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ConsumerGuide Vehicle History Reports
The “certificate of title” is the document that states who owns the vehicle. Before you agree to purchase or lease a used car, ask to see the title and examine it closely. Do not buy or lease a car if the seller cannot produce the title. This is a red flag indicating the possibility that the car may not be paid for yet, or that it is being sold or leased without the owner’s permission.
If you are buying from a private seller, the name on the title should be the same as the name of the seller. If it is not, ask why not, and find out whether the seller is authorized by the actual owner to sell the vehicle.
In a dealer sale or lease, the name on the title may be the former owner’s or the dealer’s. If title is in the dealer’s name, ask why. The car may have been brokered to that dealer by another dealer, who decided not to sell it for a variety of reasons.
Remember, when you examine the title . . . .
Check to see that the numbers are clear, not written over or altered.
Compare the mileage listed on the title to the miles that appear on the odometer — if the number of miles on the car is less than the mileage on the title, the odometer may have been rolled back.
Make sure there is no “lienholder” listed on the title. The lienholder (a bank, credit union etc.) holds title until all payments are made. If a lienholder is listed on the front of the title, make sure that the lienholder has executed a "release of lien" in the area provided.
Look at the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) — the 17 digit/letter listing on the small metal plate you can see through the driver’s side of the windshield or look on the driver’s side door post — and compare it to the listing on the title. If they do not match, the title does not belong to that car. See VIN Explained.
Under most Attorney General’s Motor Vehicle Regulations, you must receive the title (or it must be sent to the lienholder) on the date of delivery. Dealers may sometimes have trouble getting title to a car on which they are paying off a previous owner’s loan. Do not take delivery of a car without title — this may mean the car has an unpaid loan in another state, or other problems.
If you see the word “SALVAGE” on a title, be very careful. Salvage titles must be issued when an insurance company has declared a vehicle to be a total loss due to fire, vandalism, collision, theft, flood, or any other cause.
A “salvage” classification is permanent and always remains a part of the vehicle history. “Salvage” may be modified by the word “reconstructed” if it has been repaired or rebuilt and undergone an inspection by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. However this inspection is only to ensure that no stolen parts were used in the reconstruction, not that the vehicle is safe and roadworthy. To determine road–worthiness, you must take the vehicle to an authorized inspection station and undergo the combined safety and emissions inspection required each year. It is also advisable to take the vehicle to a mechanic you trust before you commit to buying it.
You cannot register a vehicle with a salvage title, without applying for a “reconstructed” or “recovered-theft” title, after undergoing the salvage title inspection process.
Anyone who “re-assembles” a vehicle by welding the frames or unit bodies of two or more vehicles together must also apply to the Registry for an inspection, in order to get a “reconstructed” title for the vehicle.