Law and Rights
CarFax and AutoCheck and the NMVTIS are three different sources for vehicle history reports that can be obtained online so you can find out the history of a used car you may be thinking of buying - so you can avoid a lemon. So, which is best and does getting one instead of another make any difference? You bet it does.
Is it worth getting a vehicle history before you buy a used car? It can certainly help you avoid buying a car with problems that can cost you thousands of dollars in the future. So getting a history can certainly help - question is, which one is best for your money?
Getting an accurate motor vehicle title history online can cost a few bucks but it can save a lot of headaches and keep you from getting a lemon used car. But only if you check all 3 online vehicle history websites plus your own state records too.
Carfax costs about $35 and has done a great job of selling itself as the "gold standard" on vehicle title reports, but we don't think it is enough if you want to know the most you can know about a used car before you take a chance on it. Carfax only uses some sources and not all that are out there.
Autocheck, which costs about $30) is another company that does the same thing and they reportedly use some of the same and some different sources of data.
Another little known but highly accurate one is NMVTIS (about $2 to $7, but beware of fake NMVTIS web sites) which is actually a web site resource that was set up with federal government assistance and guidelines because of the problems with data holes in Carfax and AutoCheck - and it is the cheapest of the bunch. And if you click here, you'll find a cheaper shortcut to the Nmvtis data where it'll cost you just about $2 - for that price, it's a bargain and a great starting place for online vehicle research.
There are some other title history web sites on the internet but these three are the "big three" of the bunch.
The simple truth, though, is that if you want to know everything there is about a vehicle's past history then the best thing to do is get a report from all three vehicle history sources. But don't stop there.
After that, also go online to look for your own state title department's online records. Many states now put their title records online and if you know the VIN of a vehicle then you can check it's history in your state for free online.
In Ohio, you can get a free online Ohio vehicle history by clicking here. Some Kentucky vehicle history is available if you click here. For other states, you can begin your search on this 50-state list by clicking here.
Look to see how many times title was transferred and if it came (or went) out of your home state, and if it was owned by a series of car dealers in a row.
Problem cars often get sold and traded in and resold again and again without anyone owning it very long. And if you see a vehicle being sold across state lines that usually means that it went to an auction somewhere, which means it could be a repo or the title is being "washed" of a title brand (such as salvage or flood car status), or worse. And when one car dealer realizes they've got a bad car, they will frequently sell it to another one, who then may do the same thing to some other car dealer. It's like passing a hot potatoe around and you will end up seeing a series of car dealers listed in the ownership chain but hardly any consumer purchaser. Any of these can be a sign of a car you don't want to get near.
The status of a vehicle title is important because many states require a motor vehicle title to be "branded" with a phrase like "salvage" or "lemon law buyback" or "flood" or "odometer" or something similar when the vehicle has been totaled out by an insurance company or when certain things go "on record" with the vehicle. Knowing that before you buy that kind of vehicle can save you thousands of dollars because any kind of brand on a title will hurt its normal market value. You can find out more about title brands and how resold wrecked cars can be a gigantic ripoff by clicking here.
If you got a vehicle with a title branded, and didn?t realize it when you bought it, in most states you would have legal rights against the seller for damages and maybe even to cancel the sale if you act quickly enough. If you end up with this kind of problem then you need to talk to a local attorney who has experience with this kind of case.
Call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Consumer Law attorney or auto sales fraud attorney near you - or you can click here for a Free Online 50 State National List of Consumer Law Lawyers and find one near you (lawyers don?t pay to get listed here and most of them are members of the only national association for Consumer Law lawyers, NACA.net).
But act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Consumer Law attorney or car sales fraud attorney and finding out what your rights are.
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- What Happens When You Buy A Car And Never Get The Title?
You never become the owner, that's what. But you may not be totally stuck because there are laws to protect innocent buyers against crooked and ripoff car dealers. Not only will you have lots of legal rights, but selling a car in Ohio and not...
- What A Car Title Can Tell You
What you don't know can hurt you. It's true in life. It's true in car titles too. Bob Eppes spent over 20 years working odometer fraud for the federal government in Kansas City. Recently he turned me on to a web site that says more about title...
- Used Car Research Getting Easier
Online vehicle research for used cars is getting easier every day. The online title check companies are putting more and more info into their database records for millions of motor vehicles. That will make it easier for consumers to identify wrecked cars...
- Recalls, Safety Warnings, & Research Links
The job of a lemon lawyer is to hold manufacturers responsible when they build a defective product. The links below provide information about motor vehicle recalls, safety warnings and research and tips to help keep you and your family safe. Find the...
- State Farm - Not A Good Neighbor?
