What a check actually looks like
People reasonably want to know what they're getting before they install anything. So here is one complete check, start to finish: a listing, what RegoSnap read from it, every warning sign with the exact words that triggered it, and the things it refused to say.
About this example. The listing is invented — it's one of the test listings we use to check the app, so no real seller's ad or number plate is published here. The output is not a mock-up. Every field, flag and quote below is what the live app returned when this listing was run through it on 12 September 2026.
1. The listing
A 2019 Subaru Outback Sport in Fremantle, WA. $20,200, 87,759 km, silver wagon, private seller. This is what the seller wrote:
Can't do viewings, trust the pics. Selling as I got a work car. I'm posted in Darwin with the army, courier will bring it to you. New tyres fitted 3 months ago. Service books included. Hit me up on Telegram. Rego till Aug 2027.
Read quickly on a phone, that's an ordinary ad. Service books, new tyres, long rego, a plausible reason for selling. Three separate things in it are the classic private-sale scam.
2. What RegoSnap read
From screenshots of the listing, before any judgement is made:
| Car | 2019 Subaru Outback Sport |
|---|---|
| Odometer | 87,759 km |
| Price | $20,200 |
| Plate | 1VJZ118 |
| Location | Fremantle, WA |
| Body / transmission / fuel | Wagon · Automatic · Petrol |
| Colour | Silver |
| Seller | Private |
Every one of those was correct. The plate matters most: you need it, or the VIN, to run the $2 PPSR search — and reading it off a photo is where letter-and-number confusion creeps in, so the app asks you to confirm it before you search.
3. What it flagged — and the words it flagged them on
This is the part that matters. RegoSnap doesn't tell you a listing "feels" wrong. Every warning has to quote the seller's own line, and a flag whose quote isn't actually in the ad is thrown away by the server before you ever see it.
Won't allow an inspection or test drive
“Can't do viewings, trust the pics.”
A genuine seller lets you see the car and bring a mechanic. Treat a refusal as a reason to walk away.
You can't see the car in person
“I'm posted in Darwin with the army, courier will bring it to you.”
Sellers who are "away" and will ship the car are a classic scam pattern. Only buy a car you can see and drive.
Wants to move the chat off the app
“Hit me up on Telegram.”
Scammers move you off the platform so its protections and records don't apply. Keep messages on the listing app.
Why the army line is the one to know
It reads as a reason to trust someone. It is the single most common line in Australian car-ad scams. In its 27 April 2021 warning, the ACCC reported that in 97% of the car-ad scam reports it received in 2021, the scammer claimed to be in the military — navy, army or air force — or to work for the Department of Defence. Reported losses had risen from about $245,000 across 330 reports in 2019 to over $1 million across more than 1,000 reports in 2020, and around a fifth of victims lost personal information as well as money.
The deployment story exists to explain why you can't see the car, why a courier will bring it, and why you need to pay first. That's why these three flags almost always travel together.
4. The verdict
Serious warning signs
Don't send any money. Walk away unless every red item below is fully explained.
Three high-severity findings, all from the listing alone. No PPSR certificate was needed to reach this, and no money had been sent.
5. What it would not say
Just as important, and the reason this page exists rather than a screenshot of a green tick.
- No safety rating. A 2019 Outback isn't in the Used Car Safety Ratings dataset, which covers older cars. The app said not rated. It did not estimate one from the model's earlier years, even though a 2009–2014 Outback rates 5 stars and would have looked good here.
- It never said the car was safe to buy. Without a PPSR certificate RegoSnap will not return a green verdict on any listing, because money owing, theft and write-offs don't appear in an ad — they appear in the $2 government search.
- It made no claim about condition, price or history. "Service books included" and "new tyres" stayed what they are: things the seller said, unverified.
The full list of what RegoSnap can't tell you, and how it's tested →
If a listing looks like this one
- Don't send money, a deposit, or ID. Not to hold it, not for "transport", not through any payment service the seller arranges.
- Keep every message on the platform where you found the ad.
- Ask to see the car where it is. A seller who can't produce the car cannot sell you the car.
- If you've already paid, contact your bank immediately and report it to Scamwatch.
The listing above is fictional and was written for testing. The ACCC figures are from the dated media release linked above and describe 2020–2021 reports; they are not a current-year statistic. General information only, not legal or financial advice. The authoritative source on PPSR searches is ppsr.gov.au.