Buying a used car from a dealer
Get the dealer’s full price in writing before you go. Then check three things: the car’s title history, open safety recalls, and its condition today. Get an inspection even if the history report looks clean.
Start checking this carLast reviewed: October 1, 2026. How we review this guidance. Rules and fees can vary by state, lender, dealer, and vehicle.
Check the car's VIN first
Confirm what car the VIN belongs to, see its safety recalls, and check its title history before you pay.
The free lookups go straight from your browser to NHTSA; we don't store your VIN. Privacy. Want a title report right away? VehicleHistoryReport.com is free if you give your name, email, and ZIP code. Or open VINsmart ($9.95 per report).
Paid link: We may earn a commission if you buy a report through this link, at no extra cost to you. How this site makes money
A clean report isn't enough
A title-history report from NMVTIS, the federal title database, shows title brands (like salvage or flood), the last reported odometer reading, and insurance total losses. It doesn't show recalls, repairs, or the car's condition today. Damage that didn't total the car or brand the title usually won't show up. What an NMVTIS report covers. The Justice Department's consumer disclaimer.
So also check for open safety recalls with NHTSA's free recall lookup and have a mechanic you choose inspect the car. Make sure the VIN matches on the car, the title, the Buyers Guide, and the quote.
History
Check title brands and odometer records. Ask your state DMV how to confirm the owner and any liens (a lender’s claim on the car).
Condition
Pick your own mechanic for an inspection and get a written report with repair costs. If the dealer won’t allow a reasonable inspection (a mobile mechanic on the lot counts), walk away.
Coverage
Read the Buyers Guide, the sticker dealers must post on every used car. It says “as is” or lists the warranty, and it overrides the contract. Read any certified pre-owned (CPO) terms too.
Common used-car traps
- What is a washed title, and how do you check for one?Washed titles hide salvage or flood brands so damaged cars look clean. How to check by VIN, if title washing is illegal, and what to do if you bought one.
- How to spot a rolled-back odometerNHTSA estimates over 450,000 cars a year are sold with false mileage. How to spot a rolled-back odometer and check a car's mileage history by VIN.
- How to spot a flood-damaged carFlooded cars can be cleaned up and sold far from the storm. The signs to look and smell for, and how to check a car's flood history by VIN.
- Salvage and rebuilt titles: what they mean for youSalvage vs. rebuilt titles: what each means, how they affect price, insurance, and loans, and when a rebuilt car is worth buying.
- Free vs. paid vehicle history reportsWhat free VIN checks, federal NMVTIS title reports (free or paid), and big-name history reports each cover, what they miss, and which one you need.
- Can you return a car after you buy it?No federal law gives you 3 or 30 days to return a car. A new car usually can't go back; a used car may, under state law or a dealer's written policy.
Dealer used-car buying checklist
Open a step to see what to do. Check it off once it's done. Progress is saved only in this browser.
Prepare your search
Set your budget, the car you need, and a loan offer to compare.
The full checklist
Every phase and step on one page. Open a step to read what to do and why.
1. Prepare your search
Set your budget, the car you need, and a loan offer to compare.
Check your credit reports
See what lenders will see before you ask for a loan.
Get a written loan offer first, Critical
An outside loan offer gives you a rate to beat. It is not a final approval.
Budget for the car and early repairs
Count insurance, maintenance, and repairs an inspection finds, not just the price.
A low price doesn't mean a low total cost. Get an insurance quote and leave room in your budget for repairs an independent inspection turns up.
Save similar listings
Use them to compare. A listing price is not a sale price.
Get the price in writing, Critical
Ask for the full out-the-door price before you visit or talk about monthly payments.
2. Verify identity and history
Match the VIN everywhere and use the right check for each question.
Match every VIN
Compare the VIN on the dashboard, door label, title, Buyers Guide, and quote.
If any VIN doesn't match, stop until the seller explains and fixes it. Make sure the seller can actually transfer the title. Ask your state motor vehicle agency how to check for liens (loans still owed on the car) and title brands.
