Car rebirthing: how to protect yourself

25 July 2023 By: Ruth Callaghan

By the time you finish this article, another Australian vehicle will have been stolen.

Led by Queensland, vehicle thefts have spiked in the past year to more than 55,000 incidents, or roughly one every ten minutes.

And while most of those thefts are classed as ‘short-term’— stolen for reasons such as joy riding or a use in the commission of another crime — around one in four thefts is classed as ‘for profit’.

In other words, about a quarter of stolen cars and a remarkable 50 per cent of stolen motorcycles get swept into a murky world of clones and rebirthed vehicles, stripped for parts, or sold to unsuspecting buyers under a new identity.

RELATED: Car scams increasing in WA »

Market demand drives dodgy practices

Rebirthing is the term given to a vehicle that is passed off as a newer, better condition or legitimate vehicle when in fact it is nothing of the sort.

Sometimes it can be a stolen vehicle that has been made to look legitimate, perhaps with stolen or cloned plates or the VIN (vehicle identification number) taken from the same make and model.

While rebirthing has long been a problem, the incentive for organised criminal gangs to engage in the practice has grown alongside a tight market for used vehicles.

Used car prices have fallen about 13 per cent from their peak in May 2022 but remain up to 50 per cent higher than they were pre-pandemic.

Stephen Moir, CEO of the Motor Trades Association WA, says the current market is ripe for dodgy operators trying to capitalise on strong demand.

“If I steal a car and I want to give it a new identity, I simply need to get a similar model car from an auction and rip the compliance stickers off, particularly from older cars,” says Moir.

Organised crime sees an opportunity

Police forces around the country are working to crack down on vehicle rebirthing, which often operates alongside other illegal practices, from drug operations to property fencing (the on-selling of stolen goods).

Earlier this year, Victorian police uncovered an alleged Holden rebirthing operation worth an estimated $2 million, centred around late-model examples from Holden’s HSV division.

The operation was connected to 30 cars stolen from around Melbourne, of which only 11 had been recovered at the time of the raid. The police also recovered a stash of stolen number plates, drugs and $40,000 in cash.

In Queensland, which has one of the highest rates of car theft in the country, police in 2022 reported a haul of 155 vehicles, many of them stolen or wrecks reborn ready for sale with new parts and a newer identity.

In that incident, police claimed many vehicles had undergone substandard repairs and modifications and were equipped with false roadworthy certificates.

The crime extends beyond cars — in one NSW raid, police also uncovered boats, boat trailers and three vehicles specially designed for the rural fire service. Some gangs have also turned to technology to support the practice, with cases of number plates being photographed and then cloned on 3D printers before being fixed to vehicles used in crime.

The problem is so acute in Victoria that new licence plates with high-tech secure markings are being introduced to try to prevent more than 15,000 plate thefts a year.

Simple steps can reduce buyer risk

There are two ways that people usually fall victim to these scammers — either by having a vehicle stolen that is then used in rebirthing schemes or by unwittingly buying a car or motorcycle that has undergone an illegal ‘facelift’.

To avoid buying a rebirthed car, RAC Vehicles and Fuels Manager, Alex Forrest, recommends spending a small fee to search the national Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), which contains a registry of written-off vehicles maintained by WA’s Department of Transport in WA and those of other states.

The quick check will allow buyers to confirm that the make, model, colour, jurisdiction of registration and expiry date of the vehicle is consistent with the national register. It will also show whether there is a recorded financial interest in the vehicle, such as outstanding back loans, and whether it is recorded as stolen.

Evidence of the vehicle’s history should also be checked, but since logbooks can also be stolen, it is important to cross-reference identifiers in the service manual, on receipts and on the vehicle itself.

Buyers can also undertake a visual check of the vehicle to look for signs of tampering, such as grind marks, scratching or over-stamping on the vehicle’s engine number, but Alex Forrest warns spotting signs of rebirthing can be difficult.

“The work on these vehicles is designed, at least when you open the bonnet, boot or the doors, to look completely legitimate,” he says.

“The technology and the skills are out there in those parts of society to make vehicles look as legitimate as possible, right down to ageing the paint.”

A better option can be getting the vehicle checked by an expert, either with an RAC inspection or another trusted independent mechanic before sale.

“In this market with still somewhat inflated prices, there will always be crooks looking to fleece people, so it’s money very well spent, no matter the outcome of the inspection,” he says.

“If you end up buying the vehicle, you have peace of mind that it has been thoroughly checked — and even if you don’t, you’ve potentially saved yourself a lot of money in repairs and additional costs.”

The precious car part that is tempting thieves

A booming market in stolen car parts has seen thousands of Australian cars robbed of their catalytic converters — a quick snatch and grab that can see thieves walk away with a part containing precious metals more valuable than gold.

Catalytic converters, also called “cats”, are used to reduce emissions in petrol cars but are prized by thieves as they contain platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Rhodium is frequently considered the most valuable metal on the planet, with one ounce commanding more than $USD4000 in July, more than twice the spot price of gold.

At its peak last year, a single ounce commanded more than $USD15,000. While only one to two grams of rhodium can be found in most catalytic converters, scrap yards report paying a few hundred dollars for the parts which are then sold on to metal recyclers.

MTA WA chief executive Stephen Moir says brazen thieves are capitalising on the ease with which catalytic converters can be cut from beneath vehicles to make a quick buck.

“The car dealers are hit regularly. People are coming in with a little saw, jumping under the cars and cutting the catalytic converters out, before selling them to scrap metal dealers.”

Ordinary drivers have also fallen victim, with cases reported of catalytic converters stolen from cars parked at shopping centres, on streets and residential driveways. The higher the vehicle clearance from the ground, the faster and easier the theft.

Video released earlier this year by Queensland Police shows a well-organised group of cat thieves separate a catalytic converter from a vehicle in just a matter of minutes. As it carries no identifiers it can be virtually untraceable.