If you’re thinking about purchasing a used car in Charlotte, you have plenty of options to consider! Not only are there many pre-owned vehicles on our lot to check out, but there’s always the option of taking home a used car that’s being sold privately.
Whether you’re coming to our N Charlotte Toyota dealership to find a used vehicle or are looking on your own through private sellers, it’s important to make sure you do all the necessary research beforehand so that you’re taking home the used vehicle that works right for you – and this includes reading the used car history report!
How do you read a used vehicle history report?
There are five key pieces of information that are shared on the history report you can get on a used car in Charlotte: VIN number, make, model, style and description, number of previous owners and locations, last recorded odometer reading, reported damage and accidents, any auto repair service records.
Understanding all this information doesn’t have to be too tricky – but it’s important to make sure you get this history report before you purchase a pre-owned vehicle! Whether you’re thinking of taking home a pre-owned car or a certified used Toyota in Charlotte from us, you’ll receive a free history report. However, if you’re thinking of purchasing a used vehicle through a private party, then you’ll probably have to access this information on your own. The good news is it’s not difficult! All you need is the used vehicle’s VIN number, and then you can use a third-party site like CarFax to get the history on the pre-owned car!
Charlotte used car history reports are straight-forward!
When it comes to actually reading and understanding the information that’s posted on a used vehicle history report, it’s not as hard as it may look!
- Description: This basically states what the used car in Charlotte looks like. It’s important to look it over and read because you want to make sure it matches the description of the pre-owned vehicle you’re looking at!
- Owners: These reports should also reveal how many owners the used vehicle has had before. This is important because the more owners a used vehicle ahs had, it’s typically harder to keep track of service records. This means it can be hard to know if the vehicle received the regular car maintenance it needed and if it was kept in good condition!
- Location: You may not think that location is an important detail to be aware of, but it is! Some areas are not as car-friendly as other, so the pre-owned car might have damage from floods and snow storms, and even extreme heat.
- Auto repairs: Besides regular car maintenance, it’s also good to know if the vehicle needed any extensive repairs – whether from wear and tear or a collision. The history report should note what kind of auto repairs it needed, and if you have any concerns you can always get the used vehicle checked out by a mechanic!
If you see a used vehicle on our lot that you’re interested in, give us a call at (888) 883-3797 to set up an appointment, and to take it for a test-drive! Don’t forget – when you come to us, we’ll give you a used vehicle history report for free!
