designations of the vehicle including whether it was “totaled”

How To Report Title Washing

If you suspect fraud or that a title was washed, you should report this information to your insurance company immediately. You can also contact the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) at (800) TEL-NICB.

Look Up The History Of A Vehicle Today

Protect yourself from a salvage title by ordering a vehicle history report or calling one of our support representatives at (888) 950-9550, EXT 11, today. Our reports will also include the vehicle value, making us unique in this industry.