Used vehicles in San Antonio!

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:21:26 -0600

Did you recently purchase a new or used car in San Antonio or in Texas. Did that car suddenly start driving "funny"? Did the steering or brakes suddenly fail or lock up for not apparent reason? Did the air bag deploy as you were driving down the street? It could be that your car has suffered prior damage that you did not know about or were not told about at the time of the sale.

Prior to your purchase, did you think about getting a car history to see where that car has been and what has it been doing. Don't get me wrong, these things can happen to a new car, but what if you were sold a car that had been in an accident, flood, or fire. What if your accident was caused because of damage from a prior accident? Did you sustain an injury or did a family member sustain a major injury?

Before now, a buyer would have to pay an online service twenty to thirty dollars for that information. And, in this economy, that is a good "chunk" of change.

But, there is good news for the people in San Antonio and other parts of Texas and Bexar County. The Department of Justice has just gone online with its Auto Fraud Database. It is the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Texas is one of the 73% of the states that are participating in this program.

The program will give consumers access to important information about a vehicle including vehicle brand history, accidents, odometer data, number of owners, and full title history. Currently, the database is incomplete because insurance companies and some states have not reported all the information, but that will change by 2010.

The bad news is that the program is not free but the cost should be considerably less than other commercial companies providing the same service. The NMVTIS information is currently accessible through third-party, fee-for-service web sites. The NMVTIS site provides a current list of the third parties providing this service.

Tire Cases: A Growing Concern in San Antonio?

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:54:11 -0600

Do you know how old you are?

Most people can tell you their age and probably the month and year they were born. My grandchildren can tell me their age. However, can you tell me how old your tires are? Most people cannot.

Tire aging is becoming a growing concern in San Antonio as well as other areas of Texas. The age of a tire can play a role in a catastrophic failure that can cause vehicle rollover and major injuries to occupants of a vehicle.

The tire industry has known about this problem for decades. Have they warned you? Maybe. Look in the owner’s manual that came with your car. Maybe buried deep in the hundreds of pages of that manual you will find the warning. Studies show a rise in tire failure once the tire becomes six years old. But, even as late as 2005, tire manufacturers were telling everyone to replace all tires after ten years.

How about that! Tire failure starts increasing at six years but most manufacturers say you should replace all tires once they are 10 years old. What does a driver do during the four years the tire is deteriorating at our current highway speeds on the hot pavements of the streets and highways of San Antonio, Texas? I guess drivers and the passengers should start praying.

So, how do you know the age of your tire? Every tire comes with a Tire Identification Number (TIN). The TIN is a 10 or 11 alphanumeric characters that the last three or four digits identify the week and year of it manufacture, in other words, its birthday. If the last four digits of your TIN are 0202, your tire was born on the second week of 2002. Be careful, because this 11-digit number was only added in 2000. Before 2000, there were only 10 digits. So, if the last three digits were 029, your tire’s birthday was the second week of 1999 or is it 1989. You cannot tell.

San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Used vehicles in San Antonio!

Tire Cases: A Growing Concern in San Antonio?