Best place to do a background check on a car?

General topics relative to the Caprice and associated vehicles. For items not fitting into other sub-sections in addition to general chat.
Post Reply
Groundczero
Posts: 93
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:52 am

Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by Groundczero »

I found a caprice that I am interested in but it is over 5 hours away. It is an 2012 caprice 91C with lower-ish miles 60K. The only thing that has me worried is it was a Texas car so not sure if it was a flood car or something. I am weary of using car fax since their are ways for them to get that removed, was wondering if anyone has used other VIN check services or recommendations on a pre-check before taking the time to see it.
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by CrashTestDummy »

It's all still a crap shoot. Other than carfax, get the VIN and see if a dealership parts counter guy will look it up for it's history. Things done by GM will be logged.

Where in Texas is the car coming from? What department was it in service with?
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
smwalker
Administration Staff
Posts: 2201
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:44 am
Location: Azusa,CA

Re: Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by smwalker »

Actually just try the VIN in google. Sometimes you get purchase orders from the original agency, disposal documents and if it went through any auction as a salvage vehicle there is usually some remnants of the listing on many different sites

ANd one site that conglomerates data from multiple auctions is www.SalvageDB.com - it checks if the car has ever been listed as a salvage. Usually has some pictures as well grabbed from the auction.
Steve Walker
Azusa, CA
'11 PPV 9C3 Huron White
119C3NJ
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2019 4:53 pm
Location: New Jersey exit 120 GSP

Re: Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by 119C3NJ »

Post the VIN or email/text it to me . I work at the dealer. I will check into for you.
2011 9C3 Caprice PPV Phantom Black
1995 MG5 Yukon GT Black
1993 Harley Davidson FLSTC Black
Groundczero
Posts: 93
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:52 am

Re: Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by Groundczero »

Ok I did a carfax it looks like car had damage on front passenger side in 2015, at 35K miles, it was repaired in Cuero,TX by partner Chevy and then was driven another 25K before being retired from police service. Other than the airbag light to make sure those were replaced properly is there anything else I should be checking for?
User avatar
elc32955
System Manager
Posts: 2718
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:32 am
Location: East Central Florida
Contact:

Re: Best place to do a background check on a car?

Post by elc32955 »

Just a few other ideas for you on screening cars for prospective sales....

1) The National Insurance Crime Bureau has made it's database of totaled cars (including flood-branded cars) available free of charge for anyone that has a VIN on a car they'd like to screen. This checks "insured vehicles" for title brands across all 50 states. While it's not completely foolproof (like some agencies reporting "damage" in lieu of a flood washout on a Carfax), if an insurance company has adjusted on it and it's got a branded title, it should be in the database after a reasonable amount of time. Take note though, NICB reports are only helpful if the car was insured. If the owner of an uninsured flood-damaged car tries to sell it on the open market and you’re the buyer, you may never know there’s a problem until things like the electrical system go bad. Carfax and Autocheck will also provide a search for branded titles free of charge. To access the search page go here; https://www.nicb.org/vincheck

The free page for Carfax checks is here; https://www.carfax.com/press/resources/flooded-cars

2) It always pays to check the state DMV that the vehicle is registered in prior to purchase for any title holds or state issues with the vehicle. For instance... A seller may have a paper title in-hand, obtained when the car was first registered in X state. HOWEVER.... the driver was a notorious toll runner and the jig was up with him some time ago, as the state he lives in put a "Title Hold" on sale of the vehicle so they can collect the $2,400 in fines the toll runner owes. SO... here's a nasty scenario for you. You want to buy the car, you run the Carfax and it comes up clean. The owner has a paper title in-hand. You buy the car, pay via check (which the owner "hammers" at the bank to get his money), and you take the car home. Well, first business day after you get back home you go to your DMV and apply for title and a plate and yada yada. Guess what? Your tax collector looks you in the eye with a sympathetic stare and tells you "I'm sorry sir, this title can't be transferred, the vehicle has a title hold". You storm out of the DMV wanting someone's head on your hood ornament, try to contact the previous owner, and SURPRISE! He's dodging your calls! And he has your money! You have a pretty Caprice in the driveway that can't be titled or tagged in your name. Yes you can get car insurance on it, but unless you can resolve the problem you can't drive it. Sucks to be you at this point!

In Florida, here's the site you go to in order to check for those sneaky in-state holds; https://services.flhsmv.gov/MVCheckWeb/

Some states have them on-line, other states you have to call your DMV to see if there is a title hold on a vehicle. From personal experience (yeah, I had someone try to defraud me on a out-of-state title deal once...) this is a very pertinent step before you enter into any private party sale. Most people will probably not even be aware of this step, but with state governments being ever so efficient on revenue collection these days, it's a problem more and more people are experiencing. Most of the time the owners are not even aware their cars are on title hold, so it's not necessarily someone making an overt attempt to defraud you. The bean counters always win at the end of the day....

Thanks
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
Post Reply