Precautions when buying a car?

[Azon]

I am thinking about buying a car, but not sure what precautions I should take not to buy a stolen or unregistrable car. Right now I am considering buying a car which is not registered and has no rwc. As far as I know you can check with police if the car is stolen or not using its VIN, engine number or bodyshell number, are those the ones I need? If not, what will I need? Is it possible to check that online? Also, what kind of damages of a car would make it unregistrable? Are there any other issues I should worry about when buying a car? I am located in Melbourne. Any help on these topics will be much appreciated. Thx in advance.

[SlickHolden]

Also check with the RACV they can do a full check over the car.

[Tha_killa69]

Well, the best things to do I guess are:

Check the wear on the Pedals, and also on the steering wheel.

Get a maganet (May sound stupid, but it works) and put it on any suspected areas that you think may have been damaged, even though the sales person denies it. If the magnet stays, then its all good, if it falls, you got your self some filler.

Open the doors, hood, and trunk and check for any over-spray, this could also mean the car could have been in a collision and had to be re-painted.

Remember, there are ways of changing the odometer, my teacher actually showed me how by using a tooth pick and those hair things that girls used by making it into a hook.

[Blue Supra]

Things that make a car unregisterable are damage to the front and rear lights, all of them need to be in good condition and working, your tyres need to have plenty of tread, you may have to buy new ones to get it past rego. No severe panel damage, the odd ding from a parking bungle is ok but if its been rear ended at 50kph+ chances are it wont go through. make sure the engine isnt smoking or theyll fail you on that, so maybe an engine tune up is in order. no cracks in the windows, a small stone chip will be ok but an actual crack will get you failed straight up.

Its just really obvious things you have to watch for like these i mentioned, its not like they put your car into a shop for 2 days of high tech scrutineering. it takes bout an hour max to get it all checked over. Just make sure all your globes work for your lights and theres no cracks, smoke (or minimal smoke) No major panel damage. andyou should be right mate