Pressure and payment patterns
Be cautious of prices far below market, urgent travel stories, refusal to meet, copied photos, fake escrow, and requests for gift cards, crypto, wires, or deposits before inspection. Those patterns are independent of any report.
Verify the person, the VIN, and the paperwork
Confirm seller identity, ownership documents, every physical VIN, lien status, and a real meeting place. Search listing text and images for duplicates. Type website addresses yourself. A cloned VIN on paper will not be fixed by buying a report.
What CARFAX theft records can show
If you buy a CARFAX report, a theft category appears when CARFAX returned it. No matching record is not a police clearance and not a guarantee the car is not stolen in another jurisdiction. Follow official theft and title checks that apply where the car is registered.
Control the handoff
Inspect the actual vehicle, complete required paperwork, and pay only through a method and location you trust. Use the VIN form on this page as one research step, then stop if details change.