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Used Car Vehicle History Reports - Complete Guide

Buying a used car can be a cheaper alternative than buying a new car. However, to keep yourself from making a costly mistake you should have vehicle inspected by a mechanic and review the vehicle's used car vehicle history report. This simple step may save you from making a huge multi-thousand dollar mistake when buying your next used car.

It's not just accidents to worry about, there are thousands of vehicles involved in natural disasters and floods. These vehicles are purchased for pennies on the dollar, rebuilt, and put back onto a dealer's lot for sale to the general public. If you don't know what you're looking at, you can end up buying one of these vehicles.

In this section I'll show you what is a vehicle history report, what they contain, where they get their information and why it's important to check the history on a vehicle before you buy it.

What is a Vehicle History Report?

It contains important information about a used vehicle's past acting as a vehicle's report card. A vehicle history report will show information about title records from the appropriate states Department of Motor Vehicles, along with any salvage, accident and insurance total loss records.

Do You Need a Vehicle History Report?

The short answer is "YES!" The reason why is because there is no way for you to look at a used car and tell what the vehicle's been through. Body shops do great work rebuilding a vehicle, there are some companies out there that all they do is buy insurance total loss cars, rebuild them and take them to other parts of the country to sell back to the general public. Reviewing a vehicle's past upfront can keep you from buying someone else's problems.

There are many dealers that provide you with a "free" report when you buy a car. They do this as a customer service in hopes of putting your mind at ease. Even if you're offered one, I still recommend purchasing your own. There have been many complaints filed, and fines paid by dealers, for creating false reports and providing out dated reports to consumers. This still doesn't help the customer that got stuck with the bad vehicle.

My advice is to spend the $25 and avoid the situation altogether. The money you spend on the report may save you from wasting thousands of dollars on a car. Taking this step will let you absolutely know the report has not been doctored or falsified.

Where Does Vehicle History Report Data Come From?

There are several areas these companies collect data and information. Some of the information is provided by the Federal Government and some of the better companies pay for the data they provide in their history reports. Some of these data sources are:

• Insurance Companies
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Car Dealerships
• Recycling Facilities
• Salvage Yards
• Auto Auctions
• Various other Independent Sources

You will also find police-reported accident information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. They also collect data reported from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on storm damaged vehicles and any vehicles registered in an area of any major disasters in the nation.

What's Included on a Vehicle History Report

There are four main areas a vehicle history report will focus on, these areas include:

• Title Check
• Odometer Check
• Problem Check
• Event and Use Check

This collected data will help you see and understand potentially significant information on a used car you're looking to buy. Depending on information reported, it can tell you several different things about a used car:

• How many times the car has been titled
• If the vehicle has been used as a rental car or fleet vehicle
• If the car has been reported in an accident
• If the title has been reported as branded
• It tells you about the cars odometer history
• If the vehicle has ever been repossessed or stolen
• If there are any liens on the vehicle (great for private party sales)
• If the vehicle has ever been sold at auction
• Has the vehicle ever been recalled
• Has the car ever been damaged by fire, hail, floods, or involved in any other natural disasters

Which Vehicle History Report is Best?

With several used car history report services online it can be difficult to decide which one will give you the most value for your money. I've personally pulled thousands of history reports, these companies can basically be broke down into two categories:

• Not recommended - Low cost report providers that provide limited information gathered from the Federal Government National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). I've used several of these companies only to find out they're missing valuable information when researching a car. Keep in mind, there's a reason they're cheap!
• Recommended - Companies that seek out as much data as possible to provide you with the most information about the vehicle so you can make a good buying decision. These companies missions are to be the best history providers in the business and even guarantee the information provided on their reports.

I've used many of these services in my dealerships to protect myself, my dealership, and my customers from buying an unreliable car. Reviewing a used car's history report is not a requirement however, it's becoming more important when uncovering underlying problems that are not visible to the naked eye.

Recommended Vehicle History Report Company

Most companies only allow you to buy one report at a time or they will sell you a small package of just 3-5 reports. This will limit you if you're browsing several vehicles at one time.

We recommend AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports, they are an Experian company. You may have not heard of them because they don't advertise like the others. Most major auto auctions and lenders use AutoCheck over its competitors because of how accurate they are in disclosing vehicles that have been rebuilt or branded with frame damage.

We highly recommend the Multiple Reports Package which allows you to run 25 vehicle history reports for 21 days. This will give you more than enough time to research and compare as many vehicles as needed so you can make a good buying decision. If you believe you will need to run more reports, you can opt for the Unlimited Package which allows you to run unlimited reports for a three week time frame.

With the AutoCheck's Multiple Report plan you can even run history checks from your Smartphone, tablet or iPad while you're on the dealers lot looking at vehicles.

If you have just starting to shop for a used car and don't have a VIN? You can still get the Multiple Reports Package. Visit the AutoCheck Vehicle History Report web site here.

