If you are going to buy a used car what questions should you ask first? How many miles does it have? Has it ever been in a wreck? How faithful were past owners in getting service checks? Unfortunately, sellers might not know (or not might not share) the answers to these questions. They might even be the 2nd or 3rd owner of the car. Thankfully, you can get detailed car accident history information and more through a VIN vehicle history report.

Accident Report

Usually when a vehicle is involved in an accident and repaired, the vehicle identification number, or VIN, is used to track the service. This info gets stored online and can be accessed by a history report. You can know if a car has been rear ended or if its airbags were deployed. Even severe damage from fire, flood, or hail can show up on the vehicle history report.

Mileage Tracking

Think you are getting a great deal on a low mileage car? Better check the history report. You can detect illegal odometer rollbacks since service, registration, title changes, and sales typically show the mileage at the time. You could lose out on thousands of dollars if you don’t verify the car’s odometer reading.

Get a vehicle history report from a CARCHEX partner now.

Service Records

Did past owners change the oil and filters regularly? How about regular maintenance checks? This kind of info is also included in vehicle history reports. Auto shops use the VIN to record visits, and if it is reported, you can find out about it.

Number Of Past Owners

Remember the seller might not be the only owner in the car’s past, right? Well, the vehicle history report can tell you how many people have owned the car. It can also reveal if the car was used for personal or business use. Even the state where the car was registered shows up.

Price Adjustment

This might be the most valuable part of the vehicle history report. Based on the data in the report, the provider can make an estimate if the car is under or overvalued. This is a great way to avoid overpriced cars and to take advantage of great deals.

Warranty Check

The better history reports also come with a warranty check. You just enter the current mileage and the remaining warranty coverage is calculated.

Look For Buy Back Guarantees

No report can include everything, but they can include a lot of valuable information to help you make a smart used car buy. If severe problems (severe damage, odometer rollback, or lemon history) were reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles but did not appear on the vehicle history, then the report provider should be willing to buy back the car.

Check How Long They’ve Been In Business

For any vehicle history report provider, check how long they have been doing business. The more experienced companies know how to generate the most thorough reports from the available data. Also things like price adjustment and buyback are likely to be more reliable.

Want To Get A Report?

You can get a VIN based vehicle history report on any used car. Get one from a CARCHEX partner today.