$2 Sticker To Combat Australian VIN Tampering

The Australians are fighting the menace of VIN number tampering with new VIN stickers that cannot be removed or altered without being destroyed, making vehicle reconstruction and title washing significantly more challenging. Although we're not sure what's bigger news here, the fact that a cheap $2 AUS decal can markedly deter car thieves, or that the Aussies call VIN tampering "rebirthing." Join us for a collective shudder, and the full afterbirth details after the jump.

Although we expect automakers to scream about the new sticker destroying profitability and requiring at least 10 years of development work to implement, we think the program makes some serious sense. In fact, the numbers we've seen peg the potential savings at $240 million US dollars. Not bad for a cost per-vehicle of just $1.90.

Apparently, some automakers have already recognized the writing on the wall. Hyundai is installing the new tamper-resistant stickers on its entire Australian fleet, and Subaru, BMW, Audi and Porsche all used them on at least some models, resulting in improved theft rankings from NRMA Insurance. This all sounds like the kind of thing our friends at Unique Performance would be solidly against...if, you know, they weren't going to jail.
[Drive.com.au; (Photo Credit: Insurance.com)]