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there ... right in the middle of trouble! At least 8 lawsuits have been filed around Ohio against State Farm, salvage yards and wrecked car rebuilders, and car dealers who sold rebuilt cars without disclosing the truth...
Law and Rights
Who's best? Carfax or Autocheck or Nmvtis and vehicle history reports
Is it worth getting a vehicle history before you buy a used car? It can certainly help you avoid buying a car with problems that can cost you thousands of dollars in the future. So getting a history can certainly help - question is, which one is best for your money?
Getting an accurate motor vehicle title history online can cost a few bucks but it can save a lot of headaches and keep you from getting a lemon used car. But only if you check all 3 online vehicle history websites plus your own state records too.
Carfax costs about $35 and has done a great job of selling itself as the "gold standard" on vehicle title reports, but we don't think it is enough if you want to know the most you can know about a used car before you take a chance on it. Carfax only uses some sources and not all that are out there.
Autocheck, which costs about $30) is another company that does the same thing and they reportedly use some of the same and some different sources of data.
Another little known but highly accurate one is NMVTIS (about $2 to $7, but beware of fake NMVTIS web sites) which is actually a web site resource that was set up with federal government assistance and guidelines because of the problems with data holes in Carfax and AutoCheck - and it is the cheapest of the bunch. And if you click here, you'll find a cheaper shortcut to the Nmvtis data where it'll cost you just about $2 - for that price, it's a bargain and a great starting place for online vehicle research.
There are some other title history web sites on the internet but these three are the "big three" of the bunch.
The simple truth, though, is that if you want to know everything there is about a vehicle's past history then the best thing to do is get a report from all three vehicle history sources. But don't stop there.
After that, also go online to look for your own state title department's online records. Many states now put their title records online and if you know the VIN of a vehicle then you can check it's history in your state for free online.
In Ohio, you can get a free online Ohio vehicle history by clicking here. Some Kentucky vehicle history is available if you click here. For other states, you can begin your search on this 50-state list by clicking here.
Look to see how many times title was transferred and if it came (or went) out of your home state, and if it was owned by a series of car dealers in a row.
Problem cars often get sold and traded in and resold again and again without anyone owning it very long. And if you see a vehicle being sold across state lines that usually means that it went to an auction somewhere, which means it could be a repo or the title is being "washed" of a title brand (such as salvage or flood car status), or worse. And when one car dealer realizes they've got a bad car, they will frequently sell it to another one, who then may do the same thing to some other car dealer. It's like passing a hot potatoe around and you will end up seeing a series of car dealers listed in the ownership chain but hardly any consumer purchaser. Any of these can be a sign of a car you don't want to get near.
If you got a vehicle with a title branded, and didn?t realize it when you bought it, in most states you would have legal rights against the seller for damages and maybe even to cancel the sale if you act quickly enough. If you end up with this kind of problem then you need to talk to a local attorney who has experience with this kind of case.
Call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Consumer Law attorney or auto sales fraud attorney near you - or you can click here for a Free Online 50 State National List of Consumer Law Lawyers and find one near you (lawyers don?t pay to get listed here and most of them are members of the only national association for Consumer Law lawyers, NACA.net).
But act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Consumer Law attorney or car sales fraud attorney and finding out what your rights are.
Burdge Law Office
http://www.uslemonlawyers.com/
Because life's too short to drive a lemon
http://www.uslemonlawyers.com/
Because life's too short to drive a lemon
Subscribe in a reader- What Happens When You Buy A Car And Never Get The Title?
You never become the owner, that's what. But you may not be totally stuck because there are laws to protect innocent buyers against crooked and ripoff car dealers. Not only will you have lots of legal rights, but selling a car in Ohio and not...
- What A Car Title Can Tell You
What you don't know can hurt you. It's true in life. It's true in car titles too. Bob Eppes spent over 20 years working odometer fraud for the federal government in Kansas City. Recently he turned me on to a web site that says more about title...
- Used Car Research Getting Easier
Online vehicle research for used cars is getting easier every day. The online title check companies are putting more and more info into their database records for millions of motor vehicles. That will make it easier for consumers to identify wrecked cars...
- Recalls, Safety Warnings, & Research Links
The job of a lemon lawyer is to hold manufacturers responsible when they build a defective product. The links below provide information about motor vehicle recalls, safety warnings and research and tips to help keep you and your family safe. Find the...
- State Farm - Not A Good Neighbor?
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there ... right in the middle of trouble! At least 8 lawsuits have been filed around Ohio against State Farm, salvage yards and wrecked car rebuilders, and car dealers who sold rebuilt cars without disclosing the truth...