This was posted 7 years 1 month 18 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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PPSR/REVS Vehicle Check - $3.40 @ PPSR.gov.au

4620

I'm re-submitting this deal for good reasons:
1) It's something everyone needs to know
2) I recently valued a prospective trade-in, and as part of that we do a PPSR on the car. It had been written off just prior to the owner attempting to trade it in. They played ignorant (of course), and we didn't trade it in. Well, guess what's now on Gumtree at a near market value price…?! Some poor bastard will buy that without knowing (although the panel repairs were pretty bad).

So, if you've seen this before, good on you :) If you haven't, bookmark it and check it when you go to buy a car!

The PPSR is used to find out if there's any money owing on a car, or if it's previously been written off.

This is the normal price, there's no denying that, however many people don't realise how cheap and easy the service is. Many sites offer the same thing for $10 or more, when the standard government price is considerably less!

A few horror stories in the forums lately would've been sorted very early on if they had've consulted this site before buying/putting a deposit down.

Bookmark the site, after test driving the car you're looking at, sit in your car and generate the check, then decide from there if you want to purchase the car.

If deal link doesn't work, click through the main page here

Related Stores

Personal Property Securities Register
Personal Property Securities Register

closed Comments

  • +3

    Thanks OP!

  • +37

    Apart from a KFC special this is the best $3.40 you'll ever spend.

    • +5

      Condoms.

      • +19

        Username checks out

        • +14

          Username checks out

        • @fastnbulbous:
          Username checks out

        • +1

          @bghunter: I don't know wtf a bghunter is.. does username check out?

        • @rompastompa:
          big game hunter?

        • +1

          Alright, I've never asked, but here it is. What is with the whole "username checks out" reply that I see time to time, in reference to?

        • @Dreamcast:

          Reddit is the most common sauce. Where a comment made is relevant to the username by the person.

          So if you made a comment about Sega games, your username would check out.
          If I made a comment in relation to a nuclear weapon, Hillary Clinton, or a vagina my username would check out.

        • +1

          @snuke: Reddit Sauce :-
          Now made from genuine reddits

        • @snuke:

          Haha, I see. Cheers.

        • @Beach Bum: No ketchup, just raw sauce

  • +63

    its also worth mentioning that there is a PPSR.com.au, which is a business that charges more for the same report, but collects your data.

    it was covered by the boys on the 'the checkout'

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_jHs6Q_xRg

    • +7

      Thank you for this information, should help many others.

    • -4

      Hi timmy, what would be the advantages of a business collecting my data?

      • watch the vid. it will explain in more comical terms better than i could :)

        in short though, to sell you unsolicited junk and garbage…

        • @tt; to sell you unsolicited junk and garbage…

          not exactly…

          to be more specific, they collect your data to sell it. Or depending on how far it gets sold, to sell you.

          Not so cool when you thought you were buying the product. The end of everything (not just your PII) is never far away via the interwebs…

      • More targeted advertising? Honestly it's something they should be using to subsidize the cost for consumers, not taking advantage of on both ends.

    • Why hasn't it been shut down?

      • +2

        Why hasn't facebook been shut down?

        • +3

          Beats me. It's terrible.

  • +2

    Thanks OP. Is the report generated immediately after the payment? or how long does it normally take?

    • +5

      It gets emailed to you immediately.

    • +4

      Immediately. The person who bought my car get report instantly and paid money after he see the report good.

  • +28

    Well, guess what's now on Gumtree at a near market value price

    Hope it gets bought by someone working on an overseas oil rig.

  • +3

    It is date stamped so you do it immediately before signing over the title/rego papers
    PS. It's illegal for a car yard to not inform you of statutory write off but private sellers don't have to inform you by law.
    Had this happen to me when looking at a BMW k1300 that had been hit from the rear crushing it front to back
    Wasn't even selling at any kind of discount and it took a lot of close looking to spot the fact that the front end had been off
    Very good job but bikes are never right after a smash
    Pps. Uninsured bikes/cars are the ones that won't go on the register and get fixed up on the sly
    Always test ride before purchase and get a proper mechanical inspection
    Roadworthys can't be trusted as too many dodgey mechanics do them.

  • +7

    I find it strange that they charge for this service. Surely it is in the governments best interest that this service is free and accessible?

    • EDIT: Wrong post

    • It used to be free, REVS Check. But you know pollies, let's make some $$$.

      • +2

        I'm fine with the small fee as long as it's not jacked up to raise revenue for the government's coffers.

        • its the business corporations that are jacking up the price….

        • +2

          How many small fees are fine?

          This service comes courtesy of the dept of roads/traffic/servicensw. Already paid for by state tax, rego, and other levies.

