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Due to confidentiality issues and inept inspection practices, not all VIN decoders will include a car’s complete history.

Here is a list of information that is not included on a vehicle history report:

- The previous owner’s name(s)
- According to the 1994 Drivers Privacy Protection Act, vehicle history reports are prohibited from including such information.

- Lien release information is not generally included in a Vehicle history report.

- Data and information regarding pre-1981 vehicles
- Since, the standard of manufacturing cars with VINs was not legalized until 1981, adequate information is not available on models produced before that time.

Not all car dealers and sellers practice ethical tactics. A number of fraudulent used car transactions could be prevented with the use of a vehicle identification number decoder.

When it comes to buying a used car, naiveté may cost you headaches and expenses. Fortunately, VIN decoders will paint a more accurate depiction of a vehicle’s history. Car buying Web sites feature VIN decoders.

Arm yourself and protect your purchase by employing an eye-opening used car shopping tool, a VIN Decoder.

Since the boom of the Internet, buying a new car online could not be easier. Today’s online tools can ensure that any auto consumer may buy a used car – lemon-free. Here is how any Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) may decode a car’s history or bumpy past:

- Title information
- Title transfers and checks
- Was the car salvaged?
- Has the odometer been turned back?
- Was the car in a major accident?
- Has the car experienced any significant mechanical problems
- Was the vehicle ever flooded or rebuilt?
- Has the vehicle been involved in any fraud?
- Has the car been damaged by fire or ever stolen
- How was the car used or procured in the past
(leased, rented, driven as a taxi or police vehicle)

Vehicle identification number (VIN) searches are critical security features to buying a car. VINs serve several key purposes:

– Defend against consumer fraud and theft

– Assure accurate information regarding a vehicle’s history

– Identify any glitches in the vehicle’s title

When used cars are certified, the VIN is verified against a Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) database.

Since VIN records are centralized, it is simple for any person to access the records of a prospective used car. As a result, conducting a VIN number searc is essential to making the right car buy.

Various online vehicle history sites offer Buyback Guarantee programs with each vehicle identification number (VIN) decoder report. These polices can protect a consumer from purchasing a car with significant mechanical problems that may have been erroneously reported by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) agency.

Running a VIN search with a guarantee policy may work as the affordable alternative to a Certified Pre-owned (CPO) vehicle program.

A savvy way to shop around for a used car entails requesting the dealer or seller for the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). At online car site, car buyers may use the Web site’s VIN decoder to learn about the car’s history.

Did you know that the letters I, O and Q will never be found on a Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs)? Subsequent to 1981, VINs were added to all cars. The VIN number can provide valuable information pertaining to a car’s history.

Here are three places to locate the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN):

- Dashboards

- Driver’s side door on jamb stickers

- Title documents

The 17-digit numbers found on Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) symbolize the following information:

- The first character- identifies the country where car was manufactured.

- The second character refers to the manufacturer. For example: eight stands for vehicles manufactured by Saturn.

- Third character refers to the type of vehicle type the manufacturing sect.

- The fourth and eighth characters identify the car’s features (including the body style, model, features and so forth).

- Ninth character reveals the vehicle identification number’s accuracy as a check digit.

- The tenth character refers to the car’s model year. For instance, ‘Y” represents the year 2000.

- An eleventh character symbolizes the assembly plant of the vehicle.

- The twelfth and seventeenth characters- refer to the sequence of the automobile’s production order when it rolled off the manufacturer’s assembly line.

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In 2004 alone, more than 75,000 cars sustained flood damage (many as the result of hurricanes in the Southeast). According to Bankrate.com, more than half of those cars will end up back on the road. How can you be sure you don’t end up buying a used car that has flood damage? Jot down the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) and pull a free car history report at Carfax.com.

You can check a list of VINs that have been associated with flood damage, odometer fraud, and other problems. If you want to get the full report, you’ll have to pay a fee of around $20 or so.

The online services from which you can purchase a used car history provide a valuable line of defense against a deal going sour. No longer are used car buyers at the mercy of dishonest dealers or less than forthcoming private sellers. Not only do car histories prevent buyers from buying lemons, they put a buyer in a better negotiating position.

Let’s say you are considering buying a Honda Civic for your soon-to-be high school grad to use to commute to school. The car looks sound and drives well, but the car history report indicates it was in an accident the year before. You can use this information to negotiate a lower price with the seller or you can walk away from the deal.

*Be careful, a seller who doesn’t disclose that a car has been involved in an accident may be keeping other important information from you as well.

If you’re trying to save money by buying a used car, why spend money to buy a vehicle history? For starters, it could save you thousands of dollars in repairs and prevent huge headaches for you down the line. Vehicle history reports can tell you a number of things about a car, including:

• Whether it has ever been in a flood or had its engine rebuilt

• Whether the odometer has been tampered with

• Whether the car is stolen

• If the car was ever registered by a rental agency, police force, or taxi service

All of these factors would have major implications in terms of the wear and tear that was placed on the vehicle before you took ownership.