How To Check If Your Car Was Recalled And Never Fixed

1975 Ford PintoVehicle recalls are on pace to set a new record with almost 30 million cars being recalled this year.

General Motors is making the headlines for recalls but there are several other major auto manufacturers involved in these recalls too.

Auto manufacturers are quicker to agree to recalls ever since the Toyota “sticky accelerator pedal” issue in 2010 that resulted in a massive 1.3 BILLION dollar settlement in 2012.

(Since there were deaths involved in the Toyota “sticky accelerator pedal” recall, and at the risk of sounding like an insensitive jerk, why didn’t the drivers just put their car in neutral?)

A subtitle for this article could be…

Why Car Dealerships LOVE Recalls

Those recalled vehicles have to be repaired and the auto manufacturers reimburse the dealerships to fix them.  Car dealerships are making a fortune fixing them. In fact, they are so swamped with recall repairs that they’ve had to hire new auto technicians to keep up with the demand.

And of course that gives the dealerships an opportunity to reconnect with their customers and upsell them for other repairs.

How to check if a car has been recalled and repaired…

The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has a new online tool that you can enter your vehicles VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and find out if your car was ever recalled and if it was fixed.

What this VIN search tool covers…

  • Safety recalls that are incomplete on a vehicle
  • Safety recalls conducted over the past 15 calendar years
  • Safety recalls conducted by major light auto automakers, including motorcycle manufacturers.

What this VIN search tool does NOT cover…

  • Completed safety recall information
  • Manufacturer customer service or other non-safety recall campaigns
  • International vehicles
  • Very recently announced safety recalls for which not all VINs have been identified
  • Safety recalls that are more than 15 years old (except where a manufacturer offers more coverage)
  • Safety recalls conducted by small vehicle manufacturers, including some ultra-luxury brands and specialty applications

How to use the recall search tool when buying and selling cars for profit…

I suggest you bookmark the page to the NHTSA auto recall search tool in your smart phone so you can check on the fly if the vehicle you are buying needs to be recalled.

If the recall was NOT repaired…

If the car has not been fixed, and you’re going to get it fixed, then it will be your time wasted in having to deal with the repair. So use that to negotiate a lower price.

If the recall was repaired…

If the recall was repaired then be sure to blab in your advertising that it has a “brand new X installed.” I would also mention that to all potential buyers when they call and remind everyone that looks at your car too.

As usual, I’d like to hear your thoughts about recalls or whatever, so please leave a comment or question below. :-)

Steve

 

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4 thoughts on “How To Check If Your Car Was Recalled And Never Fixed

  1. Jordan

    Good stuff, thanks Steve!

    Reply
  2. Matthew

    I always thought of vehicle recalls as being a nuisance but you’ve shed new light on this.

    Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Jack Frack

    Hey Steve, I just put a VIN through there and the recall issue was repaired so I will definitely “blab” about that when I adverstise it and it should put a few more bucks in my pocket. Thanks man!

    Reply

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