Drivers are warned to check the vehicle identification number when buying a second-hand car after a sale in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) saw the vehicle immediately confiscated by police.
The proud owners of a second-hand Peugeot 5008, bought from a garage for €25,000 two weeks earlier, were stopped by police at a roadside check. They found themselves in the police station for three hours upon the discovery that the car had been stolen in Belgium.
Although they were released, the car was confiscated so it could, eventually, be returned to its owner.
When the couple who bought the car went to the garage to claim their money back, the garage owner informed them he was a “victim” and refused. They have started a criminal case against the garage for fraud.
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Fake number plates
The car had fake French number plates, copied from another Peugeot 5008 of the same colour, and a fake carte grise registration document with the same number plates.
However, the vehicle identification number (VIN) did not correspond with the false papers, which should have been a warning sign to both the garage owner and the buyers.
Most French cars now display the VIN on a sticker below the windscreen so it can be checked without opening the bonnet.
VIN numbers are also stamped on the right hand side of the engine compartment, and also, usually, on the chassis at the rear of the vehicle, allowing “chop and swap” major repairs to be detected.
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What is a VIN?
Although the VIN, given to vehicles in the factory where they are made, is key to identifying a car, it actually has little legal recognition from authorities.
French government websites simply note that VIN numbers are found in part eight of the carte grise.
Numerous online sites have sprung up claiming to provide accurate vehicle histories for prospective buyers, usually for a fee of around €10.
There is also a free government service, called Histovec, but it can only be used by the owner of a vehicle.
Its use is optional but if the car’s history is obtained it can then be shared with a potential buyer.
Another warning sign when buying a second-hand car is if the seller’s name does not correspond with the name on the documents.
You should always ask to check the name on car documents against an ID card when buying, and walk away if the seller does not want you to.
If you realise you have bought a stolen car, the advice is to immediately report the fact to police.
Judicial experts recommend you porter plainte contre X (register a complaint against unknown people) rather than a named individual, because doing so allows the investigation of the whole chain of supply of the stolen car, rather than one person.
Using your protection juridique insurance to speak to an avocat, or joining a consumers’ association, will give you an idea of how you could then try to claim your money back, using your plainte as the starting point.
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Car thefts rise in France again
Some 140,241 vehicles were stolen in France in 2024, equating to one theft every four minutes, according to France’s Interior Ministry.
Official figures do not say how the cars were stolen but Coyote, the company which grew from making one of the first GPS-based warning devices for fixed radar cameras, says its own research shows that in 94% of cases the thieves used electronic means to unlock and start cars.
Coyote based its figures on the 500,000 cars in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain which are fitted with its Coyote Secure tracers.
The subscription service claims that in most cases, stolen cars are located by private detectives within 24 hours of the theft being discovered, even when the cars are parked in underground car parks.
‘Mousejacking’ is the generic term used to describe electronic methods used to steal cars.
In most cases, thieves pass an RFID (radio frequency identification) scanner, available from Amazon for around €40, near to keys, and then use the codes captured to both open the car door and start the engine.
Another method is to find an unlocked car, and then use an On Board Detection device to plug into the OBD socket of the car, and start the car that way.
French insurer MAAF recommends getting into the habit of locking cars with the key and not the fob, keeping car keys away from windows or else in a ‘Faraday box’ to block RFID signals, and using an old-fashioned steering wheel lock.
SUVs are the most popular vehicles to steal, accounting for 66% of car thefts. More than half (53%) of vehicles stolen are hybrids.
In terms of specific models, the Renault Mégane IV and Renault Clio IV are the most pilfered vehicles, according to figures from France assureurs.
The Peugeot 3008 is also sought after, according to sources interviewed by Le Figaro.
The Ile-de-France region suffers most from vehicle theft in France, with 5.6 thefts per thousand vehicles, according to Coyote.
This is followed by Hauts-de-France (3.6 thefts per 1,000 vehicles), PACA (3.5) and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (3.4).
