If you purchase a vehicle form a licensed motor dealer, by law they must provide you with a REVS certificate. However, if you are thinking about buying a car privately, before you hand over any money, call REVS to check if there is outstanding finance owing on the vehicle. If there is finance owing on the vehicle it could be repossessed.

To complete a search, you will need all three of the following vehicle identifiers: registration number, VIN or chassis number, and engine number.

For your own protection, the REVS certificate should be purchased on the day you buy the vehicle. If you choose to purchase the vehicle on a day other than the day the certificate is issued, you may not be protected from any financial encumbrances registered over the vehicle since the date of issue.

A REVS Check will let you know if any money is owing on the vehicle but it will not prove ownership.

For information on how you can conduct a search and fees involved click here

WOVR - At the same time as doing a REVS check, you can also enquire for a small additional fee as to whether the vehicle has previously been written off by checking the Written Off Vehicle Register [WOVR]. This register has helped to curb car-stealing rackets, though it is no absolute guarantee that a vehicle has not been stolen.

The check will tell you if the vehicle is a 'statutory write-off', that is, it has previously been severely damaged and can never be re-registered. These wrecks can only be used for spare parts. Or it may be classified as a 'repairable write-off', in which case it can only be re-registered once it has passed a fairly stringent mechanical check by Queensland Transport.

For more information and costs, click here