A new public database may protect American consumers, keep rolling wrecks off the highways and save lives in the process.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau is creating a free public database of vehicles declared a total loss, "or totaled," by insurers, allowing individuals to enter vehicle identification numbers, or VINs, to see if a set of wheels they want to buy has a hidden history.
The crime bureau, an organization of fraud busters funded by 1,000 of the nation's insurance companies, will begin the online service at the end of this month. When it becomes operational, it can be found at www.nicb.org. Look for a link to the organization's VINcheck system.
Unlike commercial databases that sell similar information, the crime bureau's database will have access to the internal records of hundreds of the nation's largest insurance companies and will be offering the most comprehensive information so far available, said Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the organization.
"The best part of this is that it's free," he said.
How serious is the totaled vehicle problem? Huge and growing.
Over the last five years, nearly 12 million vehicles have been totaled by the insurance industry, most of them after collisions, but also after fires and floods.
A percentage of these vehicles -- estimates from collision industry experts put it at about 30% -- are recycled into the used car market. In California, at least 7% of all the vehicles on the road are salvaged from a "total" loss.
In the best case, these cars are carefully repaired and their histories are fully disclosed to future buyers. In the worst case, an unlicensed auto body shop performs a few Mickey Mouse frame adjustments, installs a phony inoperable air bag, sprays on a nice coat of paint and then washes the title in the interstate used car auction market.
The system has long jeopardized the safety of not only the buyers of these vehicles with substandard repairs but everybody who shares the road with them. It has also put a cloud over honest body shops, which have a tough time competing against outfits that cut corners.
"Our goal is to provide as much information as possible to consumers -- at no charge -- to protect them against fraudulent used car sales and potentially deadly accidents from driving unsafe vehicles," said Robert M. Bryant, crime bureau president.
