The National "Salvage Car" Database

NMVTIS link. Your local DMV can also run a VIN report for a nominal fee, and it accomplishes the same thing without the "non-participating states" hurdle.

Just give them the VIN number of the car you're interested in buying, fill out an application (if any), pay a small fee (usually up to about $5), and get the same information this database can provide (for the same price).

If the report says "salvage" anywhere on it, RUN LIKE HELL! Also, if the seller and titled owner don't match up, RUN LIKE HELL because the car is either hot, or the so-called "seller" is trying to avoid paying taxes on the car by not claiming legal ownership (putting his/her name on the registration and title).

*Underground Economy note: you can buy and sell cars WITHOUT registering them--dealers do it all the time. As long as you don't plan on driving it around after the plates expire, it's legal to do this as long as you don't get pulled over for something. "Undergrounders" frequently buy cheap used cars (one at a time), clean them up, and re-sell them for a small profit, all without ever registering them in their own names--the title is still in the last owner's name, and the back of it has his/her signature "signing over" the vehicle interest to someone else (the new seller). Now the current possessor can sell that car to someone else without ever having to claim formal ownership, because he/she never signed the back of the title, never turned it into the DMV for re-registration, and his/her name is nowhere on the document pertaining to the car.

Meanwhile, the latest buyer is the one who actually fills in the "buyer" info on the title back, takes everything to the DMV, and pays registration and taxes due (in personal property tax states). So the car has gone from last legal owner to next legal owner (through you) with nary a fingerprint of yours on the transaction, except to collect the profits.

To learn more about the Underground Economy, check out Welcome to the Underground Economy.