Check the VIN, title history, and recalls, Critical
Title history, open recalls, and the car's condition each need their own check.
Check for open safety recalls
Look up this car's VIN on NHTSA's recall site. A history report won't show recalls.
Save the dated result and any recall number. Ask a dealer for that brand when the repair will be available and whether there's a warning not to drive the car or to park it outside. Keep the repair record. Zero open recalls doesn't prove the car is safe: the lookup can miss very new recalls and older cars.
Read the Buyers Guide and warranty, Critical
See whether the dealer offers a warranty or sells the car "as is" (no warranty).
On a dealer used car, the Buyers Guide's warranty terms override anything different in the sales contract. If the dealer handles the sale in Spanish, federal rules say the Buyers Guide must be in Spanish too. Keep the final Buyers Guide, and get any warranty changes or repair promises in writing. A "certified" label doesn't replace reading what's excluded or getting an independent inspection. "As is" rules vary by state; your state attorney general's office can tell you yours. If you buy the dealer's service contract within 90 days, you may still get implied warranties (basic promises that the car works) on the parts it covers, even on an "as is" car.
3. Verify present condition
Test drive it and get an independent inspection instead of guessing from symptoms.
Inspect and test drive
Check the car, controls, warning lights, and how it drives before you commit.
Get an independent inspection, Critical
Pick your own mechanic and get a written report with repair estimates.
Give your mechanic the VIN, mileage, history report findings, and anything you noticed on the drive. Agree on the price and what they'll check before they start. Ask for written findings and repair estimates for this VIN, most urgent first, plus anything they couldn't check. If the seller won't let your mechanic inspect the car, either at a shop or on site with a mobile mechanic, walk away and choose another car.
Check the odometer reading
Compare the mileage shown with the title, inspection, service, and history records.
If the mileage doesn't line up, find out why before you buy. Save the records. If they point to a rolled-back odometer, use NHTSA's odometer fraud guidance and contact your state's enforcement agency.
A title history shows earlier recorded odometer readings.
4. Price, finance, and document
Use the inspection and written terms to decide before you sign.
Compare the dealer loan with your outside offer
Same used car, same cash down: compare APR and total loan cost in writing.
Ask the dealer for its APR, amount financed, loan length, finance charge, payment schedule, and total of payments. Compare that with your outside offer for the same car, price, down payment, and trade-in. Look at the total cost of the loan, not just the monthly payment.
Review every add-on and extra charge
Ask if each one is optional and what it costs in total.
Get every promise in writing, Critical
A spoken promise is hard to enforce. Write it into the deal.
Make sure the loan is final before you drive off, Critical
Know who the lender is and whether any approval is still pending.
Know the real return and cancellation rules
Don't assume you get three days to return a car.
Get insurance before you drive away
Get the exact start date and time of coverage for this car.
Check the final paperwork before you sign, Critical
Match every document to your written quote and chosen loan offer.
5. Follow up after you get the car
Make sure the payoff, title, promised work, and any refunds get done.
Confirm your old loan was paid off
If you owed money on your trade-in, check with the old lender.
Confirm your first payment and who to pay
If you borrowed or leased, confirm who gets the payment and when it's due.
Track title and registration
Know who is filing it, which forms are needed, and your state's deadlines.
Finish promised work and track any refund
Keep deadlines, receipts, work orders, and cancellation records together.
Independent inspection request and record
Tell your mechanic what to check, then use the written findings to decide. An inspection shows today's condition, not future reliability.
- Before you commit, ask the seller to let your own mechanic inspect the car. If they refuse a reasonable request, walk away. Agree with the mechanic on cost, place, and what they will and won't check.
- Ask for written findings that list the VIN. Have urgent problems, upcoming repairs, and routine maintenance listed separately, with cost estimates. Ask what needs a specialist.
- Keep three checks separate: title and history, recalls, and the inspection. A clean result in one doesn't clear the others.
