Buying a repaired write-off car in Australia

It's part of your duty of disclosure to tell the insurer anything that could affect the insurers decision to insure you. Do not buy a car if it's a repaired write-off, you don't want the hassle.

If you intend to buy a car, always visit the Personal Property Security Register at https://www.ppsr.gov.au/ to find out if there is a security interest against the serial number of the car. The fees are AUD 3,40 and can be done online. This is an excellent service by the Australian Government, again showing that Australia has some advanced services that are not available in other countries.

To do this correctly, just ask the owner of the vehicle to give you a copy of the last "Licence and Third Party Insurance Policy", there you will find:

• The engine number
• The chassis number
• The registration number

When you do your vehicle inspection, check that the numbers on the document match the numbers on the vehicle.

I was very surprised during my last car inspection, I had asked the owner if the car had any accidents. The answer was a clear no. After receiving the "Serial Number Search Certificate" for that vehicle, I found that the vehicle was a repairable write-off with considerable heavy structural damage on all sides of the car, somebody probably got killed in it.

The NEVDIS codes will lead you to the correct information about the vehicle. See https://www.ppsr.gov.au/additional-search-results-information-motor-vehicles. Also see https://www.ppsr.gov.au/updates-written-vehicle-information.