After almost 17 years, the Justice Department has nearly completed the creation of a comprehensive national car database. The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System will be used to prevent theft and fraud.
The basic problem is that with 50 state databases, it’s easy for people to get away with all manner of shady automotive crimes. For instance, more than 1 million vehicles get stolen each year, and some get “cloned” titles in new states and are then sold. Experian Automotive estimates 185,000 vehicles were retitled in 2008.
Additionally, car buyers will sometimes unknowingly purchase vehicles that have been salvaged, are meant for scrap or have been damaged in some other way, such as a flood. The new database will prevent this practice as well.
So far, the database, which Congress ordered in 1992, has 300 million vehicle identification numbers (VINs), which is 77% of all motor vehicle titles in the U.S.
Oregon, Mississippi, Illinois, Kansas and the District of Columbia have yet to get their information to the Justice Department due to budget troubles. But in the past year, the number of compliant states has grown from 27 to 46 through grants.
The result of this push is the website www.vehiclehistory.gov, which will provide consumers, car dealers and law enforcement an excellent tool to deter car theft. Although the program has cost $22 million to create so far, it is expected to eliminate $4 billion to $11 billion a year in fraud.
