Buy privately and that history can be well hidden. A car can be stolen, carry outstanding finance, have been written off in an accident, or have bounced through several plate changes, and none of it shows on a nice-looking listing. Here's how to work out whether the car in front of you has been in a crash.
Read the panels before you read anything else
A crash is genuinely hard to hide once you know what you're looking for. Walk around the car in good light and run your eye down each panel for dents, bumps and scrapes that don't quite belong.
Repairs are the real tell. If a previous owner has had work done to cover up a prang, it usually shows in the paint: a slightly off colour, an orange-peel texture, or overspray on the rubber and trim. Sight down the side of the car and the reflections will wander where a panel has been reworked. The bumper is another giveaway, since it's the first thing to go in a low-speed hit.
Don't stop at the outside, either. Open the doors and check the sills. Scratches or fresh paint down there often mean a panel beater has been in, because that's exactly the sort of spot that gets disturbed when a car is pulled apart and put back together.
Do a car history report
Your eyes will only take you so far. The quickest way to know for certain is a car history report, which pulls the vehicle's full record. That covers any finance still owed on the car, a stolen check, a registration check and an odometer check.
A full report goes right down to the detail: the odometer reading, the registration expiry date, even whether the car is caught up in a Takata airbag recall. It matters more than you'd think, because more than half of used cars have some kind of hidden past. The car you're standing next to could easily have been through a serious crash you'd never guess at.
Skip the check and any hidden damage becomes your problem: repairs down the track that cost you time and money, and in the worst case a car that isn't safe for you or your passengers to be in.
What you need to run one
All you need to pull a car history report is the REGO or the VIN.
REGO is short for 'registration', which ties the car to a state or territory, and you legally need a rego to drive on Australian roads. It's registered to whoever currently owns the car, so if you're buying privately you'll transfer it into your name as part of the sale.
The VIN is the 17-digit number stamped on every car in Australia. It identifies the make, model, specs and features of that exact vehicle. With Carify, either the REGO or the VIN is enough to pull the history.
Check the PPSR too
Buying from a private seller rather than a licensed dealer? Check the PPSR before you hand over any money.
The Personal Property Securities Register is an official Australian government register of security interests in personal property, cars included, and anyone can search it. In plain terms, it shows the car's financial history, so you'll see whether there's still a loan sitting against it that could follow the car to you.
At Carify we run full PPSR checks on any vehicle from just the REGO or VIN, and tell you whether it's ever been written off, stolen or encumbered. You can also search the PPSR website yourself using the VIN or chassis number, where a $2 fee gets you the finance check.
PPSR search or full car history check?
A PPSR search gives you the basics: existing finance, written-off status, stolen status and weather damage. Useful, but it's the headline, not the full story.
A full car history report goes further, adding recall status, an odometer check, registration status and a visual damage report. Our car history checks also include the official PPSR certificate from the Australian government, so you're not choosing between the two.
If you want the real picture of a car before you commit, the full history check is the one to run. Once you've got that sorted, our guide to negotiating on a used car will help you use what you've found.
