If you’re in the market for a new-to-you car, it’s always a good idea to give it a thorough background check. Just like an employer hiring someone new, you’ll likely rely on your acquisition greatly over the coming months, which makes its reliability and safety all the more important.
There are many services on the market today that can provide this information — Carfax is the most notable of the lot — but there’s a new option by CarMD that takes the investigatory process even further. Called Heath and History reports, the online and app-based resource takes a closer look at a vehicle’s past, present, and even the future by using a tool called predictive vehicle insight.
“There are some great tools available to help used car and truck shoppers check vehicle history and see fair market value, but this is the first app to offer vehicle history along with CarMD’s proprietary maintenance and Predictive diagnostic information,” said leon C. Chen, CEO of CarMD. “For years CarMD has been the go-to source to empower drivers to solve check engine problems. With these new mobile tools, we are bringing our expertise to used car shoppers to help them make smart buying decisions and avoid purchasing a potential lemon.”
To obtain a report, users enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) into the CarMD app or Health and History website, which will then display the car’s background related to accidents, thefts, fires, floods, odometer resets, sales, and market value. The program will also detail the vehicle’s average fuel economy and upcoming maintenance items, including a list of high-risk components with probability to fail within the next year. In addition, CarMD predicts the estimated repair cost of those parts. A bundle of five reports costs $25.
