emazur
02-01-2009, 01:23 AM
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=6772124&page=1
http://www.nmvtis.gov/
On Friday a federal database 16 years in the making finally went public to help consumers learn whether the used automobile they're interested in buying has ever been stolen or wrecked. Each year, some 40 to 50 million used cars are sold in the U.S.
"People are surprised that the DMVs don't link up with each other," lawyer Deepak Gupta of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen told ABC News on Friday. "When you get a title for a car it doesn't mean that that state has verified the information of all the other states. And so there could be a record that makes it very clear in another state that a car is junk and salvage and shouldn't be on the road. But you can get a title in, say, the state of California and it wouldn't reveal that information."
Gupta brought a lawsuit on behalf of Public Citizen, along with Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety and Consumer Action, that finally spurred the overdue project along.
The new online database allows potential buyers to type in a car's vehicle identification number to check on a used car's record. States, salvage yards and insurance companies will be required to submit information so consumers can access information on a car's past – whether it was damaged in a flood, rebuilt after a wreck or stolen. Law enforcement will also be able to tap into the information to help combat auto theft or fraud.
http://www.nmvtis.gov/
On Friday a federal database 16 years in the making finally went public to help consumers learn whether the used automobile they're interested in buying has ever been stolen or wrecked. Each year, some 40 to 50 million used cars are sold in the U.S.
"People are surprised that the DMVs don't link up with each other," lawyer Deepak Gupta of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen told ABC News on Friday. "When you get a title for a car it doesn't mean that that state has verified the information of all the other states. And so there could be a record that makes it very clear in another state that a car is junk and salvage and shouldn't be on the road. But you can get a title in, say, the state of California and it wouldn't reveal that information."
Gupta brought a lawsuit on behalf of Public Citizen, along with Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety and Consumer Action, that finally spurred the overdue project along.
The new online database allows potential buyers to type in a car's vehicle identification number to check on a used car's record. States, salvage yards and insurance companies will be required to submit information so consumers can access information on a car's past – whether it was damaged in a flood, rebuilt after a wreck or stolen. Law enforcement will also be able to tap into the information to help combat auto theft or fraud.