• Higher Rate of Vehicle Theft: New Mexico has historically ranked amongst the states with the highest auto theft rates. Over 10,000 vehicles were stolen in the state in 2022 alone and according to some reports, it is climbing.
• Increased Risk of Buying a Car with Prior Collision Damage: There were 129,750 vehicle accidents reported in the state in 2019 alone. A lot of vehicles with prior collision and flood damage are hastily repaired and put up for sale with serious underlying safety and reliability related issues. 
• Shows Title Brands: A Title brand is issued when the vehicle is determined to be a total loss by the insurer. This can occur due to a number of catastrophic events such as fires, floods, major accidents, lemon buybacks and thefts. The state’s high rate of vehicle theft contributes to the increased number of theft recovery branded title vehicles. A branded title vehicle is considered less desirable due to its questionable long-term reliability, safety and value.  
• Prevalent Used Car Fraud: According to the Consumer Protection Agency, fraud is on the rise. There have been many recent cases involving deceptive dealership tactics, from undisclosed damage all the way to highly illegal falsification of documents, including title washing and VIN swapping. 
• The Risk of Odometer Fraud: Odometer fraud occurs when the mileage displayed on the vehicle’s odometer is modified in order to artificially inflate its value. This illegal widespread practice costs buyers about $1.06 billion per year for passenger vehicles in the U.S.
• Limited Lemon-Law Coverage: The New Mexico Lemon Law mandates that the dealership provide a limited warranty for 15 days or 500 miles, whichever comes first. In some cases the provided time window may not be sufficient in order to detect existing faults and defects.
• System Risks: The higher rate of black-market deals involving kerb-stoning and misrepresentation are very common in the state of New Mexico.