If you are interested in purchasing a vehicle, you should always have a free VIN history report ran on the vehicle. This report will tell you a lot of important information about the vehicle's history that will help you make an informed purchasing decision. Here are three things that you should check when viewing the VIN history report on an vehicle you want to purchase.

#1 The Status Of The Title

The first thing you want to find out is what type of title the vehicle has. Ideally, the vehicle should have a standard tittle on it. You should read the history report carefully and make sure that at no point in time did an insurance company declare the vehicle a total loss. If an insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss at any time, it will have a branded title. This greatly decreases the value of the vehicle. You may not be able to get full insurance on this vehicle and you may have a hard time reselling a vehicle that has been declared a total loss and has a branded title.

#2 Number Of Previous Owners

The second thing that you need to check out is the number of previous owners that the vehicle has had. This will let you know how long each owner held onto the vehicle and at which mileage they sold the vehicle.

Generally, it is considered a good thing if a vehicle has a limited number of previous owners. The idea behind a limited number of owners being a good thing is the idea that with few owners, necessary maintenance was most likely done on the vehicle and not passed down the road to the next owner.

#3 Accident Information

Third, the history report can let you know how many accidents that the vehicle has been in and what damage the vehicle may have sustained in those accidents. Not all accidents will result in a vehicle being totaled out. You are going to want to have the vehicle inspected and ensure that all damage to the vehicle from the accidents was actually fixed. Additionally, you'll want to determine if it has damage that you are willing to deal with. For example, if the vehicle sustained damage to the steering column, you may want to pass on the vehicle. On the other hand, if it just ended up with a banged-up door from getting bumped in the parking lot, that is damage that you may be able to deal with.

Be sure to carefully review the VIN history report and make sure that it doesn't raise any red flag about the vehicle's history.