Consumers who go shopping for a used car could be playing a very dangerous game. The reason? Unseen damage to the car’s frame could end up putting occupants of the vehicle at serious risk.

A car’s frame is one of the most important safety features protecting the driver and passengers in an accident. The frame is engineered to work with the car’s other safety components, such as seat belts and airbags, to provide maximum protection for all passengers. Any weakness or flaw in the frame - even a discrepancy as little as eight millimeters - can cause the vehicle to react differently than designed in an accident, endangering anyone inside the vehicle as well as others on the road.

Scam artists end up putting millions of used car buyers at risk by selling vehicles with damaged or re-welded frames and not informing them of the problem or the associated risks.

Fortunately, a damaged frame can be repaired - if it’s detected and the job is done right. An improperly repaired frame diminishes the structural integrity of the vehicle and increases the risk of serious injury in an accident. It may also hinder the vehicle’s other safety features, such as air bag deployment. Frame experts, however, use state-of-the-art laser technology to better detect defects in a car’s frame after it has been repaired. To help you protect your family, auto experts recommend the following:

• If you’re driving a car and it just doesn’t "feel right," there could be something wrong with the frame. Take it to a mechanic immediately to make sure there’s no damage you're unaware of.
• Many body shops use outdated methods for repairing cars. Pick a mechanic who uses lasers to measure a frame’s correct specs to within a single millimeter.
• Before you buy a used car, check its history. Vehicle history services such as CARFAX can help buyers get information about a used car’s past, which could reveal if it’s been in a major accident or undergone repairs. Simply enter the vehicle’s VIN and CARFAX searches its nationwide database and provides a detailed vehicle history report in seconds. You can also get CARFAX reports free from thousands of used car dealers nationwide.