When purchasing a car, it is best to comb every inch of the vehicle and its documents before title passes. Once ownership rights pass, recovering your money after you notice the problems with the car may be difficult. It may even require going through the law in some cases.
Even when you go through the law, it will cost you time and more money. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t dissuade you from purchasing used cars. There are ways around it. You can get the best car for your money’s worth if you do your research first.
One easy-to-use tool to help you research the cars you want is a free online VIN checker called EpicVin. You can click here to use this VIN lookup tool to look up the VIN of any car for free.
Why should you check the VIN of a car before buying?
Doing your due diligence before buying a car will save you a lot of stress. So, very quickly, here are five reasons why you need to run a VIN check before purchasing a used car.
1. For your safety
According to the World Health Organization, around 1.3 million people die from road traffic accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in 2021 alone, about 42,000 people died due to vehicle crashes in the U.S.
To better protect yourself and others, check that the car you are about to pay for does not have any underlying defects that will result in an accident or a possible malfunction.
The vehicle identification number of the car will show you if the vehicle you intend to buy is unsafe.
2. Buy the true worth of the car that you are paying for
Avoid buying a car that will cost you more money to repair. The problems that arise when you do not check a car’s history before purchase are numerous.
A car is a major purchase. It can take out an huge chunk of money from your paycheck. If you get into a situation where you purchase a car without first checking every part of it, you will spend more money buying new parts and fixing things.
A VIN lookup is the easiest way to check out all the necessary details about a car before making a purchase. A car that was recovered from a flood or involved in an accident is not a very good buy. A VIN check will point this out since the vehicle will be branded as a salvaged vehicle.
If you want to buy a car, you can visit the EpicVin website and input the VIN of the car you intend to purchase. A report of the car will show up. Look through it and judge for yourself if the car you like is worth the price on it.
3. A car with a defective title is hard to insure
Insurance companies have no problems covering cars previously involved in an accident. Once those cars have been restored, they may be subject to insurance. However, cars that have been branded under a salvage title are considered too risky to cover.
Cars with previous salvage titles are considered damaged goods. Most of such cars were written off as a loss by other insurance companies in the first place. For this reason, insurers are generally wary of offering cover for these vehicles.
You wouldn’t know if the car you are about to purchase is such that had been stolen or written off by an insurance company under a salvage title until you check the car’s history.
While the car salesperson is obligated to tell you everything about the car you intend to purchase, they may be unwilling to disclose some things if the car has a defect. A fraudulent seller hoping to dump the car on you and take the cash will not be willing to reveal that the car has a defective title. It is up to you to check the car’s history using the VIN.
Click here to lookup a VIN. It is free and fast.
4. To avoid buying a stolen car
A person possessing stolen property is equally guilty of aiding theft and liable to a jail term if found guilty.
In some small towns, you may not make it to prison if you can prove that you purchased the car from the seller without knowing it was stolen. This scenario is improbable, but it could be the case if you are popular and people like you.
If you get off without jail time, you would still have lost the money spent on purchasing the car. This is a considerable loss, especially for someone going for a pre-owned car because they cannot afford to buy a new one.
5. Check the VIN of a vehicle to avoid getting scammed
You cannot afford to take the word of the seller for it. People lie to get by these days. People have forged titles, cloned vehicle identification numbers, tampered with a car’s odometer, sold buyers defective titles and moved vehicles from state to state to conceal details about the vehicles that they intend to sell.
You can avoid falling into a trap and buying a bad car by checking the VIN of the vehicle you want before making payment.
It is also always advisable to visit the DMV’s office with the seller. Process the paper works in the presence of the relevant authorities so that everything can be verified before title passes.
If you cannot visit the DMV’s office with the seller, ensure that you have a copy of the seller’s driver’s license in addition to the title papers or any proof of payment that you have.
Here’s an important tip
If you do not readily have access to the VIN of the car, you can search for details of the car by entering the license plate number.
EpicVin also offers free license plate lookup service. You have nothing to lose by looking up the history of the car before making a final decision. Use EpicVin to check VIN for free. If you only have the car’s license plate number, click here now to look up a car’s history without a VIN.