          Remember each small fee serves only as an opportunity for broadening tax increases.

          it is in everyone's interest for this information to be public. After all, ALL INFORMATION in a public service database belongs to us! Not them, not our government… US!

          Yet they make us pay, again, again and again.

          The only outcome of charging is to stop some people doing a check. Which means more uninsured cars, more chaos, more financial pain esp for those on the bottom rungs.

        • -2

          @zerovelocity: buy yourself an Anonymous mask and March on Parliament
          How does it go ( in Stephen Hawking voice)
          We are computer geeks
          We do not forgive
          We do not forget,
          (unless our backup drive shuts down)

        • @zerovelocity:

          Agree 100%, it's another how to boil a frog anology……….or, just a morsel more, c'mon it's so small…..

          Removed the (IMHO) misguided neg.

        • @zerovelocity: While it certainly could be argued that this information "belongs" to those paying taxes to support the government, there are costs associated with collecting, maintaining and enabling access to this information and, as such, there is also an argument for it to be provided on a fee-for-service basis. E.g. If person A buys a car every year and person B only buys a car every 10 years, assuming they pay equal taxes, they are equally funding a system that one person uses places more demand on than the other… What about people who don't own a car? Should they not expect that car buyers pay a little extra than them for this information?

          Either way, in this case the fee ($3.40) is negligible - are you seriously gonna skimp and risk buying an $x,000 car that may have serious hidden accident damage or may be subsequently repossessed from you??

        • @Osprey06: Your argument sounds all fine and reasonable, until you stop and think what else happens in the transaction.

          Besides, it is like charging money for $1.20 tickets on buses as the did for years; Everyone has to wait while people fiddle around with their change, and the monies collected are paltry at best when you consider the cost of ticketing and delays.

          Better to just have the buses run faster, better and pay the lot out of revenue. Now of course when you charge $10 per ride and you can argue it's worth making the user pay. However that is unpractical for other reasons, is it not? Now we have Opal and Myki, etc, however when you consider the cost of installing these systems (NSW particularly) due to gubmint/dept bunglers, you'd most likely be RR shocked.

          Anyhow, for other reasons, I don't agree one bit.

          1. Government systems are the amongst the least secure on the planet. The more you interact w them, the more you provide information, the higher the risk that your CC data and PII will be stolen and on-sold.

          2. The data you provide (and other data you might not know they collect at the same time) is kept forever, and available forever to anyone that has access, or gains access (legally or otherwise). Remember, legal use of your data does not mean it will not be harvested over and over for abuse.

          3. They out-source constantly without accountability or any real care. Terrible things happen in commercial systems and entities outside the legal jurisdictions in which you might try to seek recourse if worst came to the worst.

          4. (These days) the dept (and other depts) collect (or rather, mine) the data. If it is not centrally referenced then it will be (once they figure out how), and share it with all kinds of others that have an interest without asking you.

          5. Other gubmints like to mine the collected data too, jic they ever need to check on foreign nationals, or wonder if someone that fits you description, identity might be someone of interest.

          6. Whilst I agree $3.60 is not much on a large purchase, it attracts considerable commercial transaction fee, and wastes everyone's time doing a transaction. Not to mention, do you need to worry so much if the car is cheap, or free? The $3.60 and the time becomes a larger proportion of the overall proposition. What happens when someone is given a car, or pays a carton of beer/a blowie or some kind of favour? Would they bother doing a ppsr too?

          7. The tax revenue they spend to e-commerce enable the ppsr page will probably never be covered by the monies they collect. At least not for years. And making people pay has an impact as some won't and public safety then suffers.

          8. The data belongs to us Seriously, this is a fundamental issue. Gubmits should make public data available even if only to ensure transparency. Making public data 'secret' (putting it behind pay-walls) is open to all kinds of abuse(s) that are seldom apparent until a long time after the fact. We pay to public servants to collect the data, why should we not be able to analyse it? What the hell are they doing making it secret? Working on who's behalf?

          Oh, and BTW, anon masks are not a solution. There is a reason noone marches anymore, mostly peeps think they are making a difference whinging on fb or in the twitterverse, which is enough release that they can avoid the desire to marching as the other side of the coin is being flagged as subversive or targets for future tyranny.

          You have to consider what you say online, it may be more dangerous. Perhaps soon, which way you vote at each election…

          What, me paranoid (@beach bum)? Sure, peeps love to call me tinfoil, et al. But u know what they say, you can only be paranoid, until it happens.

