There are many sites online which claim to search the history of your car by the VIN. While many of these sites are reputable, some are not. The DMV has a site that can run your VIN number and give you information including the odometer check, vehicle use and other documentation.
As with any online site, you must take care that you do not download malicious software and secondly, don’t let anyone con you into spending money for a VIN search. This information is readily available to anyone.
Once you have your VIN number, you can go to the DMV or other site and enter the number and optionally, your state. The information compiled and reported to you will include the make and model of the car as well as the manufacturer, the year made and even whether it was the first, the thousandth or the last car off the assembly line for that particular car.
You will also be able to receive information on any history of the car such as repairs done and insurance claims made on the vehicle. Every time a car is serviced, the VIN is recorded like a doctor would record a medical history. That means that not only can you find out about a car you are thinking of buying, but also if you are selling your car, anyone can learn the history of that car. This information cuts down on the amount of inaccurate information being given about any car. You can run a vehicle identification number on a car from a car lot or a private seller. You can even run your own VIN to see what comes up if it was owned previously.
Many car dealerships, particularly those that sell used cars often offer this service to you as well. This certainly puts a buyer more at ease about what the cars history is. Checking VIN information used to be available only to law enforcement and insurance companies, but now that it is available to the public there is less of a “buyer beware” stigma when purchasing a car. You can find out all about it by running a vehicle identification number check.
Since each VIN is unique, it makes it virtually impossible to hide the identification of a car that has been involved in an accident or flood or has fire damage. The vehicle identification number is like DNA for the car. Those 17 numbers hold a lot of information, which is available in most places free of charge. Running a VIN check is free and easy so there is no excuse for buying a car without knowing everything you need to know about it before you buy it.
