How to Get a Free Vehicle History Report Without a Credit Card

As a consumer, it makes sense to get as much information as possible on a car before making a purchase. With the Internet, it is possible to get a free vehicle history report without having to use a credit card. While the free vehicle report may not give you all of the information you need to make a decision on whether or not to buy a car, it can help you weed out potential lemons.

Instructions

1. Get the vehicle ID number. The vehicle ID number, also known as a VIN, is unique 17-character identifier for each car. Armed with the vehicle ID number, you can find out anything you want to know about a car. It is usually located on the driver's side, just below the front windshield.

2. Go to your state's Department of Motor Vehicle website. You can find a host of free information through the DMV. You won't need a credit card to find out information such vehicle liens or when the title was issued for the car. Most of the DMV websites allow users to enter the vehicle ID number to obtain such information.

3. Obtain a free vehicle history summary by visiting sites like Carfax.com (see Resources below). All you need to do is insert the vehicle ID number and click "search" to get a free vehicle history summary on the car.

4. Confirm that the summary information provided is for the correct vehicle. Make sure to double-check the year, make and VIN to ensure you pulled a report for the right car. An inadvertent typo will give you a report for an entirely different vehicle.

5. Visit the Auto Lemon Used Car History Check website to compare vehicle history report summaries (see Resources below). Since some companies update information faster than others, it's good to get a second free vehicle history summary to compare the difference between the two.

Tips & Warnings

• The free version of the vehicle history report does not require a credit card, but you will only get a summary of the records on any given vehicle. If you want to know the details of each record, you'll have to use a credit card to pay for the detailed information.

Resources

• Lemon Used Car History Check
• CarFax.com