          And (all the above) already is ;-)

        • @zerovelocity: One reason for collecting a nominal charge might be to discourage overuse. If it was free, some companies might figure out a nasty way to use your VIN, or just check every VIN. If there is a nominal charge, people are discouraged from running a VIN except when needed.

        • @twocsies: Yes, certainly. If it was anonymous $2 across the counter or a little bit of bitcoin fine.

          Quite frankly I don't care if it is $1 or $10. I can afford either.

          However others baulk when it gets jacked up by one of our glorious leaders.

          But it is the risk of doing an online transaction with such entities that is the true (and practically immeasurable) cost we are being asked to accept by these muppets.

      • Individual state registers though, no?

  • Can you spot the repairs from the pictures on gumtree? Im curious, inbox me the link if you can see from the photos :)

  • Thanks for posting it.
    I learnt about it after buying my first car.
    At the time of purchase, I bought $30 Car sales report for these details.

    • The equivalent would be a government service that gives you everything you need to know (on the legal side) before buying a property.

      • Or free drug lab house checking.

  • -1

    This used to be free a few years ago, it would come up along with the rego check. And they changed it now made it paid.

    • -4

      no it wasnt free. It was $30, and had a heap more info regarding the history. Now its dirt cheap, but not as informative, im still not sure if thats good or bad

      • +2

        The loan / written off check used to show up on the Vicroads website when you did a rego check, Now no more.

        • ok mustve been different in qld

        • @itsdanthaman:

          yeah this, was a shock to me as i am on the process of looking for other car. A few years ago, it used to provide this info free via vicroads. I didn't realize it wasn't reported on vicroads anymore. it a small price to pay, but if you looking at 10+ car it does add up :(

  • +3

    Thanks OP, such useful information! What a great community OZBARGAIN continues to be!
    Much appreciated!

  • I've had someone try and sell me a repairable write-off that was his "mother's car" but I got suspicious when I saw the registered owners was a panel beater company. Didn't realise how cheap this service was. Cheaper than most coffees.

  • +3

    It's far from a perfect service. Many vehicles are repaired by panel shops and avoid going on the register.
    Not being on the register doesn't mean that a vehicle hasn't been in a significant accident.
    Just like the odometer readings don't indicate the condition of the vehicle. VicRoads etc. don't keep track of this information.
    Still it's a cheap test to do.

    • Is there a better service other than a mechanic? to check if a panel shop has done repairs on a "write-off" that hasn't gone through insurance?

      • +5

        While it may be a big cost (relatively for some cars) we've always relied on RACV/RACQ full mechanical testing - the type they do in their workshop. You can reduce the cost considerably by having 'lifestyle' membership (not roadside assistance) it costs low-mid $20 and affords you the membership discounts. Once prior to this being available, I had my brother who had membership book the testing for me. Thereby paying the member rate without a membership.

        You get a full written report on anything that's good, bad or ugly.
        Anything that sticks out as needing attention now or in the future is highlighted so you know what you're in for.
        The other thing they generally do is point out any damage that's been fixed (even if properly) and anything that is out of character for vehicles age/mileage.
        We use this for end of warranty testing too - it usually shows up issues that will cost a significant amount of $$ soon after warranty ends saving you heaps of hand in pocket time.
        It's not as cheap as having a mechanic look it over, but it's more reliable and more thorough.
        If you're about to plonk down $1000's on a car, just think how much extra it will cost if you buy a lemon because you didn't get this report.
        I'm a veritible tightarse, but not where it's a dumb choice like skimping on this stuff.

        • How is a good mechanic not as reliable or not as thorough as RACQ/RACV?
          Just like any professional theres good and bad and hopefully the RACQ/RACV mechanic isn't lazy - they too can be slack with their testing and you will never know. You just have to hope their workplace enforces attention to detail. Someone you trust is best

        • @MountFranklin: No disrespect to good mechanics, but their forte is mechanical work not collision damage.
          As far as reliability goes, the problem is that they can be a bit up and down. Someone you trust can still let you down - been there done that, not much fun and you end up holding the bag.
          I have had an RACQ test done where they missed the need to replace a water pump in the near future (wasn't easily diagnosed) and they paid for the repair as it was their oversight.
          At least with RACV/RACQ I know that they follow a procedure, have a checklist, take photos of anything questionable etc.
          You are better informed without having to think of what may have been observed and overlooked when giving an opinion on the state of the car.
          I have a mechanic I trust and have used for more than 10 years, but car inspections I leave to the guys who do it for a living and stand behind their assessment with their $$ should they screw up.
          To each their own, you prefer to pay a mechanic about the same amount to do this work (why ask your original question if you don't want to hear the answer?) - knock yourself out.

    • Also, if the vehicle is older than 15 years, it doesn't have to go on the register in Victoria.

