VIN for possible car purchase -- what can I learn from it?

I have at least five vehicles in the driveway at any one time. We rarely buy new, and often by from a wholesaler that buys large volumes of late model auction vehicles, then does as little as possible to get them on the lot. I can state for an indisputable fact that if you are walking away from a vehicle because it has new tires on it, you are passing up on a lot of potentially decent buys for no logical reason. As another poster stated, you would be amazed at how many folks drive a brand new car for 30-40K miles and don't rotate tires. Trade in's and auction cars frequently have front tires down to the wear bars and almost no wear on the rear set. So, it's pretty common for me to buy the vehicle with the condition that it gets new tires before I'll take it. OTOH, there are a lot of dealers that simply wouldn't allow a late model used car to sit on their lot with bald, never rotated tires on it.

I have never seen a used car on a lot with brand new tires. I've shopped a lot of car lots and attended a lot of auctions and never seen new tires on a used car in a car lot. Might be different where you are but in the Columbus area dealers just will not put money in a used car. They might do an oil change and top off the fluids, of course the car wash and detailing but rarely will they do anything more. If they put new tires on a car they can't sell you new tires. Also if the dealership puts new tires on the car they do not transfer the warranty (if any) to the new owner. Why would I pay an additional $500 minimum for tires with no warranty?

I would pass on a car that has nearly bald tires on the front and nearly new tires on the back on a rear wheel drive. Several things can cause that, none cheap. The front does wear faster on a front wheel drive, true. I won't buy a front wheel drive.

Well I am posting that I have seen a used car on a lot with new tires, as I bought one and it did have brand new tires on it. Was one thing that made me coming back to this vehicle that I bought.
And even the Suburban that I bought might not have had Brand new tires but they were just like new, and I put nearly 100,000 on that set that was on the Suburban when i bought it. And that Suburban at $11,500 price when I bought it, BETTER have a New Set or very close to it~! And good set of Michelins tires at that.
And that was about the only 2 vehicles that I have bought from used car lots.
The others either was one my Mom sold me, one I bought from my boss when I worked in a service station, 3 have been from friends, and well my first car a '56 Chevy my Grandma help buy on a used car lot.
But my Buick was bought at a used car lot but the guy also restored vehicles and did detailing, so he knew that a new set of tires would make that car sell better. And so far I have put on over 110,000 on a car that had 70,000 on it when I bought it. And at 70,000 yes I am sure it did need a set of tires on it~!

We are in different states and one thing I did fail to consider is that different states might have different requirements for used car sales. In Ohio the car does not have to pass a pre-licensing inspection or even any kind of inspection. In a very few limited places there might still be an emission requirement but there is no standard safety inspection required in Ohio. That might be the difference as to why used cars in Wisconsin have new tires but in Ohio the car can have bald dry-rotted tires with the cords showing and still be sold "as-is" at a car dealership. My advice does stand in Ohio.

Whole lot of opinions that don't really add up in the real world. A lot of late model "certified" programs from manufacturer's give customers a way to buy a late model used vehicle that is inspected and supposedly free of any defects after a 100+ point inspection. I can assure you that this frequently means that the dealer is putting new rubber on it. Personally, I have bought many, many used vehicles with new rubber on them. As for passing on a car with heavily worn front tires and virtually no wear on the rear, your claim that this indicates a serious issue is just ridiculous. The vast majority of newer vehicles ARE front wheel drive. If you chose not to rotate tires on a fwd, it isn't uncommon to get 2-3X the life out of the rear tires. If you chose not to rotate the tires on a fwd, it is quite common to be seeing the wear bars at 25K miles, or less, on the fronts. You state "several things can cause this". If the tires are worn evenly and the wear is consistent with the ODO mileage, the "thing causing this" is.......driving.

In a rear wheel drive that has the front tires worn down and nearly no wear on the rear you do have issues. Even wear on all 4 tires on rwd is caused by use. I said I won't buy a fwd. I don't like the way they handle in mud and ice. Some people prefer them, good for them.

Since we are dealing with somebody buying a "car" in 2011, I doubt any information on rear wheel drive cars is all that valuable. At this point there may a few extremely high dollar euro products with rear wheel drive, but the typical poster here isn't going to be shopping for a seven series BMW. As for FWD and ice, it's well documented that a FWD with a decent set of winter tires, for example Blizzaks or similar, will outperform and outbrake most vehicles, even those with studs. Given the level of performance and safety available in vehicles with things like traction control, stability control, ABS and other modern features, old school RWDs have faded for many good reasons. We have a new CRV that tracks on icy corners like they were bone dry. The same corners would leave my chevy van upside down in the ditch. Saying "some" people prefer front wheel drive cars at this point in history is a little like saying "some" people prefer indoor plumbing.

Are you saying that they can't afford $500 for a set of tires, but they can afford a new(er) car? Go figure.

Kind of like saying no one wants a vehicle with a standard transmission now. Rear wheel drive vehicles are still made and still purchased. People still prefer them, people still buy them.