There are new car dealers selling so-called “certified” used cars who say that there is no way to make absolutely sure that the used cars they sell have not be involved in major collisions and have been re-built to be re-sold to unsuspecting car buyers. However, this is not the truth because if independent car mechanics can easily spot re-built wrecks then so can car dealers!
Hundreds of thousands of totaled or completely wrecked vehicles get re-built for re-sale and end up being bought and driven by unsuspecting car buyers. One reason for this is only around half of the motor vehicle departments in all 50 states in United States supply local governments with enough information to determine if a used car has been completely wrecked then re-built for re-sale to the public. This makes the so-called “used car search and information” internet services or independent services being sold to consumers for a fee not very practical and essentially unable to really know if a used car has ever been wrecked or not.
There are cases when these cars end up getting involved in collisions again. This may kill the driver and passengers because the re-built wrecks were not re-built for safety but were re-built just to “look” good to prospective buyers. Re-built wrecks usually don’t have proper functioning airbags and other safety equipment put back into them and few, if any, proper repairs may be made to ensure the re-built wrecks are even safe to drive again!
To avoid buying a wrecked vehicle you should have the car you intend to buy inspected by an mechanic independent from the dealer and determine if the car has been wrecked then re-built.
