Car History Reports
Learn the truth about your used car
You should never buy a used car without obtaining a car history check first. This is an important step because it can prevent you from buying a car with expensive hidden problems. You wouldn't buy a car if you knew that it had been in a major accident, was stolen, had been rebuilt or has had the odometer tampered with. While you'll never know everything about a used car, history reports will help reduce the risk in buying a used vehicle.
Procedure for getting a car history check
All you need to obtain a car history report is the vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN can be found under the windshield on the driver's side, on the sticker on the driver's side door jamb and in title documents. All vehicles manufactured after 1981 have a unique 17-character code that will provide you with valuable information.
The easiest way to obtain a car history report is from a reputable website, such as CARFAX. CARFAX is the most trusted supplier of used car history information and is used by millions of people each year. Their giant database contains over four billion records and they receive their statistics from reliable resources, such as the Departments of Motor Vehicles in both the U.S. and Canada. On their website, you enter the VIN into the search engine and, with a onetime fee of about $24.99, you'll have an entire report of everything you'd ever need to know about your used car or light truck. Another option is the unlimited reports plan, which for $29.99 lets you run an unlimited number of vehicles for 30 days - this is perfect for shopping around for a used car.
Receiving valuable information
Car history reports can include all kinds of valuable information about a car, in terms of where it's been and what's happened to it. You can also use this information to get discounts on used cars that have flawed histories. Typical history reports check for:
- Odometer check: Broken? Rolled over? Rolled back? Fraud?
- Title check: Lemon? Flooded? Salvaged? Rebuilt?
- Problem Check: Stolen? Major accident? Fire damage? Salvage auction?
- Registration Check: Rental? Lease? Police / Taxi? Fleet Car?
- Safety Reports: Safety recalls? Crash test results? Reliability ratings?
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