Covering/blanking/hiding car reg in adverts
Discussion
Trabi601 said:
Sump said:
Common hatchbacks are the ones to clone. You're not exactly going to clone a Gallardo are you? 
It's a percentage game.Common hatchbacks may be more likely to be cloned, but a Gallardo owner has a higher risk of owning a car that has been chosen to be cloned.
Hol said:
ecsrobin said:
aspen said:
I would do this in future.
Recently had both cars stolen from the drive and they had cloned plates ready to go on. The plate for mine came from a car some poor guy had just bought after seeing it advertised online. It is very easy to go on the classifieds here or on Autotrader and search for the right make, model and colour and then they can drive right through any ANPR cameras.
But it's just as easy for someone to walk round a supermarket car park and do the same. Recently had both cars stolen from the drive and they had cloned plates ready to go on. The plate for mine came from a car some poor guy had just bought after seeing it advertised online. It is very easy to go on the classifieds here or on Autotrader and search for the right make, model and colour and then they can drive right through any ANPR cameras.
Joking aside. Its obviously IS easier for the cloner to go online and browse some adverts for a few minutes, than it is to actually go out trawling the car parks.
I've sold lots of cars via online adverts. Never covered the registration plates. Still yet to have my car cloned.
Every car I have sold has been gone within a week or two, so even if it was cloned it wouldn't be a concern for me. The next owners might not like it, but not my issue.
What would concern me if I was selling is that someone would interpret me covering the registration as a half arsed effort to prevent disclosing vehicle history checks etc. Which I would also assume if I was buying. When I'm looking to buy anything other than a niche vehicle then I'd just pass on any which don't have the reg plate showing.... life is too short and there are other vehicles for sale.
Every car I have sold has been gone within a week or two, so even if it was cloned it wouldn't be a concern for me. The next owners might not like it, but not my issue.
What would concern me if I was selling is that someone would interpret me covering the registration as a half arsed effort to prevent disclosing vehicle history checks etc. Which I would also assume if I was buying. When I'm looking to buy anything other than a niche vehicle then I'd just pass on any which don't have the reg plate showing.... life is too short and there are other vehicles for sale.
I had my corrado cloned when for sale on ebay. I guess if you have a rare(ish) car its easier for scrotes to trawl ebay to find an exact match to the car they want to clone. they managed to crash theirs on xmas eve leaving behind their bumper with my number plate on it! genius. luckily it was on the other side of the country. But it was still arse-ache over xmas for me to prove it wasn't me. Id always cover my plate just incase. If a buyer wants to know what the plate is to do a check they can email/call, youd have to be very ballsy to do that and still clone it.
Don't shoot me, but I can predict the following actually occurring quite often if a number of people equivalent in percentile to the responses on this thread truly avoid cars that have number plates hidden, just-in-case.
[Guy One]: "Wow, that was a cheap price for that model- in that condition with low miles. How come you got it for so little?"
[Guy Two]: "I know!. It wasn't selling and the price was dropped because the number late was obscured in the picture, so I contacted the guy, got the registration and when I then did all the checks it subsequently came back clear. "
[Guy One]: "Thst is insane luck"
I know the example is a little bit 'Ocean Finance', but you get the drift.
Also, you could argue that the car concerned was cheap co it was cloned - but that would be too ironic.
[Guy One]: "Wow, that was a cheap price for that model- in that condition with low miles. How come you got it for so little?"
[Guy Two]: "I know!. It wasn't selling and the price was dropped because the number late was obscured in the picture, so I contacted the guy, got the registration and when I then did all the checks it subsequently came back clear. "
[Guy One]: "Thst is insane luck"
I know the example is a little bit 'Ocean Finance', but you get the drift.
Also, you could argue that the car concerned was cheap co it was cloned - but that would be too ironic.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
I do laugh when the seller forgets to cover or smudge out the rear plate when taking pictures.
I like it when they obscure a different part of the plate in different photos making it easy to piece together. One I saw recently had declared his car a 2004 model but had blanked out the year on the plates leaving only three possibilities (53,04,54) so not hard to solve that one. Lucas Ayde said:
Trabi601 said:
blearyeyedboy said:
^ You get all the speeding fines, congestion charge tickets etc. of the cloner's car. They drive around with impunity and you have to prove to the police that it wasn't you.
If I post pictures of my cars on the web (regardless of whether I'm selling it or not), I cover the plates. Some may mock me; I don't mind.
(And mine has a fresh MOT with no advisories, thanks!)
So, I checked your profile to see if you had anything that would make you particularly at risk.If I post pictures of my cars on the web (regardless of whether I'm selling it or not), I cover the plates. Some may mock me; I don't mind.
