Sint Maarten – Notice to the community when buying a previously owned vehicle

The Police Department is sending out a serious warning to those persons in the community wanting to purchase a used or second hand motor vehicle. For some time there has been an increase in the amount of stolen vehicles such as cars, motorcycles and scooters on the island.

Many of these vehicles on numerous occasions, after being stopped and checked by police, resulted to have been stolen. These stolen vehicles are then resold to others at a cheaper price.

The advice from the police department to all those persons wanting to buy a used (second hand) motor vehicle is to ask the seller to provide you (the buyer) with his/her valid picture identification and all documents for the vehicle in question or at least a copy of them.

These documents should include documents of ownership of the vehicle, insurance documents, and a valid inspection card with correct name of the seller and the VIN-number of the vehicle. The VIN-number on these documents should correspond with that on the vehicle. The buyer should be convinced that the VIN-number on the vehicle has not been tampered with (letters or numbers changed).

If the VIN-numbers do not correspond or the seller cannot produce these documents, the police department advises the buyer NOT to purchase the vehicle.

The vehicle might probably be stolen. A “bill of sale” is not sufficient proof that vehicle is in the hands of the rightful owner.

The purchasing of a used or second hand vehicle is solely the responsibility of the buyer.