One of the biggest issues with buying a used car is fear of the unknown. Sure, the paint may look nice and and seats are still comfy, but if it’s been in an accident, a flood, or it has a less-than-stellar maintenance record, it could be hard to see that at first glance. That’s why vehicle history reports are so important, so you can get the full lowdown on your car’s past life.
Typically, car shoppers will go turn to Carfax, VinAudit, or some other similar service, but they’ll end up paying anywhere from $10 to $40 to get the info they’re after. Thankfully, there’s a new kid on the block that supplies vehicle history reports for free.
The service, appropriately named Vehicle History, launched in December and is now supplying over 10,000 reports per day. Interested parties simply go to VehicleHistory.com and type in their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to start sifting through the data.
“Vehicle History is breaking new ground in the industry,” said Jennifer Mitchell, head of business development. “While most companies offer a report for a fee, we provide it for free. We then move beyond that by giving people access to a wealth of information related to their cars, and driving in general. You can learn about auto warranties and your driving history, and we even provide people with the owner’s manuals for their cars. In that way we are much more than a service to help people buy used cars. We are a resource that anyone who owns a car can rely on when they need information from a trusted, reliable source.”
Read more: Need a new ride? Here are the best places to buy a used car online
Vehicle History’s reports are a combination of information from a variety of public databases, and each statement includes maintenance schedules, service records, and airbag deployments. Accident records, DMV info, vehicle value estimations, and auto loan calculators are available as well, but because the company relies on outside agencies, it cannot officially guarantee that each report is complete.
In addition, Vehicle History can display crash test ratings, Kelley Blue Book reports, and similar cars for sale in your area.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.