If you’re looking at buying a car, you might’ve come across the term “car title.” To someone that’s never purchased a car before, this term might sound confusing.
Thankfully, this concept is not that difficult to grasp.
Keep reading to learn what a title is. When you’re finished reading, you’ll understand titles and how they affect you if you’re going to either buy or sell a car.
Let’s begin!
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What Is a Car Title?
The whole point of a title is to highlight who is the owner of a vehicle. In a way, it’s supposed to represent an official sense of ownership, for the vehicle in question.
If you’re going to buy a car, you’ll need to fill out an application for the title. This document shows that you’re the owner of the car in question.
To make it official, this document is sent off to the relevant state. Once the state gets this application, they’ll process it and provide you with a title for the relevant car.
The good thing about a title is that it provides you with some history relating to a specific car. It should provide some evidence of everyone that’s owned the car. This is helpful if you’re buying a pre-owned car because it gives you a sense of how used the car actually is.
What’s Included on a Title?
Aside from the things we’ve covered above, there are some other details included on a title.
One important example is the “vehicle identification number,” otherwise known as a VIN. Other details also include the issue date of the title and the title number.
It also mentions the make and model of the car, as well as the model year.
Odometer Data
A vital form of information on the title is the odometer data. This will help you judge how much distance the car has traveled. If you’re thinking about buying a used car but notice some discrepancies in the odometer section, you want to be careful.
If you can, take some time to read the title of a car before you make a purchase. This’ll allow you to compare the odometer data on the title with what the dashboard shows. This all helps prevent a situation where you get scammed.
It can also have a huge impact on the value of the car. This matters if you plan on trading the car in or selling it in the near future. It’s also important if you’re interested in taking out car title loans.
Do You Understand Titles?
Car titles are something you’ll encounter when shopping for a car, whether it’s new or used. It’s important you learn about titles, so you don’t encounter any problems during the buying process.
In this post, we’ve taken a brief look at titles and how they can help you. They allow you to learn about the history of the car and also tell you how much distance the car has traveled.
Before buying a car, make an effort to verify what the salesman is saying by checking the title. This will help reduce the odds you buy a car that’s in worse shape than you originally realized.
Interested in how you can save on car insurance? Check out this post for some tips!
