Used Car History

Whether you are buying a used car or a new car, it is always advisable to take a closer look at the vehicle's historical repair record. There is a saying in the investment world that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. When it comes to used cars, historical repair records are an important consideration.

Car Design and Repair Records

To understand why repair history is so important when purchasing a used car, you need to understand the production process of today's automobiles. Perhaps you've read or heard in the news about the billions of dollars that are spent on the design of a new car. The amount of engineering that goes into each an every part is simply astounding.

Additional Resources

Once the design is complete, the car manufacturer needs to find suppliers for all of those individual parts. In some instances, they may be able to use parts that are already being produced for existing cars. In other instances, a part may have to be manufactured to new engineering specifications.

Poor Car Designs Last for Years

The engineering, manufacturing of parts, and retooling of assembly lines necessary to put a new model of a car together makes the entire process an expensive undertaking. To recover many of these fixed costs, a car may only be redesigned once every five years or so. While a 2012 model may look different on the outside from a 2011 model, many of the changes you see are very likely cosmetic. Most of the mechanical parts under the hood may actually be the same.

This is why looking at a used car's repair history is so insightful. Poorly designed car parts will fail relatively early, and this pattern will likely repeat itself in the future. Car parts are manufactured with tight tolerances, and that can either help or hurt a car's historical repair record.

Sources of Used Car Repair History

Arguably the best source of car repair history is the Consumer Reports magazine. Each year, they conduct a survey among their readership that includes questions concerning the repair history for the cars they own. This survey results in a remarkable wealth of information concerning the repair experiences of consumers with their cars, trucks, minivans, and SUVs.

If you've ever looked at this annual report, you will see trends that support the design information discussed in the paragraphs above. For example, when one used car reports a poor history of repair or part failure, the models sharing the same design in adjoining years will almost always report a similar pattern of negative experiences among those car owners.

You can usually find a copy of Consumer Reports at your local library. But if you're in a hurry, there are a couple of good online resources that you can leverage too.

Online Sources of Car Repair Information

The first online resource worth mentioning is the Consumer Guide, which utilizes a rating system that allows you to find a best value by price range. A second online resource for historical car repair information is Edmunds.com. They have an extensive database of reliability ratings augmented with customer satisfaction information from J.D. Power and Associates.

We've also published a list of dependable used cars, which summarizes information found by J.D. Power and Associates. The research they conduct is very comprehensive. The process they follow involves compiling data from the collective experiences of 50,000 owners of cars, SUVs, minivans, and light trucks. The information is gathered through a questionnaire fielded each year.

Used Car Recalls

Finally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, maintains a complete database of complaints they've received from consumers about their automobiles. They also maintain databases on vehicle recalls and part defect investigations. Vehicle recalls don't happen very often, and they are expensive propositions for the vehicle's manufacturer. If you remember the Firestone recall of tires back in 2000, that issue wound up a legal battleground for Ford and Firestone. Much of that dispute was over the money involved with the recall.

Car Defect History

Defect investigations are akin to recalls that never happen. If the NHTSA received enough complaints to conduct an investigation, then some of those investigations wind up as recalls. But most investigations don't turn up enough evidence to warrant a car's recall, and the defect investigation is merely closed out. There was simply not enough proof of a problem to justify a recall of perhaps millions of vehicles.

Don't be alarmed by the information in these defect bulletins. All used cars can be expected to experience some repairs during their useful life. Read through the materials, and make comparisons for the vehicles you are considering buying. Look for patterns of complaints that might indicate potential trouble for any of the vehicles you're considering purchasing.

We'd like to offer one last word of warning. If you are buying a car that has been recalled for some reason, make sure you get proof from the prior owner the car has been returned, and the recall defect has been eliminated. It doesn't make a lot of sense to purchase a used car, and then have it sit in a shop for a couple of days while a recall repair is made to the vehicle.

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Leasing / Buying a Car