When buying a used car, it is essential to check its history. This applies to vehicles purchased from a private individual and cars offered by numerous car dealerships. More than 80% of sellers in the automotive market deceive buyers. An online service for checking the VIN will help you avoid many risks.
How to Find out the History of a Car by VIN?
Thanks to modern technology, you can check information about the car simply by using your smartphone, tablet or computer. Due to services like FaxVIN, you can see a lot of important information about the vehicle, including:
- information about the configuration (dimensions, engine size, etc.);
- the manufacture date and mileage;
- history of ownership;
- record of accidents;
- finding a car on the wanted list;
- presence of encumbrances (pledge, credit), arrest;
- customs information;
- information about the repair work carried out by insurers.
Using a database of online services, you can get information from the traffic police, insurance companies, credit organizations, customs, and judicial authorities, which allows you to get the most complete and reliable information about the car. With this knowledge you can avoid many potential problems, so conducting proper research before buying the car is a must.Â
Why is it Important to Check the History of a Car?
Neglecting to look into the car’s history can have inevitable consequences. Starting from serious problems with the vehicle’s operation (for example. poor-quality repairs after a severe accident) and ending with problems with registration (if it has any legal issues) or arrest. If the car turns out to be stolen, then you can face:
- Vehicle arrest.
- You will lose the entire amount that you spent on buying the car.
- Possible problems with the law.
Each driver should understand that checking a car’s history by VIN or license plate number is an essential procedure before buying a car.
What does the VIN Code Mean?
Each car has a unique VIN code, consisting of 17 characters. Each car has its own VIN, meaning a vehicle of the same color, model, year of manufacture, and configuration will have a different number combination.
The characters may seem random but they have plenty of useful data encrypted in them:
- WMI – the first three characters indicate the country of manufacture of the car and the manufacturing company;
- VDS – the following six characters describe the car model, body type, transmission, engine, power system, steering wheel location etc.;
- VIS – eight characters include the year of the model and release from the assembly line, as well as information about the place of assembly.
You can see these 17 characters in the car’s data sheet and the instructions, but you also need to know where to look for the VIN code in the vehicle itself. There are no specific requirements regarding the placement of the code in the car, but manufacturers stamp it in those places that are least vulnerable in an accident. You should also keep in mind that the VIN code of the car must be the same as the one written in its documents to avoid problems with the car’s registration.
