Finance & Money
The paperwork that protects a used car purchase
Four documents decide whether a private sale goes well, and three of them cost nothing to obtain.
The title is the document that transfers ownership, and the name on it should match the seller's identification. A title marked as salvage, rebuilt or flood-damaged says something significant about the vehicle and about what it will be worth later.
A vehicle history report, run from the identification number, shows reported accidents, title changes and recorded mileage. It is not complete, because not every incident is reported, but any inconsistency between the report and the seller's account is informative.
An independent inspection by a mechanic of your own choosing is the one paid step, and it is routinely the cheapest insurance in the whole transaction. A seller unwilling to allow one has told you something useful.
Open safety recalls can be checked at no cost on the federal regulator's site using that same identification number. Recall work is carried out free by a franchised dealer regardless of who owns the vehicle.
What to do next. Check the title, run the history report, check open recalls on the federal site, and pay for an independent inspection.
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