So be sure to get a vehicle history report for every used vehicle you wish to consider purchasing.  Yes each individual credit report is about $20 now, and you can purchase 30 days worth of unlimited auto history reports for about $25, but they are well worth the money as they can easily expose something like a flood or salvage history which could very well mean the car is either unsafe or at least that its safety is questionable.  My advice is to get the 30 days of unlimited car history reports as this will allow you to check out several vehicles for only about $5 more.  Believe me, a full vehicle history report is worth its weight in gold (I say this, because many car dealers will provide you with a copy of a car history report to aid in selling you the car and omit some of the pages which have detrimental information – so if someone else provides you with a vehicle history report make sure you have every page of it).

The rest of the cars which were not properly identified or labeled as ruined, total loss, flooded, salvage, etc… will unfortunately skate by the vehicle history report.  This does not mean you should skip the CarFax or Autocheck report.  But you do have to do more.  You need to be alert and check for flood damage.  Yes, car detailers and other automotive personnel are quite good at covering it up, but its just like a murder scene in that there will be some evidence left - you just have to lok for it.  Check under the seats and look for rusted bolts and hardware.  Look in the door jams as many times detailers overlook the door hinge area and leave a water mark or corroded hinges or parts there.