Are you planning on buying a secondhand car? If so, make sure you find out everything there is to know about its history with a thorough used car check. Doing so will ensure can rest assured that it is a good purchase. A car’s vehicle history report can be extremely telling and provide insight as to whether or not its usage indicates it to be a reliable car.
Each vehicle has a unique ID of its own, called the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). You can then use this to conduct an online VIN check. The VIN can be found on the door jamb, at the front of the engine block, and underneath the spare tire. After you have located the number, use a VIN search to find reports of the car online.
Here’s all the information you can get on vehicle history:
Shows service history
A well-maintained vehicle can be used for years. Service centers and dealerships report each visit to their establishment for maintenance work. This includes fluid changes, repairs, and vehicle recalls. These notes are important because they help the owner of the vehicle keep track of their car.
Aside from reports of where the car has physically been, the notes are also helpful for buyers because it’s a testimony to how well the previous owners maintained and care for the vehicle. It wouldn’t be wise to spend your hard-earned cash on a car that was poorly maintained because you may need to invest in some costly repairs down the road.
Verifies the vehicle’s mileage
A vehicle report can give you the estimated mileage of the vehicle. You should be able to find out if the miles that are on the report match with the miles on the odometer. If not, it’s safe to suspect that the car has been tampered with.
Protects against title cleansing
The rules for reporting and licensing rebuilt or salvaged vehicles vary from one state to another. Some car sellers may try to move a vehicle with a salvage title from one state to another just to take advantage of more favourable registration laws.
When the new title has been issued without the branding, this is what it called tile cleansing. A history report is the only way for you to tell the difference between salvaged vehicles and vehicles with clean histories.
Points out hidden damage
The damage sustained by a vehicle may not immediately be seen by the human eye. Even experienced automotive professionals cannot identify all the details of a vehicle unless they conduct a thorough inspection. A history report will show you if it has been in an accident and whether the airbags were deployed, which could help clue you into the severity and the location of the damage.
Indicates the number of owners
Have you picked a car that’s changed hands one too many times? We would recommend reconsidering because this could indicate that the vehicle has a hidden problem. You should be wary of vehicles that have multiple owners or owners in different states. If you really want the car, take your time and look into past owners before you commit to buying it.
Conclusion
Vehicle history reports are a common tool that most car buyers should ask for when purchasing a vehicle. It has a lot of information that can help you make a more informed decision. Cars definitely aren’t cheap, so you’ll want your first purchase to be the best purchase you make.
zipVIN offers updated vehicle history information for car owners, including a free VIN search and a free VIN decoder. We get these reports from a variety of legitimate national vehicle authorities. Browse through our website today and feel free to use our services for your used car!
