If you’re short on money, maybe you shouldn’t rush the purchase in that case? Maybe there are car pickers who don’t charge too much for their services. Or maybe there are some specialists from car centers. Basically, look for other options. As for checks: there’s the VIN check option, I recommend the FAXVIN service. Reports here are paid, but have the most complete data. But I wouldn’t risk buying a car without some kind of helper. You could easily miss something that a specialist would notice.