Gas prices are so high that most of your budget dedicated to your car will probably be sucked up filling your tank, so now is a good time to think about going used for your next car purchase. But how can you make sure you’re not getting a lemon when purchasing a used vehicle? There are over 2.5 million cars that are wrecked in the US every year, but 1 million of those end up back on the road, sold used when they should be broken down for spare parts. One way to make sure you don't end up with one of these cars is to get the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN of the used car you are considering for purchase. Use the VIN to run a Vehicle History Report on the car to find out its history and reveal any problems the dealer may be trying to hide... or may even be unaware of. Experian Automotive, the company that runs credit checks on many Americans, offers a good one with their AutoCheck Vehicle History Report. Their Report will give you an extensive and comprehensive history report on the vehicle you are looking into, complete with a Autocheck Score, which is like a credit score rating for your car. And even if you don't find out that the car is a total lemon, you may find out problems it had in the past that the seller failed to mention... which will help you negotiate a lower price than they're offering. So make sure you run the car's VIN for a Vehicle History Report if you want to avoid a scam. And if the car seller doesn't want to give you the VIN... that's probably a red flag that the deal you think you're getting isn't a good one after all. Because if it seems like too good a deal to be true... it probably is