Used-car shoppers advised to verify VIN and chassis details before buying

Prospective purchasers of second-hand vehicles are being told by police to inspect identification markings carefully before they hand over money.

Detective Sergeant Dave Francis of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit made the call while appearing on the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA) podcast ‘Citizens’ Corner’. He said thieves keep passing off stolen cars as lawful stock and outlined how officers verify a vehicle’s identity.

“If we were to stop that vehicle out on the road, first thing we are looking at is the chassis number, then the engine number, and we are looking at the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) tag,” he said.

According to Francis, the VIN is the principal identifier for a motor vehicle. It is a mix of letters and digits meant to belong to only one car. Where that identifier sits depends on how old the vehicle is: older models typically carry a rectangular metal plate under the bonnet, while newer ones use a paper label that can appear in several places, most often on the door jamb.

“The VIN carries the identification of the vehicle itself. It has the chassis number. It has the engine number. It has the manufactured date, and it has the colour,” he said.

If officers believe those markings have been altered, the car is taken into custody and examined by a specialist from the Serial Number Restoration Unit. That expert recovers the original chassis number through etching and compares the result with files on vehicles already reported stolen.

Francis also described a more sophisticated racket known as car cloning.

“Car cloning is when you have two vehicles exhibiting the same characteristics. Like the same colour, licence plate, chassis number, engine number,” he said.

With motor vehicle theft rising in Jamaica, he urged buyers to scrutinise identification numbers so they are not left facing the legal fallout of owning a stolen car.

— JIS News