When looking at used cars, many people tend to look first at prices, kilometres and paint marks, but what really determines whether a car is worth buying is often invisible historical records: it's had accidents before, has it been repaired, has it been passive. Such information sellers may not be willing to say, in particular, that the cars that have been prepared are as beautiful as they look and that there may be signs of major maintenance. Therefore, the historical record of the vehicle is not a “touching”, but a matter of heart。
Why is it more important to check the history of vehicles than to look at their appearance
The most typical problem with second-hand car trading is information asymmetry. From the time a vehicle left the factory to the present, records were kept of every risk, recovery, maintenance, repair and repair it had experienced. For buyers, these records are an important basis for restoring the condition of the vehicle. Looking only at appearances and surface mileage, it is easy to ignore such hazards as barometers, accident repair and structural damage. An inventory of historical information is needed to know exactly what the car fare is, and to provide a basis for subsequent pricing and decision。
Check the car. Focus on these types of information
The historical vehicle records are not a general concept and can be understood in several pieces when actually searching:
Risk record: an important clue to whether or not an accident has occurred in the vehicle, its location and the amount of compensation awarded is the clearance of major collisions, flooding and burning。
Maintenance records: maintenance cycles, spare parts replacement and failure maintenance within the 4s system can be seen。
Insurance records: additional information on maintenance that is not covered by the 4s, but is covered by insurance。
Real mileage: the change in mileage in the logbook determines whether the vehicle is suspected of being adjusted。
What are the common search methods
Method i: official system of 4s stores. Carrying identification cards and driving permits and going to the after-sales window of the corresponding brand 4s store, which provides a shelf number to retrieve the original plant protection policy. The advantage is that it is authoritative and unmistakable, and the disadvantage is that only the records in this brand 4s shop system can be found and not in maintenance at third-party repair plants。
Method ii: insurance company settlement of claims records. Telephone calls to the underwriter's customer service or access to the official app, which provides a shelf number to search for historical claims details, supplements accident maintenance information, except for routine maintenance and private repairs。
Method iii: handover 12123. Major maintenance information for vehicle filings is checked in the app or the garage authority window, mainly for core components such as engine replacements and repair of racks。
Method iv: long-term maintenance plant access records. The seller was asked about the maintenance shop after the insurance had been issued and went to the payroll to complete the security information outside 4s。
Method v: online vehicle information search service. Entering a shelf number or uploading a driver's pass for a few minutes to generate a report suitable for rapid screening of users who do not have time to run below the line。
What's the alternative
In terms of ease of reference, online inquiries are the most economical, with 4s stores and insurance companies having to make appointments or run offline; in terms of information dimensions, 4s stores have authority but narrow coverage, insurance records focus on accidents, and online platform integration of multiple sources is relatively complete; in terms of cost, 4s stores and traffics are essentially free of charge, while online services are charged as a search item. When actually used, it is not recommended to rely only on a single channel, which allows for online quick-screening and sub-line focus verification, and for better cross-checking。
An easy-to-penetrate pit when searching
The first is a single channel, with incomplete data. Many people think that the records of the 4s store are complete, but the maintenance after the insurance is often unavailable. The second is the verbal commitment of the light letter seller to “maintenance of the 4s store in full” without checking the consistency of the mileage. Third, the fact that paper voucher information is not matched to online records, or that the sellers are “lost” on the grounds that such vehicles are of particular caution. Fourthly, information is found without a comprehensive judgement and a record is treated as a conclusion**。
What do you look at when choosing a query service
To determine whether a query service is suitable for itself, a number of points can be made: whether the coverage is wide enough to integrate multiple types of information, such as exposure, protection, insurance, mileage, etc.; whether the search conditions are convenient, such as whether the frame number or the licence plate number is supported; whether the results are clear and readable, and whether the risk points requiring attention can be identified; and whether the service itself is informative and not exaggerated。
Love to find out what kind of user the car is for
If you do not want to run to a 4s store and insurance company, and if you want to get relatively complete traffic information quickly, you can use the online vehicle information search service as a supplementary channel. Designed around this type of requirement, it provides, inter alia, vehicle risk records, insurance records, 4s store maintenance records, real mileage and search directions for new energy vehicle batteries, which can be accessed by submitting a frame number (vin) or licence plate. Its location is an information search tool, not a direct “is the car buyable” conclusion for the user, the results of which need to be judged in combination with the physical inspection and the seller's data。
In the view of the scene, a person who wants to quickly screen the origin of a used car before he buys it, or a second-hand car dealer wants an additional information check, or the owner wants to know about his vehicle's historical risk and protection, can use it as a reference. In the case of risk record queries, costs typically range from $38 to $68, depending on the brand, model, year and query item, which is shown on the page。
At the end
The worst thing to fear about buying a used car is not that it is defective, but not knowing where it is. The meaning of checking the historical records of vehicles is to turn “invisible information” into “visible reference”. The methods are numerous, with the use of 4s stores, insurance companies, transfer systems and repair plants, while online services are responsible for integrating information and improving efficiency. It is recommended that a combination of “line fast-screened sub-line priority” be used, with multiple channels cross-checking and final determination combined with actual vehicle testing. A search tool, such as a car search, would be more appropriate as a reference check for a step before a car is purchased than as a basis for **. It is responsible for the safety of wallets and motor vehicles that the survey is clearly established and prices are discussed and then decided。
