Phillip Batson <pbatson68@yahoo.com> wrote:
> How would I go about getting a history for a VIN on a vehicle.
> Basically I want to find out if it has every been in an accident or
> had any work done on it. Would the dealer give me any info like
> that? (purchasing the vehicle from a 3rd party)
I think the only option for that is a Carfax type report (there
are some competing services as well, but I can't think of their names
at the moment). However, be aware that it is possible for a vehicle
to be in an accident and not show up on the Carfax. It is probably
still worth getting a carfax report if this is something you are
concerned about, but just because a Carfax report comes back "clean",
do not assume that it actually is. Having an expert look over the
vehicle for you is probably a more reliable way to detect prior work.
The dealership can pull what is called a "VIP Report" for you.
Basically, this will show you all of the options the vehicle was built
with, and it will even have the original purchaser's name (though some
dealerships will not give you that part of the report). It will also
have any warranty service and such which was done. I don't know if
collision type repairs would be noted though. (And again, even if
they are, a lack of them in the VIP report doesn't necessarily mean
that the work didn't happen because a vehicle will often be taken to a
body shop for collision repair rather than the dealership.)
I dunno if that helps or just confuses the issue more :-) but
there's my $.02, for what it is worth.
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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