Buying a used vehicle or piece of farm equipment privately from a seller usually involves having a bit of trust. Is the machine all the seller says it is? Does a bank hold a lien on it? And, perhaps most importantly, is the seller the actual owner?
When dealing with an unfamiliar seller on a private sale agreement, none of those things should be taken for granted.
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Fortunately, most of those can be easily verified. A thorough in-person inspection will reveal its condition. The person you deal with at your own bank can usually help you check to see if there are any financial liens registered against it.
And there is an online reference to help you determine if the machine has been reported stolen to the police.
CPIC (the Canadian Police Information Centre) offers limited public access to its computerized database, which records serial and identifying numbers for property the police have listed as stolen.
Standing beside a vehicle or machine you can access the website from your mobile device and punch in the serial number. In a few moments, the site will confirm whether that serial number is on file as stolen.
It’s the same system the police use when they make a check. Of course, accredited police agencies get much more information from it than is offered to the general public.
However, if the machine was stolen and the actual owner didn’t record the serial number, that information won’t have been given to the police and won’t show up on a CPIC search. So, it’s not an absolute guarantee the item isn’t stolen, but it’s the best check you can make to help you verify the legitimacy of a private purchase deal.
The CPIC site isn’t just restricted to machines and vehicles. Aside from vehicles, boats, boat motors, bicycles, general property items and firearm serial numbers can also be checked.
