Know Before You Buy

Used Cars: Know Before You Buy

It used to be that the best way to tell if a used car was a "lemon" (ie; a junk car) was to kick the tires and tap the rear quarter panel. Beyond that, you had to take the dealer’s word for it and hope the free undercoating they threw in wasn’t there to hide something shady.

Those days of trusting your family’s safety to someone in a plaid sport coat and ill-fitting pants are long gone.

Vehicle history reports have evened the playing field between used-car dealers and buyers. Now, everything you need to know about the vehicle is in one report. But which one should you rely on? The one from the dealer or one you get yourself?

Dealer's Reports

A Carfax report is probably the most common one you’ll find. While there are others, the information should be the same. Double-check everything: Compare the VIN on the report to the one on the car. Do the specs match the window sticker or the vehicle you're looking at? If something doesn’t add up, ask them to run another report while you’re there. If they hesitate, it’s a red flag. If you suspect the dealer is fudging the history, who knows what else they might be hiding. Walk away and report them to your local business bureau or state Attorney General.

What to Do

You can run a free report on Vehiclehistory.com. It won’t be as detailed as the ones you or the dealer pay for, but it’ll still give you plenty of useful info. If there’s a discrepancy between your report and the dealer’s, ask for clarification or find another dealer. One of the benefits of this site is that it lets you read about other people’s experiences with that make, model, and year of car. You’ll get a heads-up on common issues and recall history.

Another valuable resource is NICB.org/vincheck. This service from the National Insurance Crime Bureau can tell you if the car was ever reported stolen and not recovered, or if it was totaled. If either of these issues pops up, steer clear. It’s illegal to sell a vehicle that’s been declared a total loss, and it could be stolen. Both scenarios could lead to big problems down the road.

If you find a car that fails the NICB check, contact the police. The seller might not know, but now you do—and you definitely don’t want to be part of that mess.

Perform a Physical Check

No amount of technology can replace the old-fashioned way of checking for real wear and tear. Rust spots, worn-out transmissions, and other issues won’t show up in the history report. Walk around the car, give the panels a tap, and check underneath for rust. Take it for a spin, get it up to highway speeds, and listen for anything unusual. How does the steering feel? Are the brakes working well?

Ultimately, there’s no single foolproof method for ensuring you’ve got all the details about a used car. Make sure the seller provides a printed vehicle history report. Verify the information. Use free resources to check the car yourself. And in the end, make sure everything looks good—then, yes, go ahead and kick the tires and tap the quarter panels.

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