How to Read a Car Lemon Report

Getting a car lemon report can save you from spending more money on a car than it's worth. A lemon car is a car which is disclosed as being in good condition when it's actually a clunker. Using the VIN to perform a check on CARFAX or AutoCheck can get you an instant lemon report, but first you have to understand the information it contains.

Ownership History

This gives you a brief on the date the vehicle was purchased, the state it was owned in and the most recently reported odometer reading.

Title Problems

This is the main part of the car's history report and possibly the most important. If the car has been damaged in any way or has had other problems or suspicious activity reported, they will appear in this section. If there is anything in this section that isn't marked as "No Problem," either walk away from the sale or make sure you're paying a fairly adjusted price.

Other Information

Any other potential problems with the vehicle which have ever been reported, like airbag deployment or a manufacturer recall check, will be listed here. Again, is there are red flags here you should pass up on the purchase or make sure the price is appropriate.

When basing a purchase on the information in a car lemon check, always double check to ensure that the VIN in the report and the VIN physically printed on the vehicle match up. Otherwise, the cars are completely different vehicles and the history report is irrelevant.

The Best Car Lemon Report Services

By using one of the car guides below, you can make sure your vehicle-to-be is a sweet deal.

CARFAX

CARFAX is well known for its used vehicle history reports. Just get the VIN from the seller and enter it into CARFAX to get the full brief on the vehicle's current condition. CARFAX can tell you if the vehicle has ever been involved in an accident, if it was damaged by flooding or fire, and even if the mileage has ever been tampered with.

Auto Check

Although Auto Check is less well known than CARFAX, it claims to have better and more comprehensive used car reports. One-time used car reports are less expensive than CARFAX, though if you intend to look up multiple vehicles over more than a 60-day period, CARFAX may be the better choice as far as price goes. Overall, Auto Check is comparable to CARFAX and which service you should use is based on your personal preference.

Car lemon reports are an extremely helpful tool when searching for a used vehicle. They are fairly inexpensive and for the peace of mind they provide when making a decision on pre-owned cars they are certainly worth the price.