A Vehicle Background Check - The Details Everyone Should Know

There are several reasons why a person that is about to purchase a used car would want to run a vehicle background check.

Many people try to take good care of their vehicles by following routine maintenance procedures, but others just ignore the needed servicing due to money issues, lack of knowledge, or even just plain laziness. Worse, the vehicle may have been involved in an accident, flood, or some other misadventure that may have long since been buried or covered up. Not everyone is out to con the potential buyer but it certainly helps to know what to look for when doing a vehicle background check.

Before you make the decision to lay down your hard earned money on a new or used vehicle, here are a few things you should chew on before you buy a car:

1. Don't be scared to speak bluntly to the owner himself. Ask the hard questions. You can often see by their body language or how quickly and easily they answer your inquiries whether they are telling the truth or not. This step may be all you really need when doing your own vehicle background check. If you can sniff out the scam artists and pick out the honest sellers then you're ahead of most other people.

2. Of course you want to be sure to test drive the car. Also, as part of your vehicle background check, you want to be the person that starts the car from a cold start so you can take notice of any problems that may occur on start-up. I once purchased a vehicle that the owner had "warmed up" for me only to discover later that it had wiring issues that cause the battery to drain after sitting a while. Don't let this be you!

3. Listen to how the engine sounds. Take note of any strange or unusual sounds. Anyone can do this so there is no reason to leave this part out of your vehicle background check. You don't have to be a mechanic to know if the engine sounds like it's running right or not. If it doesn't idle and/or run smoothly there may be problems ahead. Beware!

4. Be sure to get the vehicle identification number (better known as the VIN number). On most modern vehicles the VIN number is located on the drivers side dashboard and is visible by looking through the front window, drivers side. If it looks tampered with in any way then run the other direction!

5. It is vital to get the correct VIN number as this can be used to run a full vehicle background check with CarFax. If you're serious about purchasing a used vehicle, a CarFax vehicle background check can provide you with the critical information you need before making a purchase. The entire history of the car, where and when it was registered with mileage at the time of registration, repair records, insurance claims or accident details can be found with this one report.

By Shawn Stephenson