  • +1

    If only I had known.. just paid $25 for it this morning. Price for not doing the research! Thanks, for next time OP.

  • Not all heroes wear capes. Thank you

  • +4

    Good reminder.

    Another quick check worth doing is a Google search of the VIN.

    I've been looking for a cheap station car recently, and a number of cars have come up as being sold recently via auction (e.g. Grays Online or Manheim) with substantially more kilometers showing on the Google cached result.

  • Does a PPSR include information about the owner(s)? ie their name. Sorry if it's a silly question

    • +1

      No it doesn't

  • +25

    I always buy new cars - that way I save $3.40.

    • up until your drive it out the car yard.

  • Another thing worth looking for is to check if there is any outstanding Finance on the vehicle or not(in private sale). If there is an outstanding loan on the car, it will come up on the ppsr report as well. If there is a finance on the car, the bank owns the car, not the seller. For checking on any odometer tempers and roll backs, carfacts report (owned by carsales.com.au) is not a bad option either. Its bit pricey, but also includes the ppsr report in that. carfacts collects odometer data from other different websites and their own website (carsales), so its a good report that shows any rollback on odometers.

  • Well, guess what's now on Gumtree at a near market value price…

    You should put another add up - same car, price, etc. and TELL everyone in the ad but without directly referring to him (they will pull the ad too soon if you do). I've seen people do this before.

    • Yeah but for every 1 write-off that you know is on Gumtree, there's another 5-10 I don't know about

      Too easy for it to come back to me, and it's my professional reputation that can easily be damaged with fake reviews etc

      • Guess so, but every bit helps. ;-p

      • +1

        Maybe hit the "report" button on gumtree too… report as a scam. They might ban them from posting it there at all, without a disclosure.

        • …but it's not a scam.

          It's not illegal to sell a car that's been a non-statutory write-off and, as stated in an earlier comment, in the case of a private sale, the current owner does not have to declare accident damage or any other defect on the vehicle. It's up to the owner to investigate adequately (or buy from a dealer for added reassurance).

        • @Osprey06: I realise that. But they still might pull the ad anyway. I've seen plenty of ads pulled for less. One I remember was a bus/mobile home several months ago. It had been gutted in a fire, written off, and the owner gutted it out and repainted everything ready for a new fitout. He listed it on gumtree, didn't mention the fire, and some couple went and looked at it. Somehow they discovered (the registration authority of their state maybe?) it had been burned out, asked him some uncomfortable-reality questions he didn't like, and he stopped communicating with them, though they were still willing to buy. So they put up an ad too, using his own photos to warn people they should at least ask some hard questions, because something fishy was going on. Both ads were pulled by gumtree after a few days.

          And just because it's not illegal, doesn't mean it's right.

  • I had a few Qs.

    1. Can this report tell you anything beyond that it was a write off or money is owing? e.g. accident history (non-write off).

    2. Who does the writing off normally? A panelbeater or the insurance company?

    3. In a situation where someone tries to sell a write off, if it was written off, why would they have gone to a panel shop to fix it up? By definition a write off is one that's too expensive to repair and thus not worth repairing, right? Would a panelist even bother? If they only fixed cosmetic damage and not mechanical damage it should quickly become obvious that the car is dodgy right?

      1. Nope
      2. Insurance afaik
      3. Not that apparent sometimes. Especially with older cars that might have seen a fender bender or 2.
    • +1

      In response to point 3:

      A vehicle that is written off will usually (always?) be either a statutory write-off or a non-statutory (repairable) write-off. A statutory write-off is a vehicle that has been damaged in such a way that repairs cannot guarantee the vehicle's safety/integrity for the road. A repairable write-off has been written off for accounting reasons - the cost of repairs is greater than the value of the vehicle.

      It is illegal to repair a statutory write-off and seek to register it for the road (although these vehicles could be repaired and used on private roads, farms, race tracks etc.). It is NOT illegal to repair and register a non-statutory write-off. Why would a panel beater repair a repairable write-off? If it's worth their time. I.e., if someone were willing to pay them to do the job, if they could get the car cheap enough, repair and sell for a profit or if they could repair it more cheaply (e.g. use non-genuine parts, fix some parts instead of replacing them or not repair/replace some superficially damaged parts that an insurance company would have to repair to meet their customer's expectations) and sell for a profit.

