Buying a used car in Miami: title, history and recall checks

Before you pay for a used car in Miami, run five checks: the brand on the Florida title, the vehicle history on NMVTIS, open recalls by VIN, the Buyers Guide on the window, and how your payment will be reported. Each one takes minutes, and each one has an official source. This guide walks through them in the order you'd use them at the dealer.

What the brand on a Florida title means

Florida prints part of a car's history on the title itself. The brands to know, from FLHSMV procedure TL-37:

• Salvage Rebuildable — since January 1990, the brand on a Florida title for a vehicle that was declared a total loss.
• Rebuilt — a title that reads “rebuilt and may have previously been declared a total loss vehicle due to damage”.
• Flood Damaged — an out-of-state “Water/Flood Damage” brand carries forward to the Florida title as “Flood Damaged” for the life of the vehicle.
• Certificate of Destruction — the vehicle is “good only for parts or scrap”.

A brand changes what you're buying, not only what you pay. Ask to see the title before any money moves.

What “salvage” means in Florida

Under Fla. Stat. 319.30, salvage means a total loss. A vehicle is a total loss when an insurer pays the owner to replace it, or, if it was uninsured, when the cost of repair is 80% or more of the cost of replacing it with one of like kind and quality. The owner or insurer must surrender the title within 72 hours, and the insurer must report the total loss to NMVTIS. That report is why the next check matters.

Pull the NMVTIS history

NMVTIS is the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, run by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. A report shows the current title information, the brand history (junk, salvage, flood), the latest reported odometer reading, some theft data, total-loss reports from insurers, and reports from junk and salvage yards. Reports are sold through the NMVTIS site.

Two limits. NMVTIS is not the full state title record, and not every state reports to it, so a clean report can be a false negative. Treat it as one check, not the only one.

Odometer: who discloses what

On a Florida title transaction, both the buyer and the seller acknowledge the odometer disclosure. The federal rule for transfers from 2021 on: vehicles of model year 2011 and newer need an odometer disclosure until they are 20 years old (a 2011 car becomes exempt on Jan 1 2031); older model years keep the old 10-year exemption. Compare the reading on the title with the dash and with the NMVTIS report.

Check open recalls by VIN

Enter the 17-character VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup. It's free and shows open safety recalls for that exact car. Write down any open recall and ask who will have it repaired, and when.

Read the Buyers Guide on the window

Federal law requires a dealer to display the FTC Buyers Guide on every used car it offers. The Guide states whether the car is sold “as is” or with a warranty, and the warranty terms if there is one. If the sale is conducted in Spanish, ask for the Spanish-language Guide; the English Guide itself tells you to. Keep the Guide with your paperwork.

Have the car inspected

Every car on Xuma's cars for sale page is inspected and documented. Xuma has its own mechanic and inspectors, and delivers anywhere in the U.S. If you're buying elsewhere, arrange an independent inspection before you pay, and ask for the service records.

Paying in cash: Form 8300

If you pay a dealer more than $10,000 in cash, in one transaction or in related transactions (payments within 24 hours count as related), the dealer must file IRS Form 8300. Cashier's checks of $10,000 or less count as cash for this purpose unless they are loan proceeds; wire transfers, cards and ACH payments do not. The dealer sends you a written statement by Jan 31 of the following year. Form 8300 is a report to the IRS, not a tax or a fee.

Rules change; check the official source or ask a tax adviser before you rely on a figure here.

Where to start

Browse cars for sale. Each listing carries the VIN, the full specs and the photos, so you can run these checks before you call. Don't see the exact car? Build your car and we'll find it; you approve each car we send. For financing, tell us what you need and we'll help arrange it: ask about financing.