04/12/2008-A PROBLEM with recalls is that owners don’t always act on them — and the next owner may suffer if the car is resold. How does a shopper know if the problem has been fixed, or even if there was a recall on the car in the first place?
Finding out is actually easy. Recalls are ordered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which posts recalls on its Web site, nhtsa.gov. Users can search the database by model. So if a buyer were looking at a 2001 Lincoln Navigator, for example, the agency site would show not only that the vehicle was recalled for a faulty cruise-control switch, but for four other problems as well.
Armed with that information, the buyer can demand proof from the seller that the problems were fixed, or have a mechanic check.
Getting information from the automakers on whether work was done to a specific vehicle is a mixed bag. On the Ford Web site, for example, users can type in a vehicle identification number to get recall information for a specific vehicle. If the site says there are no recalls, the company said that means either that there were indeed none, or that the repair had been made.
Ford said that a dealer or the company’s Customer Relationship Center at (800) 392-3673 will also provide nonowners with detailed recall information.
General Motors does not offer the information online, but owners can get recall news from the OnStar operator or from customer assistance at (800) 231-1841. Nonowners can get details on a specific car only by providing the V.I.N. to a dealer.
Toyota said nonowners can call the Customer Experience Center at (800) 331-4331 to get detailed recall information. The company said the information can also be obtained from a dealer, but at the dealer’s discretion.