Australians warned to be wary as second-hand car sales scams rise
Australians are being warned of a sophisticated second-hand vehicle scam targeting prospective buyers on sites like Facebook and Gumtree which can cost victims thousands of dollars.
It comes as the used car market is experiencing an unprecedented boom since the beginning of the pandemic.
"Unfortunately, record prices and record demand for used cars has brought out a number of dodgy operators," Joshua Dowling from Drive said.
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Odometer tampering is a used car sale scam which can cost Australians thousands of dollars. Nine
A Subaru XV sold for $32,000 — around $11,000 more than it was worth, after it had 400,000 kilometres wiped off its odometer.
Similarly, a Toyota Hilux sold for $25,000 more than its proper value at nearly $31,000 after 280,000 kilometres were deleted from its odometer.
The warning comes as demand for vehicles increases once again, this time as Australia's east coast recovers from floods.
Industry experts say it means there could be other hidden dangers lurking on our roads.
More than 22,000 waterlogged cars have been written off in the NSW and Queensland floods, and those with insurance can't be sold on.
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But new fears are held about the uninsured flood-damaged vehicles which could be secretly patched up and sold.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Eleni Marie said in 2021 112 fines and 76 penalty notices were dished out for breaches of practice.
"If you get caught scamming a consumer, the full force of the law will come down on you," she said.
"If it seems too good to be true, do consider getting an independent inspection," said Mr Dowling.
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