Used car paperwork: history report, title and service records

Why it matters

A clean-looking car can carry a history the paint does not show: reported accidents, a salvage, rebuilt or flood title, or a big unexplained drop between odometer readings, which can indicate a rolled-back odometer. The paperwork is where that surfaces, and it is also the point where payment scams and title problems come out.

What the history report should show

• Reported accidents or airbag deployments
• Salvage, rebuilt or flood title branding, across the title's full brand history and not just its most recent status
• The number of previous owners
• Odometer readings over time, with no big unexplained drop between them
• Open recalls, which most manufacturers also let you look up separately by VIN

Step by step

1. Ask for the VIN before you arrange to meet, and run a vehicle history report.
2. Check that the name on the title matches the seller's ID.
3. Check that the VIN on the title matches the VIN on the dashboard and on the door jamb sticker.
4. If the title shows a lien, make sure it has a release, or that the loan payoff is handled before you pay.
5. Compare the odometer reading with the wear on the pedals, steering wheel and seat, and with the mileage history in the report.
6. Ask for service receipts, and get answers to your direct questions in writing when possible.
7. Finish with a written bill of sale that includes the VIN, the date, and both parties' names and signatures.

Walk away, or ask more questions?

• The seller refuses to share the VIN: walk away.
• An unexplained salvage title: walk away.
• The seller wants payment, or a shipping or escrow service, before you have seen the car: walk away. This is how payment scams work.
• The name on the title doesn't match the seller, or a private seller has several similar cars for sale: possibly an unlicensed dealer posing as a private seller.
• A mismatched or altered-looking title: don't proceed until it's resolved.
• Only verbal claims about maintenance, and no records: ask for service receipts.
• Diesel with no records of exhaust work: ask directly, and have the car scanned. A removed particulate filter usually means reprogrammed engine management, which shows up.
• Electric car with no battery health figure: ask for a written battery test report, not an app screenshot or the seller's word.

What people get wrong

Trusting a seller's verbal claims about maintenance without any records. Ask for service receipts: a seller with a well-maintained car usually has them. On a diesel, the service history tells its own story too: records from the same city, with short intervals and low annual mileage, point to a car that has mostly done short trips.

When to get a professional inspection

The history report is one of three steps to do every time. The other two are a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic and a written bill of sale. A seller can rely on an as-is sale to stay quiet about a serious problem, and the inspection is your best protection against that.

On a used electric car, ask for a scan as well: the code for a traction battery degraded past the manufacturer's threshold is the most useful thing to scan for before buying.

Read next

• Traction battery fault on an EV: drive to a workshop, not a trip
• DPF light on: drive, do not park
• Used car inspection checklist: under the hood and underneath
• Used EV battery health: how to check it before you buy

This page is general information and does not replace a professional assessment. Symbols, codes and behaviour vary between makes. Always check the handbook for your own car.