You wouldn't buy a house without an appraisal, so why buy a pre-owned vehicle without a used car history report? It's important to find out everything you can before spending thousands of dollars on an automobile that may turn out to be a total lemon.

The process is quite simple...while you are shopping around, make sure you write down the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of each car that appeals to you. This is a sequence of 17 numbers and letters that can be found on the driver's side dash, the driver's side door post, the insurance card or the title/registration. Do this no matter how you find the used car, whether it is through a dealer, classified ad, friend or even family member.

Once you have the VIN, you can run a used car history report with a company such as CARFAX or AutoCheck, which will tell you everything you need to know about that particular vehicle. In addition to basic facts such as year, make, model, engine, brake and restraint system, the used car history check will reveal any major issues that were reported to the state DMV, such as persistent mechanical problems, severe damage, odometer tampering, theft, fire damage, fleet/taxi use and much more.

Oftentimes you can't pick up on many of these problems by inspecting the car or driving it around for a while. Some of these issues may even escape the eye of a trained mechanic. This is why you must retrieve the used car history before you make the final decision...it will give you peace of mind.

How much do they cost you ask? Well, it varies from provider to provider, but usually it is $19.99 for one car history report and $24.99 for unlimited reports, usually within a specified period. It makes sense to get the latter package, as you can check as many vehicles as you want until you find one that's perfect for you. And chances are you're gonna be looking at more than one car as you go through the buying process.

If you think about how much it costs to buy even an old pre-owned vehicle, you can see how another $20 to make sure the vehicle doesn't have any hidden problems is a small price to pay. You can also find out if it's had multiple owners or if it has hundreds of thousands of miles on it, among other important facts.

So next time you're in the market, make sure you get a used car history report for each and every vehicle you are considering...it's well worth it!