Avoid a Lemon by Checking the Federal car Database First

That 2004 Toyota Avalon is loaded to the gills with leather, premium sound system, and just the right whole of room to vehicle your family of five. And the price is right too: you checked the going rate for an Avalon with under 50,000 miles on the odometer and you are determined that you paid hundreds of dollars less than what you could have been charged.

But there is one thing that you should do before going ahead with the deal: check the Us Justice Department's new vehicle database website (link at usdoj.gov/) to find out your vehicle's history. Beginning in January 2009, the federal government has opened up a website that features the vehicle history of millions of cars, trucks, vans, sporty/utility vehicles, etc. In its database. It isn't perfect yet, but what it may offer to you is prominent data about your singular vehicle.

Dodge Vans

According to published reports, the new vehicle database contains data from 27 states with another 10 states in the process of adding their information. By January 2010, all states must share and insurers and rescue yards must begin sharing their data Beginning on March 31st.

Though not currently complete, the database could help you learn if your car has been in an accident, damaged by a flood or has a clean vehicle history. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 destroyed hundreds of thousands of cars, but many of those vehicles were cleaned up and put back on the road months later to unsuspecting buyers. By retitling damaged vehicles and selling them in states (as well as in Canada) well after the fact, buyers ended up with a car that could rust out early, have transmission, motor or some other serious engineering problem, or naturally begin to stink over time.

Right now, the Justice department says that 73% of all vehicles are listed in the database. You'll have to pay a fee to enter a vehicle's identification whole (Vin) tag which will tell data about that car. Only one Vin can be checked at a time and, as mentioned, not every vehicle is included yet. In addition, updates are completed monthly so when the theory is fully operational in 2010, some lemons could still slip through.

Naturally, the database isn't perfect and there is huge room for improvement. The law to generate the database dates back to 1992, but it wasn't enforced until recently. Now, consumers, insurers, lenders, and other concerned parties will be able to check Vin tags which should tell correct data about a car before a buy decision is made.

Clearly, the federal vehicle database is step in the right direction. Once full yielding has been reached, the database has the inherent to save buyers a lot of grief when purchasing a used vehicle.

Avoid a Lemon by Checking the Federal car Database First