Used vehicles in San Antonio!
Did you recently purchase a new or used car in San Antonio or in Texas. Did that car suddenly start driving "funny"? Did the steering or brakes suddenly fail or lock up for not apparent reason? Did the air bag deploy as you were driving down the street? It could be that your car has suffered prior damage that you did not know about or were not told about at the time of the sale.
Prior to your purchase, did you think about getting a car history to see where that car has been and what has it been doing. Don't get me wrong, these things can happen to a new car, but what if you were sold a car that had been in an accident, flood, or fire. What if your accident was caused because of damage from a prior accident? Did you sustain an injury or did a family member sustain a major injury?
Before now, a buyer would have to pay an online service twenty to thirty dollars for that information. And, in this economy, that is a good "chunk" of change.
But, there is good news for the people in San Antonio and other parts of Texas and Bexar County. The Department of Justice has just gone online with its Auto Fraud Database. It is the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Texas is one of the 73% of the states that are participating in this program.
The program will give consumers access to important information about a vehicle including vehicle brand history, accidents, odometer data, number of owners, and full title history. Currently, the database is incomplete because insurance companies and some states have not reported all the information, but that will change by 2010.
The bad news is that the program is not free but the cost should be considerably less than other commercial companies providing the same service. The NMVTIS information is currently accessible through third-party, fee-for-service web sites. The NMVTIS site provides a current list of the third parties providing this service.
