VIN Check, the the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is giving the public a free check to see if a used car has been reported as stolen, but not recovered, or has been reported as a salvage vehicle

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

You might want to see before buying a car if it was water damaged in a flood, or a hurricane. Some have been, and then shipped far from the disaster zone to unsuspecting car buyers... it's legal to buy and sell water damaged cars, but it is against the law to sell a water-damaged car without letting the buyer know.

Good info, sifted from a post on http://www.norcalminis.com/