Jacaranda Finance’s Josh Wessels said Aussies need to do their homework when buying a car. (Source: Supplied/Getty)
Australians about to buy a car are being urged not to race into any purchases without doing the correct due diligence. Jacaranda Finance has noticed a “sharp” rise in car-related fraud issues, with buyers being unexpectedly loaded with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
Many of these dodgy deals are done on social media websites like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree, which doesn’t have the same regulatory oversight as going through a car dealer. Jacaranda’s car loan specialist Josh Wessels told Yahoo Finance buyers can avoid one of the biggest issues with a simple check.
“It costs $2 to do a PPSR check…which could save yourself potentially $25,000 or $30,000,” he said.
PPSR is the Personal Property Securities Register, which is a national online register run by the government.
It allows people to search for debts and other security interests on items like cars, boats and artworks.
It can also reveal whether the vehicle has been stolen or even written off.
Wessels said he’s seen numerous incidents where people have car loans attached to their vehicles when they put them up for sale and don’t disclose that to buyers.
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Aussies might take the vehicle to a mechanic to make sure all the parts are up to scratch, but skip the PPSR check.
Once the keys are all theirs, the debt becomes their responsibility, and if buyers can’t afford the repayments, the car can be repossessed.
According to insurance company Youi, car sales scams cost Aussies more than $2.8 million in 2022.
Wessels pointed to a case on the Gold Coast last year that involved a car being sold on Facebook Marketplace for $40,000.
A 27-year-old man used money he had borrowed from his grandmother to buy the car.
He was told the car had a $77,447 debt attached to a Sydney finance company, but the seller produced fake screenshots claiming the debt had been paid off.
“A PPSR check would have proved those documents were forged,” Wessels said.
“If you do your own homework, you can’t get in these predicaments.
“Leave the emotion out of it. I think a lot of decisions are made of emotion. But you should slow down and do your homework.”
He added that people need to be wary of sellers showing documents claiming there’s no finance or issues related to the car as AI tools can help produce fraudulent evidence that’s very convincing.
“If you don’t know what you’re looking at, then it can look normal,” he said.
“Get a professional involved… someone who knows what they’re looking at, just to have a look over to make sure it’s legit.”
The Jacaranda Finance expert’s warning comes as the mid-2025 Automotive Insights Report (AIR) revealed a 30 per cent increase in the number of vehicles listed for sale in the 12 months to June.
He said some prefer to list their cars on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree as it’s cheaper than creating an advert on a site like CarSales.
But Wessels’ biggest piece of advice was to be cautious around cars that sound too good to be true.
If the price is much lower than the rest of the market, he said it’s likely there will be something wrong with it.
He urged people to make sure online adverts have photos of legitimate cars, as some sellers have just pinched photos from the manufacturer or Google and passed them off as their own.
Wessels has also seen an increase in dodgy sellers posing as divorcees or military personnel to create a fake sense of urgency during the sales process.
Some will also ask for a deposit and claim it’s because there’s lots of interest in the car, and then they’ll nick off with the money.
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