Enter a VIN to see safety recalls reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Manufacturers must repair open recalls free of charge.
A safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or the safety regulator determines a vehicle has a defect that creates an unreasonable safety risk, or fails to meet a federal safety standard. The manufacturer must fix it at no cost to you — regardless of who owns the car now or how old it is.
Check the VIN before you pay. An open recall is not necessarily a reason to walk away, but it is a reason to ask the seller whether the repair has been done, and to have the dealer confirm it. Recalls are published by year, make and model, so a listed recall may already have been completed on the specific car you are looking at.