I am trying to sell a car and had a request for Chassis number so they could do "the necessary checks", I said you can find out everything you need to know from the reg, they said their no longer interested.......

Is there any legitimate reason why someone would need chassis number or was I right to be cautious and not give it them?

Do not give it to them, they don't need it to check the car, they only need it to twin it up with another car or replicate another logbook Your right to be cautious

its a scam dont give it to them

its a scam dont give it to them

thought as much....ta

Can someone please explain to an outsider why this is an issue in the UK.

Here in Aust is is law that cars advertised through the media must have their VIN included as this is what the basis for checking if a car is stolen, under finance or any other issue is used. Rego numbers are not so an important item as our numbers change a lot are not linked to a car for its life.

My RRS is a 07MY and covered 48,000km and it is now on its third number plate - different owners in different jurisdictions.

Thanks

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

It's because of the practice of "ringing" or "cloning" a car. On a basic level, A stolen car has the registration plate changed to match that of an identical vehicle and is then sold to an unsuspecting buyer. More sophisticated crooks will also change the Chasis / VIN number to match the legitimate car as well if they can get hold of it. Usually the first the Legitimate owner knows of his car being cloned is when he/she gets stopped by the Police because their car has been flagged as having commited an offence that they know nothing about because it was actually the clone. 2013 Discovery HSE Luxury - 3.0 SDV6 - Santorini Black
2013 Evoque 5 Door Pure Tech SD4 - Orkney Grey with Panoramic Roof (Mrs E's new baby)

GONE - RRS - 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Santorini (2010)
GONE - RRS - 2.7 TDV6 HSE - Java Black (2007)
GONE - Porsche Boxster S - 3.2 - Black

Ok thanks - in our system the "rebirthed" car will pop up in the system when the new owner transfers ownership as the VIN of the original car will be already in the system. Where our system falls down is where the identity of a written off vehicle is no longer in the system).

Cheers

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

If you know who to ask you can get the vehicle build data from the factory, however you will need the vehicle VIN.

Lets face it, the Vin is not a secret, it's in the windscreen for all to see In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

SRE wrote:

Lets face it, the Vin is not a secret, it's in the windscreen for all to see

That's very true, but, I imagine these guys will normally clone a car that is in a different geographic area so that the odds of you seeing your "twin" driving down the road are diminished by distance. That's why they will call an advertised car that matches their needs and ask such a question in the hope you will innocently provide them with the last piece of the puzzle they need to create good fake documents etc. It's easier & cheaper to look up adverts online or in autotrader than drive around looking for a match. 2013 Discovery HSE Luxury - 3.0 SDV6 - Santorini Black
2013 Evoque 5 Door Pure Tech SD4 - Orkney Grey with Panoramic Roof (Mrs E's new baby)

GONE - RRS - 3.0 TDV6 HSE - Santorini (2010)
GONE - RRS - 2.7 TDV6 HSE - Java Black (2007)
GONE - Porsche Boxster S - 3.2 - Black

Endjin wrote:

SRE wrote:

Lets face it, the Vin is not a secret, it's in the windscreen for all to see

That's very true, but, I imagine these guys will normally clone a car that is in a different geographic area so that the odds of you seeing your "twin" driving down the road are diminished by distance. That's why they will call an advertised car that matches their needs and ask such a question in the hope you will innocently provide them with the last piece of the puzzle they need to create good fake documents etc. It's easier & cheaper to look up adverts online or in autotrader than drive around looking for a match.

And this caller was in London so that supports your theory, plus he sounded dodgy as sin, sounded just like this guy..........

I love having fun with Indian call centre cold callers with all those guys on my IPad  MY2011 HSE Santorini/Ivory/Piano Black/Privacy Glass/TV .Sadly gone.
Audi A5 Sportback Black Edition 3.0 tdi quattro S Line

ChrisP wrote:

I love having fun with Indian call centre cold callers with all those guys on my IPad