AutoCheck Buyback Protection Guarantee

One of the most valuable benefits to using AutoCheck to get a used car history report on your next used car is their Buyback Protection Guarantee; this is available to you at no extra cost. If a brand is found on a title after the vehicle is reported to be free of the brand, AutoCheck will provide coverage for what you paid for the car and will provide a refund of your purchase price.

They cover up to 110% of NADA published retail value if you find a covered title defect that also meets the terms and conditions of their guarantee. Simply, if they miss it, they'll buy it back.

Other Vehicle History Report companies will have a buyback guarantee available. What makes the AutoCheck Buyback program different from others is:

• Aftermarket items including installed accessories and warranties are covered up to $500.
• Experian is the company behind AutoCheck and will honor all current and future claims subject to the terms of the program.

No matter whom you go with when purchasing a vehicle history report always familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of their "buyback guarantee."

AutoCheck vs. The Competition

Companies such as CARFAX® advertise heavily on the television and radio. I've used them along with AutoCheck in my dealerships. They are a very good company and like AutoCheck, provide a wealth of data and information.

For consumer use this is why I recommend AutoCheck over the competition:

• Ability to scan multiple VINs on your Smartphone, tablet or iPad.
• A single Used Car History Report under $30.
• Exclusive auction-announced frame damage from the two largest U.S auctions.
• No worry of cancelling your "membership" or reoccurring charges on your credit card.
• Option to purchase unlimited vehicle history reports for $99.99.
• AutoCheck Score® a number you can use to easily evaluate and compare multiple cars quickly.
• AutoCheck is owned by Experian, a trusted leader in providing consumers with tools to make the best financial and purchasing decisions.
• More than 13,000 auto dealers use AutoCheck over any other competitor for their used car history report provider.

Odometer Fraud and Tampering

Odometer fraud is another major problem on the rise in the United States and Canada. One of the easiest ways for an unethical car dealer to make big profits fast is to "rollback" an odometer. Keep in mind, it's not always the dealer's fault, they may have bought the vehicle with the odometer already tampered with.

The introduction of digital odometers was supposed to make this impossible. However, it just made it easier for the scammers. The mileage is stored in the cars computer or brain. A talented hacker can get in and rollback the mileage of the vehicle to increase its value. I've personally seen how easy it is to rollback an odometer on a vehicle and it is something you should be worried about.

Not only can a digital odometer be rolled back, some scammers will completely remove the dash panel and odometer and replace it with another that has less mileage. This can be done in only a few hours and is undetectable to the naked eye.

These unethical practices cost unsuspecting car buyers millions of dollars a year. A vehicle history report will tell you if the odometer has been tampered with and protect you from buying a car that has a rolled backed odometer. Click here to visit AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports.

Natural Disasters

All you have to do is turn on the news to see another natural disaster taking place somewhere in North America. You ever wonder where all those vehicle's end up after a hurricane, tornado, wild fire or flood? Most of them end up salvaged, repaired and back into circulation for car buyers like you.

During Hurricane Katrina that almost 600,000 vehicles were reported to be damaged by flood and debris. Insurance companies pay off the actual cash value of these cars to the owners and lien holders. The insurance companies then send them to auctions to recoup as much money as they can. Normally pennies on the dollar.

Companies such as shade tree mechanics, body shops, repair facilities and even unethical dealers fix these cars and resale them to the public. I remember hundreds of these cars going through major auctions about 3 to 6 months after Katrina. Dealers and wholesalers attend these auctions to buy inventory for their dealerships. We had to be very careful, even as dealers, not to buy these cars. So many of these vehicles slipped through the system, most of us got stuck with a few of these cars in our inventories.

Another trick is to repair these vehicles and get them as far away as possible from where they were damaged. A car from Katrina, after repaired is less likely to be scrutinized if it is being sold in California or yes, even Canada. The short story is, you never know where a car will end up once it's repaired and put back into circulation.

Don't Fall for the Free VIN Check

All a free VIN check does is let you see how many records are attached to a vehicle. There may be only a few records attached to a vehicle. However, you want to review the complete history detailed information of the vehicle before you commit to spending thousands of dollars. Again, I stress it will be money well spent. Check your VIN for free here.

A Vehicle History Report is not Perfect

Purchasing a vehicle history report is not a substitute for having a used car inspected by a certified independent mechanic, it should be viewed as additional protection. There are many fender benders that never get reported to the proper authorities, hail damage is one that gets overlooked a lot. A mechanic can tell you if the car has been in a wreck or it has been painted no matter how small of a discrepancy it may have.

After checking the vehicle's history and before you sign the papers to buy the car, take the vehicle to a mechanic of your choice. Tell the mechanic you're looking to buy the vehicle and you'd like to know if he'd put it on a lift to see if the vehicle is a reliable car. Ask the mechanic if he would let his wife or daughter drive the vehicle? If he says yes, you know the car is in good shape.

Car Buying Tip - A vehicle history report will tell you about the title, use and odometer history about a car. A certified mechanic will protect you from any mechanical or cosmetic defects of the vehicle.

Share Your Tips - If you have any tips on vehicle history reports that will help others save money, please tell us about it in the comments below, so we can share it with everyone.