Looking for Free VIN check reports with recalls? We have some tips for you and also some suggestions. Buying a used car can save you lots of cash compared to a brand new. Whether you’re after a cheap runaround or a dream machine you’ve lots of choice on the second-hand market. But with murky histories and hard-nosed salesmen, it can be a minefield. This guide is filled with top tips and checklists (we’ve created printable versions so you can bring them with you) to minimise the chance of any nasty surprises.

Once you’ve decided what car to pick, now you need to know how to get the best deal. One way to slash costs is to buy at the right time. Dealers have targets to meet, with bonuses up for grabs. Typically, these are based on quarterly sales, making the end of March, June, September and December a good time to buy. They need to shift cars, so will be more willing to negotiate and offer attractive finance packages. But, if you’re buying from a private seller, there’s unlikely to be a good or bad time. Private sellers don’t have targets to meet, other than the price they want to achieve. If you’re buying this way, keep an eye on prices a few months before you actually buy – if they’re heading down, you may want to wait. Heading up, and it’s prudent to buy sooner.

A vehicle identification number, or VIN, identifies your car. It’s made up of individual numbers and letters with special significance, and provides information about your vehicle. Each VIN is unique to the vehicle. You may want to decode the VIN for a number of reasons. You may need to find a proper-fitting part according to your vehicle build, find the place of manufacture for importation, or you may want to verify a car’s build if you are looking to buy it. Whether you need to find specific information or if you are just curious about your vehicle’s build, you can decode the VIN number for a wide array of information. See more details at Free VIN check.

Unless you’re buying the car from a close friend or family member who can vouch for its history, plan to get a vehicle history report. This is an essential early step. If the car you’re looking at has a bad history report, the sooner you know the better.VINdecoded and Carfax are the two best-known sources for vehicle history reports, which can reveal vital information about the car, including whether the odometer has been rolled back or if it has a salvage title, which means it has been declared a total loss by the insurance company. You’ll use the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) to get this information, and in some cases, all you need is the license plate number.