Carfax alternatives

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Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
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I found this while searching over at Slickdeals, a couple of (legitimate) alternatives to Carfax, run by the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the DOJ.

First check to see that a car you're looking at has never been reported stolen:
https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck/vincheck

Then, from the DOJ website you can follow a link to several websites that will give you basic information for $4-$6 such as:
- Titling history
- Salvage title
- Cash for Clunkers
- Flood
- Odometer
- Rental/Taxi registration
http://www.vehiclehistory.gov/nmvtis_vehiclehistory.html

So the nearest that I can figure, these give you everything that Carfax does with the exception of accident history, for a fraction of the price. Carfax has been going up and up in price over the years, even just last year you could get unlimited for a month for $40 (used to be $30 for the same thing), now it is 5 reports for $45. These will get you most of the way there for a fraction of the price. I know from a previous car I owned, an accident causing $6,000 in damage did not show up in the carfax, so the accident history may be of limited use.

If you're looking at multiple cars the 5/$45 carfax could still be a better deal, but if have one specific car in mind, I'd think these are more cost effective.

Is this stickyable? :)
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,402
8,574
126
i used autocheck. their unlimited is not really unlimited. after something like 20 VINs they send you threatening email stating that they will deem your account commercial rather than an individual car buyer. i'd been looking up the VIN of every car i was interested before contacting the seller.
 

T2urtle

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2004
3,432
3
81
yea i would put autocheck a couple levels above carfax. But i dont know if there is better. Most GOOD dealerships will offer both autocheck and carfax. Smaller shops use carfax only because they know its not great at catching accidents and updating all the time. Each company does their own thing with accident information. Carfax is now known to be pretty crappy, its better then nothing but barely.

General consumers trust it like the bible but most of us on here know better.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
These are still much cheaper than an Autocheck report, so they may work for a lot of people. Knowing if something has a salvage title or was used as a taxi or rental car is very important. For $5 it's a no brainer.
 
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SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
Even so, carfax and the like do not report everything. The reports on my one car I had were all completely clean, but there was damage on the front left corner from a deer impact. Then I found later that it had been hit once before and fixed, as the hood had been repainted, the fender repainted (both confirmed by a body shop), a few telltale bent and repaired brackets, and the entire passenger door had been replaced as the paint was a different color underneath when the door got scratched D:
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Even so, carfax and the like do not report everything. The reports on my one car I had were all completely clean, but there was damage on the front left corner from a deer impact. Then I found later that it had been hit once before and fixed, as the hood had been repainted, the fender repainted (both confirmed by a body shop), a few telltale bent and repaired brackets, and the entire passenger door had been replaced as the paint was a different color underneath when the door got scratched D:

There was probably no accident report filed with the state, so there would be nothing for carfax to find. Unless body shops are reporting every car that they do body work on...which I really, really doubt.
 

Kaervak

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
8,460
2
81
There was probably no accident report filed with the state, so there would be nothing for carfax to find. Unless body shops are reporting every car that they do body work on...which I really, really doubt.

Yep, unless the accident is reported it won't show on the Carfax. My car has one accident in it's history, yet the Carfax comes back as clean.
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
23
81
i used autocheck. their unlimited is not really unlimited. after something like 20 VINs they send you threatening email stating that they will deem your account commercial rather than an individual car buyer. i'd been looking up the VIN of every car i was interested before contacting the seller.

Odd.. I was using Autocheck Nov-Dec and must have run over 60 reports without getting an e-mail. Every car I did a check on was either a Miata or an S2000.
 

WhoBeDaPlaya

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2000
7,415
404
126
i used autocheck. their unlimited is not really unlimited. after something like 20 VINs they send you threatening email stating that they will deem your account commercial rather than an individual car buyer. i'd been looking up the VIN of every car i was interested before contacting the seller.
Same. You'd think those blockheads would realize that I was looking up VINs for the same year and model car! :|
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,402
8,574
126
Odd.. I was using Autocheck Nov-Dec and must have run over 60 reports without getting an e-mail. Every car I did a check on was either a Miata or an S2000.

maybe they changed their policy, i used it a little over 2 years ago

:shrug:
 

thescreensavers

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2005
9,916
2
81
OP I tried one of the cheap ones, 12 buck or w/e on my car to see, and it just told me when the car was registered and thats it. I was pissed it showed nothing else.

Buy both Carfax and Autocheck imo.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
OP I tried one of the cheap ones, 12 buck or w/e on my car to see, and it just told me when the car was registered and thats it. I was pissed it showed nothing else.

Buy both Carfax and Autocheck imo.

Well, these ones are cheaper than 12 bucks and tell you more, so I see no reason to discredit everything across the board that isn't Carfax or Autocheck.
 

Harlan211

Junior Member
Apr 9, 2014
7
0
0
I used VinAudit.com and for me this company is the best alternative to carfax. They have existing coupons online and got my report for only $5.

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Hi,

Welcome to AnandTech Forums. I locked the thread because the previous reply was over three years ago.

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