This www.accuratecars.com blog post is the first in a series of used car buying tips, that you can easily perform in conjuction with the internet,  when shopping for Honda used cars and Acura used cars.

The internet is filled with ’experts’ that have various used car buying tips. Many of these tips include using a Consumer Reports used car buying guide  or  implementing a used car buying checklist.  While these tips are popular in text, they are rarely implemented because they are not nearly as effective as performing some simple and basic research on the internet.

Let’s face it…” Times have changed ” and the internet has been a major reason for this change. In the past decade most retail markets have been overhauled. Whether you are buying an airplane ticket, shopping for music, looking for a house, or even buying a used car; the internet has made it easier to shop and do this research before ever leaving your comfort zone.

Do you know how to not get ripped off buying a used car? Start your research on the internet. But understand that this research should be based on the history of the vehicle, and not how many cup holders or iPod jacks that it has.  Because you are shopping used cars, you must perform that internet research with “a foundation” or “point of reference”. This point of reference will be the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).

TIP #1

DO NOT CONSIDER ANY VEHICLE WITH AN ONLINE LISTING THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE VIN OR SERIAL NUMBER POSTED ON THE AD.

For example: let’s take the vin of one our current inventory units: vin 2HNYD18905H557357, which is a 2005 Acura MDX Touring.

Every vehicle has a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This is the serial number of the vehicle and it shows a lot of information about the vehicle.

Most consumers know that the vin is located on the driver’s side of the dashboard, but their are several other places the vin can be found on a vehicle.

Most Honda and Acura vehicles will have a VIN sticker on all major body panels, if they are the original panels. These include the doors, the fenders, the hood, the trunk lid and rear hatch.

There will also be a production sticker and the Vehicle Identification Number will be on this label as well. On Honda and Acura vehicles, the production sticker is normally located on the body of the vehicle inside of the driver’s door.

For Honda and Acura shoppers, the vin will show:

• Where the vehicle was produced
• The year model of the vehicle
• If it has an automatic or manual transmission
• Certain Factory equipment and model variations

The first digit “2″ indicates that the vehicle was built in Canada

The 6th digit  “1″ after HNYD indicates that this vehicle is a 4 wheel drive unit

The 7th digit “8″ indicates that this vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission.

The 8th digit “9″ indicates that this Acura MDX is a Touring model and it is equipped with Navigation and RES (Rear Entertainment DVD System).

The 10th digit “5″ indicates this Acura MDX was produced as a 2005 model.

The vehicle identification number is a critical reference when shopping for a used Hondas and when shopping for used Acuras. This number must be referenced to access current Carfax and AutoCheck title history reports. The VIN identifies the year of the vehicle. It identifies the model variations, such as the Acura MDX ”Touring”, “Premium”, “Technology”,  or “Sport”.  The VIN also identifies many equipment packages that may or may not be actually on the vehicle. Even though that internet ad may state that the vehicle is equipped with certain factory equipment options, in most cases, the VIN will confirm or it may dispute the ad description.

Finally, when shopping for that perfect Honda or Acura used car, always verify the VIN to the vehicle that you saw online. Print the ad when you are at your computer. When you get to the location of the vehicle, check the VIN on the vehicle to the VIN on your copy of the online ad.

On most online vehicle listing sites, the Vehicle Identification Number can not be entered incorrectly. They will not be off by a couple of digits (such as tranposing the numbers when typing it into the computer). If the vehicle that you see online and the vehicle that you look at do not have the same VIN when you walk up to it, then DO NOT BUY THAT VEHICLE.

If a car dealer has multiple Honda used cars or multiple Acura used cars in their inventory; They may try to ( accidentally ) show you a clean title history report from a different vehicle, with a different VIN.

ALWAYS USE THE VIN AS YOUR STARTING POINT OF REFERENCE.