Tools you need: Second-hand car registration check

On a scale of one-to-ten, how nervous are you when buying a second-hand car?

While most sellers are honest and open, you never want to be the person caught out by that one unscrupulous 'too good to be true' deal. So how can you protect yourself?

One of the best ways to double-check the information about a car being advertised is to run the registration plate through one of the state-based governing bodies. These online tools allow you to immediately verify that the car is what it says it is, when the registration is (or has) expires and in some cases disclose the full VIN details so you can use other online tools to further check information on the car.

And yes, for a bit of fun, you can even check a couple of the WA plates used in our header image...

Here's what to expect in each state:

Visit the Mercedes Benz VIN decoder article here.