Our Vehicle History and Lemon Car FAQ
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What is a Lemon Vehicle
?
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What is a Vehicle History Number?
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Where do I find a Vehicle
History VIN Number?
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What is Vehicle History Reports?
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Where can I get a Vehicle History Report?
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What will I get from a Vehicle History
Report?
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Why should I buy Vehicle History Reports?
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How far back do the Vehicle
History databases go?
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What is Vehicle
Odometer Fraud?
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Should I buy a single Vehicle
History report or the multiple
report option?
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What should I do if the Vehicle
History report shows potential problems?
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Where can I get a vehicle history report with Canadian
data?
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What other research should I do before I buy
a used vehicle?
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Are there other options to protect me from
vehicle history problems?
What is a Lemon?
Basically, a lemon is a vehicle that had so many mechanical problems
that the manufacturer bought it back. States have their own lemon laws,
so the exact circumstances vary. Try searching online for "lemon
law" to get more info or visit www.vehiclepedia.com has some good
state-by-state info. A Vehicle History FAQ for lemons and lemon checks
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What is a VIN Number?
A VIN (short for "Vehicle Identification Number") is a seventeen-digit
code that uniquely identifies a vehicle. Every vehicle, truck, motorcycle,
trailer, etc. that is built is assigned a VIN and DMVs and insurance companies
use the VIN to keep track of which vehicle is which.
The VIN encodes specific information about a vehicle, including country
of manufacture, manufacturer, model, body style and even engine and other
information. This was standardized in the early '80s and all major manufacturers
follow the standard.
If you're interested in how VINs work, check out this online
VIN decoder. It shows you where the different info is encoded. Or
see this explanation.
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Where do I find a
VIN Number?
A lot of used vehicle websites include a VIN in their for-sale listings.
When you're shopping online, find the VIN and cut and paste it into the
VIN form. Get the unlimited version of the report so you can screen as
many VINs as you need to.
If there's no VIN listed in the newspaper or website ad, contact the
seller and ask for it before you go see the vehicle. You could save yourself
a lot of time by avoiding problem vehicles.
You can also get the VIN from the vehicle itself. A VIN is visible on
the lower right hand (driver's side) corner of the dash when looking through
the front windshield. The VIN is also printed on registrations, titles
and proof of insurance vehicleds.
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What is a Vehicle History
Report?
A vehicle history report is the quickest and easiest way to research
the history of a vehicle. It gathers all of a vehicle's insurance and DMV
records into one place. At a glance, you can tell if there are major accidents,
odometer problems, flood damage issues or if the vehicle is a lemon.
With this info in hand, you can make an informed purchase decision AND
negotiate the best price.
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Where can I get a
Vehicle History Report?
Several companies gather the data and sell these reports online: Consumer
Guide, CARFAX and AutoCheck.
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What will I get from
a Vehicle History Report?
A vehicle history report will tell you one of two things about the vehicle's
history:
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That it's CLEAN: history records for clean vehicles might show
the title being renewed or issued several times. Where states require
them, you might see emissions or safety test passes. If it's a newer
vehicle, there might only be a couple of records.
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That it has POTENTIAL PROBLEMS that require further investigation:
the report might include evidence of accident history, flood damage,
indications of odometer fraud, emission test failures, theft history,
or evidence of heavy usage.
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Why should I buy a Vehicle
History Report?
If you're selling...
to get the best price for your vehicle. If you're selling to a dealer
or trading in, they will definitely run a VHR before they take the
vehicle off your hands. To get the best price for your vehicle, you should
know what they're going to find out before they find it out!
if you're buying...
so you don't get stuck with someone else's problem. If you know what
the seller knows--or maybe more than the seller knows!--you're
more likely to make a good decision and not be swayed by someone's
smooth "pitch."
extra peace-of-mind: CARFAX offers a "title guarantee"
when you buy a report. If you later find something wrong with the
vehicle's title that wasn't in the report, you may be eligible for a payout.
(Pay close attention to the requirements, though., to make sure you're
eligible.)
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How far back do the
databases go?
VINs were standardized in the early '80s to all be 17 digits long and
to use certain codes to indicate make, model, year and other information
about the vehicle. Manufacturers were using other types of IDs before that,
but the major history databases only include the standardized VINs from
1981-on. You probably won't find many records for most vehicles older than
the late eighties, but you should run the VIN check anyway.
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What is Odometer Fraud?
It is illegal to tamper with an odometer to change its reading: usually
to reduce the number of miles on the vehicle. Unscrupulous dealers have been
known to "rollback" an odometer to make a used vehicle more attractive
to a buyer.
Buying a vehicle history report can protect you from odometer fraud.
With the data in-hand, it's obvious if the mileage suddenly goes down
between registrations or annual emissions tests. You can also protect
yourself from odometer fraud by having a mechanic inspect the vehicle: they
will get a sense of how much wear-and-tear there is on the vehicle, which
is more important than raw miles in determining the vehicle's value.
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Should I buy a single
report or the multiple report option?
All these sites give you the option of buying multiple reports. At Consumer
Guide and Carfax, $5 more gets you as many reports as you need for 60
days. At AutoCheck, you can get 10 reports for $9 more. If you're going
to be looking at a lot of vehicles, the multiple report option is the way
to go.
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What should I do if
the report shows potential problems?
If you see a potential trouble area in the report, don't immediately
assume the vehicle is not worth buying. If the problem is not serious, you
might want to use the information to negotiate a better price on the vehicle.
If you're buying from a private seller, you could ask them to explain
anything unusual in the report. There may be a reasonable explanation.
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Where can I get a vehicle history
report with Canadian data?
Carfax and AutoCheck both claim to have Canadian DMV data. However, you
might want to try www.vehicle-history.net.
Based on their sample report, it looks like they have access to Canadian
provincial motor vehicles data. And they promise not to charge you if
they don't find anything for your vehicle. They also will do lien searches
at the same time. And the price is comparable to the major US providers
once you factor in exchange rate.
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What other research
should I do before I buy a used vehicle?
At the very least, you should check out reviews on the model you're considering
and used vehicle pricing guides to find out what the market price of the vehicle
is. Consumer Reports has a lot of this information available in their
used vehicle reviews. Other sources online for pricing info are kbb.com and
nadaguides.com.
As with any major decision, the more research you do before you make
up your mind, the more likely you will be satisfied with your decision.
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Are there other options to
protect me from vehicle history problems?
A VIN history report gives you a detailed history of a vehicle, but it's
still up to you to make sure that you make good decisions based on that
information. Another option is to buy a Used Car Title Insurance policy.
Title Insurance means that you are paying someone a small fee to assume
the risk of buying a used vehicle. If something turns out to be wrong with
the vehicle's title, you have a way to recoup your investment in that vehicle.
TitleGuard from First American Corporation offers a title insurance policy
for $49.95. There is no deductible, no hidden fees and no fine print.
It covers you against undisclosed problems with a vehicle's title that
could cost you thousands of dollars. Things like: lemon vehicles, flood
damage, stolen damage, liens. (Title insurance won't cover mechanical
defects if they're not related to a title problem, so be sure you still
get any used vehicle checked by a mechanic before you buy.)
>> Vehicle History Resources
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