Always Check Used Cars for Recalls

Sometimes, recalls don’t seem strictly necessary.

However, other times, they will save your life (or would have). Carlos Solis had purchased a used car from a dealer outside Houston, Texas. He had never received recall notifications, since it had come into his possession after the notices were sent. When he was in a traffic accident and his airbags deployed, the defect revealed itself. The airbag exploded and shot a piece of metal through Mr. Solis’s neck, killing him.

Recalls are usually mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Any dealership of that brand will perform the recall work for free. Nonetheless, used car dealers persistently do not have these recalls performed. This simple step could help save the lives of their customers, but they persist in taking the simplest, easiest — but also deadliest — route.

Click here to join a Facebook campaign to get CarMax to begin checking for recalls.

And, when you buy a used car, go to the NHTSA website and check to see if your car needs recall work done.

If it does, call a dealership and see if they have a record of the work having been performed.

Be safe and help others be safe too.