Online tool to protect car buyers against purchasing written-off vehicles

Motorists looking to buy a second-hand vehicle are now equipped with an online portal to check if the car in question could have been written off.

This after the recent launch of the South African Insurance Association’s (SAIA) VIN-Lookup tool.

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The tool queries a car’s vehicle information number (VIN) against the insurance industry’s vehicle salvage database (VSD).

“The VSD from which information is drawn for VIN-Lookup contains records that show how insurance companies have designated previously-insured vehicles,” SAIA explained.

According to SAIA manager for insurance risks Zakes Sondiyazi, the tool aims to address the problem of purchasing potentially unsafe vehicles from car salvage houses.

“SAIA urges consumers to use VIN-Lookup as part of thorough research when buying a used car rather than treat it as a single solution to understanding the history of a vehicle,” said the organisation.

The VSD was established to effectively monitor vehicles salvaged by insurers with the intent to address certain aspects of motor vehicle crime.

www.vinlookupsa.co.za will produce a short narrative on the vehicle in question once certain required information, such as the consumer’s name, surname, ID number and the vehicle’s VIN are input.

However, not all vehicles that have been written off will appear on the database.

This is because, according to SAIA CEO Viviene Pearson, less than one third of the 14 million registered vehicles in South Africa are insured.

“The industry’s VSD will likely have less than 3% of vehicles that are written off, and most of these are vehicles that can either be rebuilt or can only be used for spare parts, or should be demolished,” said Pearson.

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