Shoppers unknowingly buying cars under recall

Whether you drive a Toyota or not, your car may be under recall and you may not even know it.

It's an important question. Every day, motorists climb into dangerous cars that have been recalled but not fixed. There's a good chance you are one of them.

For the longest time, the Toyota recall was a concern for Toyota, its dealerships, and the consumers who drove their cars.

"It's a worry to me and I am hoping the situation will be resolved," says.

Those who look out for auto consumers were on Toyota's back.

"They are in shock," Sylvia Marino with Edmunds.com recently said. "They are concerned and as days wear on, they are becoming angry."

But now, weeks have gone by and that anger aimed at Toyota is morphing into concern for all cars and with good reason. Carfax, the vehicle history report company, says last year at least 1.4 million cars that were recalled but not repaired changed hands.

"After these Toyota recalls, my wife called me and said, 'Is our mini-van recalled too?' I hear that from everyone these days. Recall, recall, recall& It is on the tip of every tongue," Trevor Traina says.

Traina gets those questions because he is founder and chairman of San Francisco-based Driverside.com, a website dedicated to car owners. He says many owners never receive notification of a recall because they move or aren't the original owner.

"Cars are complicated and there is a responsibility in being a car owner, and you should know if there is a recall on your car," he says.

Driverside.com makes it easy to look up recalls. Punch in the car's basic information including make, model and year. Carfax offers a similar for free too. You can also go directly to the government recall website, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If you want to make it really easy sign up with Driverside.com and the website will send you an email if your car is under recall.

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auto industry, product recalls, toyota, 7 on your side, michael finney

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