      Theoretically if the repairs are good, a non-statutory written off car could still be a good car. I crashed a car w/o comprehensive insurance many years ago. The car was worth around $6k, I was quoted a minimum of $4.5k by a panel beater and ended up fixing it myself for $2k (a panel beater straightened it and I did the rest of the labour/sourcing parts). I still own and drive that car today and it's still beautiful to drive. Note that this car wouldn't be listed as a non-statutory write-off anyway because the repairs weren't organised through an insurance company…

      In some cases (usually bikes, rather than cars), cosmetic damage may be enough for a non-statutory write-off, even if there is no, or very minimal mechanical damage. E.g. I know people who have dropped a bike at very low speed, cracked the fairing and ridden it home only for their insurance company to write the bike off because it costs more to buy and fit a replacement fairing than it does to replace the bike…

  • +1
    1. It'll tell you if it's a stolen vehicle
    2. what he said
    3. There are non repairable write offs that the insurance company can sell to wreakers only
      Then there is the repairable write off that the insurance company will take a loss on ,but will still recoup some of their costs by selling it cheap

    Then some panelbeater will buy it and try to fix it up and make money

  • +2

    Just paid $3.40 for PPSR on my $3400 car(2003 Mitsubishi Magna Wagon, only 100k)
    Nothing shows up. Excellent.

  • -1

    Not sure what the big deal is with buying an ex-write off, so long as you aren't misled into thinking it wasnt an ex-write off before buying. so long as the repairs were done appropriately and it passed the appropriate VIV/tier 3 inspection, and otherwise checks out mechanically, good deal.

    if the car is a current (unregisterable) write off, thats another story.

    • This register not only lets you know it's been in a major smash but it also destroy's the resale value as most won't touch
      Some cheap cars out there but be aware they will never be 100% straight again now we are in the computer design era .
      Everything is taken into consideration as structural strength including the windscreen, seat mounts ,and probably the dash mats
      With that in mind would you buy a Chinese, or Korean car that had been straightened
      Maybe a high dollar car like a Lamborghini but if the chassis had been damaged would you trust it at 200kms per/hr with your life?uptou

  • In South Australia this is called the Vehicle Securities Register and is run by the Department for Motor Vehicle Registration. I do not believe that their is any cost involved in looking up to see as to whether a vehicle has a financial or other party encumberance. However in order to use the service you need the correct VIN/Chassis number. Not being able to match the VIN Chassis generally tells you that something is not right but does not automatically mean the car is stolen. (Sometimes a car can have had a replacement engine put in, but the person who did this, did either not understand that the New Vin/Chassis number needs to be given to the MVRD or could not be bothered filling out the required paperwork and sending it back to the MVRD. I do believe that it is an offence to not notify the MVRD within 14 days of a replacement/changeover engine being put in the car, (in SA at least) but I cannot tell you if you incur a fine for doing so? (Most likely I imagine as everything else is fined in this state!)

    • Before you complain about the SA DPTI, have a look at the ridiculous bureaucracy that is VicRoads.

    • Edit

  • Wow so cheap now. I once paid over $25. Cancelling a NSW rego in QLD was the most stupid thing I ever did. They took $40 admin out of the actual road tax part and tell me to try to recover the insurance part from the secret insurer they refused to tell me who it was.

    • I lost $100 when cancelling rego in Victoria a month after paying 12 months on it.

  • If the car has been write-off, just ask for for the road-worthy certificate + images (sometimes)
    Otherwise, it's not possible to register a written off car without it, it has to pass it.
    And of course, drop your offer ;)

    • Not every state has RWCs

  • nice!

  • How is this different to the "Vehicle History Report" I paid the RMS $22 for?

  • Good repost, thanks for reminding us. Thank god it is 9 months ago and it is safe to repost, cos I remember you being a smart arse about others posting deals [after only 7 months.] https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/4983693/redir

    p.s. [The sky is still blue] https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/4983562/redir

    Just in case you needed a reminder

    • now if I could only get the formatting to work…

  • +1

    did this for 4 cars before settling in for the one I have now.. all first 3 had issues similar to mentioned above..

  • Great hints in this thread for car purchases! Ta

  • +1

    Another check list I like to use pre-purchase can be found on carsales. It's the redbook sample checklist. You can pay to have someone do a full check over the vehicle for (like an racv/racq check) or if experienced enough, can. Definitely carry out yourself. It can definitely aid in the decision of whether or not to get a professional to carry out an inspection also if it starts to get a bit much for yourself.

    It outlines just about everything you should look for and is a good visual check list rather than rocking up to inspect a car and trying to remember what to look for off the top of your head.

    Scroll down, hit "View Sample Inspection."
    https://www.redbook.com.au/inspect/

  • +1

    The PPSR is currently undergoing routine maintenance and is unavailable.

    PPSR routine maintenance occurs every week on Wednesday, from 9:00pm to 11:59pm (Canberra time).

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