These notes are for you, not a message to send. Notes stay in this open page only, so copy, download, or print them before you leave. Write down document names or reference numbers. Keep account numbers, credit reports, and ID documents in your own secure files.
Fill in this record
VIN (vehicle identification number), year and model, mileage, seller, mechanic, date, fee, and where the inspection happens.
Problems you noticed and history concerns. Ask them to check mechanical parts, frame, crash or flood damage, tires and brakes, warning lights, and a road test.
What they checked, what they couldn't reach or test, and anything that needs more diagnosis.
Report file name; urgent, upcoming, and routine repairs; cost estimates; and the mechanic's advice.
Report date and source, title brands (like salvage or flood), mileage that doesn't add up, and any open loan or damage questions.
Date checked, recall number, the maker's instructions, whether the fix is available yet, repair appointment, and proof it was done.
Dealer's Buyers Guide (the used-car window sticker), warranty terms, written repair promises, a lower price, or a refusal to allow inspection.
Buy, wait for more proof, renegotiate, or pick another car. Note why and your next deadline.
Buying an EV, plug-in hybrid, or hybrid?
Ask a technician who knows this model what battery tests they can run and what the results do and don't show. The range shown on the dash is not a reliable battery health check.
Ask the manufacturer what battery and vehicle warranty is left for this VIN, whether it transfers, and whether it covers battery capacity loss. Have the inspector confirm charging works and the charging cable comes with the car.
Leave high-voltage work to the technician. Don't open, disconnect, or test the high-voltage battery yourself. Add charging access and real electricity costs to your budget.
Delivery and first-month record
Leave with copies of everything you signed and a dated list of what's still owed to you. Give each promise or deadline its own line.
- If you're financing, confirm in writing who your lender is and that the loan is final before you take the car. Leave no blanks on the contract, and get copies of everything you sign.
- Make sure insurance covers this exact VIN before you drive away. Keep proof of coverage, delivery photos, all keys, and the promised-equipment list.
- Traded in a car you still owed on? About a week later, call the old lender to confirm the payoff arrived. Then check your first payment, title and registration, promised work, and add-on refunds.
These notes are for you, not a message to send. Notes stay in this open page only, so copy, download, or print them before you leave. Write down document names or reference numbers. Keep account numbers, credit reports, and ID documents in your own secure files.
Fill in this record
VIN (vehicle identification number), mileage, date and time, seller, list of signed documents, condition photos, keys, accessories, and anything missing.
Lender, a contact you verified yourself, confirmed loan terms, anything still pending, and the date the loan was confirmed final. Write cash purchase if there's no loan.
Insurer, when coverage starts, proof received, and whether it meets the lender's or leasing company's rules.
Any written return policy (there's no federal 3-day right to cancel, but California gives one for most used cars from a dealer at $50,000 or less, and other states or the contract may too), deadline and mileage limit, how to give notice, fees, warranty, used-car Buyers Guide if any, and add-on terms.
Old lender, expected payoff date, when it was confirmed, any balance left, and what's still open. Write not applicable if none.
Who collects payments (verified), amount, due date, how you'll pay, and whether autopay is set up. Write not applicable for a cash purchase.
Who is filing, which agency and forms, receipts, expected finish date, when the temporary tag expires, and your follow-up date.
Each item, its written promise (often a “We Owe” form) or cancellation request, deadline, who's responsible, where the refund goes, and proof it was done or credited.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice: Understanding an NMVTIS Report
- U.S. Department of Justice: Approved NMVTIS Providers
- U.S. Department of Justice: NMVTIS Consumer Disclaimer
- NHTSA: Safety Recall VIN Lookup
- FTC: Buying a Used Car from a Dealer
- eCFR: 16 CFR 455.5, Spanish-Language Sales (Spanish Buyers Guide)
- NHTSA: Odometer Fraud
These sources explain general rules. Check current requirements in your state and the terms in your own paperwork.
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Car-deal rules and fees depend on your state. Check your state motor-vehicle or consumer-protection agency and your written agreement.