KNOXVILLE (WATE) – If you’re in the market for a used car, how do you know if the car you want to buy has a recall on it?
The year 2014 will be known as the year for recalls to automakers. It more than doubled the previous record set in 2004. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 63 million vehicles were recalled in the us, the highest ever.
Records by Carfax show millions of used vehicles are put up for sale unfixed.
What are dealers telling you? What can you do to discover if the car you’re driving or the used car you want to buy is safe to drive?
Warren and Sherry Ann Oakley were interested in buying a used car. Like many people car shopping today, they wanted to know if there is an open recall.
“So it doesn’t break on you, or you don’t have an accident because something didn’t get fixed,” said Warren.
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More than 1,400 models were recalled last year. Half of them are cars five years or older. Sixteen percent were at least 10 years old.
Beaty Chevrolet used car manager Ed Turley says he’s able to answer customers’ questions.
“As far as recalls, I’ll get the VIN number off of the car,” he said.
Turley then logs onto a special General Motors website, goes to a program system called “Investigate Vehicle History,” and shows customers the results.
“If you’ve got a recall, Transaction History is where it would show up. Right now, this vehicle does not have a recall,” he said.
When a vehicle goes through the service lane at Lance Cunningham Ford, service manager Steve McHenry logs on to a special Ford website.
“The Oasis from Ford will say any recalls that are open, any recalls that have been done and all of the history to the vehicle whatsoever,” he explained.
“There is an open recall and a closed recall,” explained owner Lance Cunningham. “[If there is an open recall,] we want to get it fixed, whether it be a Ford, another make or model. We’ll take it to the local dealership here in town, bring it back here, then have it on the lot for retail sale.”
Dealers like Cunningham Ford will also present customers with a free copy of the vehicle’s Carfax report, which includes recall history.
“We present it right away. We don’t wait for the customer to ask us,” said Cunningham.
Tara Egley believes car dealers should provide customers with the information.
“I think it is their responsibility to let their customers know,” she said, “about any recall going on with the car they bought.”
Related story: Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche issue recalls for fuel leaks
WATE 6 On Your Side visited several lots that specialize in selling older used cars with high mileage on them, with “as is” warranties on their windshield.
“What onus is on the used car dealer to let your customer know about a recall?” we asked Don Isakson with Parker Auto Sales.
“By federal law, there isn’t one. That’s another hole in the gap of the system,” he said.
But at Parker Auto Sales, Daron Hickson does direct customers to a useful website.
“If you want to know if there is a recall, there are several sites on the Web where you can put your VIN number in and it’ll pull that up for you,” he said.
From your own computer, you can find out if a car has had a recall. The information is found on the NHTSA website, where you enter the vehicle identification number to see if there has been a recall.
More online: NHTSA Recalls Lookup by VIN
At most new car dealers, recall information is part of the sale. The same is true at CarMax, the nations largest used car dealer.
However, you have to do your homework at other retail lots, but having the information is critical for either the car you own or are thinking of buying.