Most Americans have purchased a used car at sometime in their lives with the belief that all information about the vehicle history was completely revealed at the time of purchase. As a result, many across the country have been affected by one auto fraud practice involving vehicles that have been listed as salvage only on vehicle titles. The term salvage only is given to vehicles that have received flood damage. Switching or cloning the manufacturer’s VIN plates, known as the practice of title washing, is another way to clone bad vehicle as good used vehicle. In addition, a vehicle that has received damage at least 75% of its market value and has a salvage only title, is also a likely candidate for title washing. In the USA Today (8/8/2012) news story, consumers need to beware of this practice and others whenever they are looking to purchase a used car; as they say, a pre-owned vehicle.

According to the press release (8/2/2012) from the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs announcing  the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) as “an electronic system designed to protect consumers from fraud and unsafe vehicles and to keep stolen vehicles from being sold.” NMVTIS is the formation of partnerships of these companies, Auto Data Direct, Inc., Carco Group, Inc., CARFAX, CVR, Experian Automotive, Mobiletrac, LLC., Motor Vehicle Software Corporation, RigDig, VINAudit.com, LLC., and VINSmart , which provides the data that is pooled together to fight vehicle fraud and reduce the number of stolen or unsafe vehicles that are re-titled or sold. NMVTIS is the only vehicle history database in the nation of which all states, insurance carriers, and junk and salvage yards are required by federal law, in the U.S. Code Title 49, Section 30503 (page 3) on transportation, to report this information; thus giving NMVTIS its overall effectiveness to provide timely consumer assistance while allowing individual state laws, standards, and terminology unchanged.  Most important to recognize as stated on NMVTIS’s website that “ one state may examine and brand a damaged vehicle as salvage, while another state may not because the damage may not reach a certain dollar or value threshold (e.g., damage estimate in relation to fair market value) as required by that state's laws.”  Acting Assistant Attorney General, Mary Lou Leary states, “Since 2009, NMVTIS has advanced from providing data to 48 thousand consumers through two data providers to over one million consumer inquiries through our current 10 data providers. NMVTIS is making a difference in protecting states and consumers from fraud, and we expect our partnerships with these data providers will contribute to its ongoing success.”

NMVTIS helps states and law enforcement to discourage and to prevent vehicle-related crimes.”For a nominal fee, consumers can receive a complete, concise vehicle history report on key indicators, which are: “information from a vehicle's current title, including the vehicle's brand history; the use of brands as descriptive labels regarding the status of a motor vehicle, such as “junk,” “salvage,” and “flood” vehicles; the latest reported odometer readings; any determination that the vehicle is “salvage” by an insurance company or a self-insuring organization (including those vehicles determined to be a “total loss”); and any reports of the vehicle being transferred or sold to an auto recycler, junk yard, or salvage yard.”

“BJA is extremely pleased that more consumers are using NMVTIS to make informed used car buying decisions; states are using NMVTIS to identify title fraud; and nearly 1,500 law enforcement agencies across the United States rely on NMVTIS to facilitate their vehicle-related investigations,” said BJA Director, Denise E. O’Donnell.

Susanne L Woodford, Freelance Writer