(And mine has a fresh MOT with no advisories, thanks!)
I found a couple of really common hatchbacks.
You may want to remove your foil hat.
Finding another car with the same model/year/colour as the one you are going to use is the goal of the cloners who nick the reg and then use the car 'with impunity' as the OP pointed out. They are then free to speed as much as they like, park where they want or more likely, use the car to commit serious crime.
Not at all fun for the owner of the original plate who gets the tickets/ fines/ a visit from CID.
Pretty obviously, if you want to find the registration number of a car that matches your own vehicle closely, it's demonstrably easier to do a search online and copy it from the picture than it is to drive around until you happen to find a close enough match.
I've never had a problem selling a car because of that attitude. If someone wants to go to the trouble of contacting me for the reg, anyone dodgy won't bother with the hassle.
blearyeyedboy said:
Thanks. That's exactly my point- it doesn't matter if it's a banger or a Bentley.
I've never had a problem selling a car because of that attitude. If someone wants to go to the trouble of contacting me for the reg, anyone dodgy won't bother with the hassle.
It does matter - if you have a common car, there are many thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands to pick from for cloning purposes. If you want to clone a Focus, you can probably look out your front window and see one!I've never had a problem selling a car because of that attitude. If someone wants to go to the trouble of contacting me for the reg, anyone dodgy won't bother with the hassle.
If you want to clone a Ferrari, then the 'net is probably the best place to start, as they're not parked in every supermarket car park.
So, I would conclude that it's pointless covering the reg. on a mainstream car, as the chance of someone choosing your car to clone is tiny. However, if you have something relatively rare, then you're more likely to get cloned - although the cloning will be to re-sell, rather than avoid parking tickets.
Car buyers are strange. Is it any wonder the number of private sellers is shrinking.
Why would anyone have an issue with the number plate being obscured. I can fully understand the legitimate reasons for hiding the plate. To get an MOT check, you just ask them over the phone for it. Obviously a scrote could do that but it reduces the chances of cloning.
As for advertised with full MOT when there is no MOT, I often list my car as full MOT with the intention of selling with the understanding that the buyer gets exactly that, a full MOT.
As to cars advertised as no offers, I never use that term as I want offers. I'm selling the thing but if I'm buying, I know where I stand. If a car seems priced high but the right spec, I'll phone about it, ask why it is the price it is when other comparable cars have lower asking prices. If the seller gives me some crap such as, they paid so much for it x years ago, then I tell them what ball park it needs to be for me to view. If they don't want to sell at that level, it's saved both our time.
Not sure if it is social media which hS dumbed down social interaction skills but not being interested in any cars with blanked out plates suggests to me you are looking for a common type of car and can afford to be picky.
Why would anyone have an issue with the number plate being obscured. I can fully understand the legitimate reasons for hiding the plate. To get an MOT check, you just ask them over the phone for it. Obviously a scrote could do that but it reduces the chances of cloning.
As for advertised with full MOT when there is no MOT, I often list my car as full MOT with the intention of selling with the understanding that the buyer gets exactly that, a full MOT.
As to cars advertised as no offers, I never use that term as I want offers. I'm selling the thing but if I'm buying, I know where I stand. If a car seems priced high but the right spec, I'll phone about it, ask why it is the price it is when other comparable cars have lower asking prices. If the seller gives me some crap such as, they paid so much for it x years ago, then I tell them what ball park it needs to be for me to view. If they don't want to sell at that level, it's saved both our time.
Not sure if it is social media which hS dumbed down social interaction skills but not being interested in any cars with blanked out plates suggests to me you are looking for a common type of car and can afford to be picky.
About 12 years ago I was pulled by blues and twos. I was outside York. The officer asked me all about my car, a silver E46. I told him everything he wanted know, adding that car was currently for sale.
He asked me whether I had been in Bristol recently. I said no. Apparently a Land Rover with my reg had ram-raided a jewellers there a week before.
I said "Oh. It wasn't me."
He believed me, which made me feel a little Jedi.
He said the number plate was 'flagged' or something, and although he was going to update the info, I may well get pulled in the meantime.
So although I wouldn't obscure my plate, I have some experience of cloning.
He asked me whether I had been in Bristol recently. I said no. Apparently a Land Rover with my reg had ram-raided a jewellers there a week before.
I said "Oh. It wasn't me."
He believed me, which made me feel a little Jedi.
He said the number plate was 'flagged' or something, and although he was going to update the info, I may well get pulled in the meantime.
So although I wouldn't obscure my plate, I have some experience of cloning.
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