How old is the car? If it's newer than 1981 and you have a friend that works in the car biz they may have a Carfax or Autocheck contract and would run it for you.
My friend worked for a car dealer back in the late 90s and so we tried Carfax on my 1990 6000 wagon. It had taken a serious hit to the front/mid passenger side sometime before I bought it but nothing showed up. It was hit hard enough to bend the floorpan and subframe and the engine pulleys, which all remains bent to this day.
