Did you know that the VIN number to your automobile is more than just a series of numbers used for identification? In fact, the VIN number of your car can actually reveal to you the history of your vehicle. How can this be so? With a VIN number, you can find out who owned you are car in the past, whether or not the vehicle has been in any accidents and more. In fact, the VIN number is often used from car dealers that travel from home to automobile auctions to determine whether or not a vehicle is worth bidding on before they travel to the auction and place their bids.

Much like a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the VIN number of your vehicle is an identification number like no otherthe VIN number of your vehicle relates solely to the vehicle you have purchased or you plan on purchasing and no other vehicle in the world has the same VIN number as the one your car possesses. In fact, there is even a decoding process when it comes to VIN numbersa VIN number can be decoded by breaking down the various combinations of letters and numbersall which have a significant meaning. For example, one number will denote the country that the car was built in, another number will denote the manufacturer, and certain numbers even denote the cars features.

Conversely, the VIN number can also provide you with information about odometer readings; whether or not the car has ever been stolen; if the car has experienced flood damage; and whether or not there have been recalls on parts associated with the vehicle. You can also find out if there is or ever was a lien on the cars title, if it had ever been repossessed, and if it suffered major damage in the past. So, what does all this information mean to you? Basically, consider it fuel for a positive purchase when you are buying a carthe more you know about the vehicle, the better decision you will be able to make when buying it. Conversely, if you already own the vehicle, knowing the cars history is vital in giving the car the proper maintenance it needs. Also, you may be able to foresee problems in the future that originate from past issues with the vehicle.

In the end, you should visit a website that allows you to check on the VIN number of any vehicle. In fact, some sites let you run a free VIN number check so that you can test out there services. Using your preferred search engine, you can easily locate a VIN Number checking website. You will find such services well worth the visit.

The next time you need to sell or buy a used car you dont need to rush to dealers and spend precious time negotiating the best deal. The internet has come to the rescue once again. Following the success of various classifieds sites including job sites, dating sites, real estate site etc auto classifieds sites are the next big thing. Online used cars & bike classifieds are a big draw for buyers and sellers because of the many features they offer which conventional newspaper classifieds lack.

Features of Online Auto Classifieds:

1.Full page color ads
2.Multiple photos of your vehicle
3.Country wide ad listing for long periods up to three months
4.Personal account & response management system
5.Privacy options (manage responses via online mailbox only)

These features are available to users of most auto classifieds websites such as Indimoto.com. Users can search according to various parameters such as city, make, model, year etc and get the exact match they are looking for much easier than browsing through pages and pages of newspaper classifieds. US based sites such as Edmunds.com have gone a step further and conduct their own research on used cars to ascertain the desirability and pricing of various models in the used car market. An Indian auto classifieds site Indimoto.com has gone a step further and introduced separate sections for cars, bikes and commercial vehicles.

Indimoto.com is also Indias first carpool site where users can search and post carpool ads. Its not just individual users who are using these sites, car dealers are finding it very beneficial to sell their vehicle inventory online considering the many features on offer. For people who do not know or use the internet dealers can help in selling their vehicle via these auto classifieds sites. You must be wondering about how much it costs to post an ad on such sites. Certain sites are paid sites while sites such as Indimoto.com are completely free to use. Financially it makes a lot of sense to use auto portals since buyers and sellers never need to pay any commission or brokerage for deals done via the site. The site gets buyers in touch with the sellers directly.

So the next time you need to buy or sell a used car or bike look no further that the internet.

Car dealers are often portrayed as predators just waiting for an unsuspecting customer to come along. This is because many people believe that they are always on the prowl for unsuspecting buyers that are not very knowledgeable about cars. This can be unfair because we can argue that there are car dealers out there who would not cheat just to get an extra profit.

How do you tell the difference?

To avoid becoming a victim of sneaky car dealers, look at the following auto financing scams.

Yoyo scam

You will be allowed by the dealer to bring the car home as soon as possible. The dealer will take care of the financing, a few days later he will contact you again and tell you that there was a problem with your financing plan. He will tell you to set up a new financing scheme through him which, of course, will be at a higher cost and this will also entail a very high profit on the dealer’s part.

Be wary of this trick and avoid it at all costs if you detect it. If you have a bad credit standing, don’t have your financing done by the dealer and make arrangements for your own financing. If you ever do avail of the dealer’s financing, you should never drive the car back to your home immediately. Wait for at least 24 hours just to make sure that the processing of your financing scheme has been completed already. By allowing 1 whole day to pass by, you are assured that the dealer cannot use this scam on you.

Window etching trick

Window etching is a very common scam. What the dealer will do is to offer to etch the VIN number of your car onto the window of the car for a price. Basically, the price ranges from as low as 300 to as high as 1,000. Some buyers think that they did a good job by being able to talk down the price to a few hundred pounds, but unfortunately for them, a few hundred pounds is still a good amount of money. The best way to avoid this kind of scam is for you to buy an etching kit that you can do on your own. This is available in most auto shops and costs around 20. See how much they profit from you!

Preparation fees

For preparing your car, the dealer will often add an additional preparation fee to your bill. Just to conduct a test drive, replace fuses, or take the car’s plastic cover off will have your bill increasing by at least 500! If you visit other shops, you can get the information that these add on costs are already included in the MSRP as set by the manufacturer. Some dealers automatically add it to the buyer’s order to make it look mandatory. To take care of this scam, you can ask the dealer to classify it as credit (it should be identical to the amount of the preparation fee) on the following line. If the dealer does not agree to this, you can just simply walk away from the dealership.

Market adjustment

The dealer will convince you that the vehicle you want is selling like hot cakes and very popular. In order to sell you the vehicle, they will do some “market adjustments” amounting to a few thousand pounds. This is usually indicated by a tag near the MSRP tag set by the manufacturer. Even if the car you want is very popular and is very much in demand, if it is in stock you should not be tempted because getting a “popular” car is not worth it if you have to pay a few thousand pounds more. You should never pay more than the MSRP set by the manufacturers. If you do, then you are allowing others to take advantage of you.

Warranty extension

Although this type of scam is old already, it is still being used and there are many who fall for this trick. What happens in this kind of scam is that when you make a loan for the car, the dealer will tell you that you are required to purchase an extended warranty because it is one of the conditions of the bank. There is a simple way of avoiding this scam. Ask the dealer to specify clearly in writing that the extended warranty is required for the loan to be approved. The dealer will most probably find a way to have it excluded. If he persists in including the extended warranty, do not do business with this guy and go to other dealerships.

These are some of the most common auto financing scams that are utilized by some car dealers. Always keep these in mind if you are going to buy a car. If you or a friend were treated fairly by a dealer in the past, consider using the same dealership again. Its a good indication that they do care about their customers and arent just looking for a fast buck.

Think very carefully and do not buy on impulse. Good luck to you and go get that car!