Best VIN decoders 2023

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What is a VIN decoder?

Basically, VIN decoder is a software to decode the car data that has been encoded at the factory. However, top VIN decoders nowadays provide much more services.

From manufacturing day to the issue of salvage title or scrapping, everything that happens to the particular vehicle is being recorded in various registries and databases using the VIN number. So, all this data can be found and conveyed via a car history report generated by quality VIN decoder.

What Are the Benefits of VIN Decoder Data?

Frankly speaking, VIN check can tell everything that has ever been documented about the vehicle.

• Basic facts: make, model, production country and date, engine power, body, fuel or transmission type, etc.
• Vehicle’s history: genuine mileage, if it had any accidents, if it had been stolen, information about technical inspections or previous owners, registration countries, etc.
• Photos from various periods.
• Information about the model: equipment installed in the factory, common model bugs, etc.
• Some VIN decoders offer their unique features, for example, vehicle’s market price evaluation.

How Does VIN Decoder Help Me to Buy a Car?

Used car sellers often don’t want to disclose important facts to the buyers. For example, it’s estimated that at least 30–50% second-hand cars are being sold with odometer fraud. In the USA, 1 of 6 used cars listed for sale has been in an accident.

Lots of defects or bugs aren’t easy to notice when test-driving or visually inspecting the car. Moreover, many important details you probably wouldn’t be able to find without dedicating long hours for research. There are some things you wouldn’t find at all unless you’re a trained expert.

Meanwhile, VIN decoder can provide detailed information almost instantly and reveal what seller might want to hide from you: clocked mileage, concealed accidents, hidden bugs, etc.

Free or Paid VIN Decoder?

From a consumer perspective, there are two types of car history reports: free (in most cases give only basic data) and paid ones (include entire vehicle’s history and unique features). Free reports often tell only basic facts which you can see in the ad. Meanwhile, paid vehicle history reports can provide with the full available data which might be crucial for your decision whether to buy this vehicle.

Is VIN Decoder Useful for My Business?

There can be two answers, and both are YES! If you work in the car reselling business, you definitely need to know detailed information about the vehicles you’re buying. VIN checks often offer special conditions for B2B clients.

On the other hand, if you are a car seller, showing a vehicle history report builds trust in potential buyers eyes.

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carVertical – the most progressive VIN decoder

A very promising market player carVertical brings fresh ideas and new dynamics to the world of VIN decoders. Like all other major decoders, the platform provides full-scale vehicle history reports, including genuine mileage, accidents or robbery history, NMVTIS data and other crucial information from the U.S. and Europe. Moreover, carVertical walks an extra mile implementing the newest technologies to gather, process, and verify data.

carVertical claims to devote scrupulous attention to data-quality. The company uses artificial intelligence to evaluate the quality of the data and blockchain to prevent faking the reports. Also, the platform has developed the universal car data standard for the whole industry. According to carVertical, tests show that final vehicle history reports are 99% accurate.

In comparison with four decades old Carfax, carVertical might not prevail in USA data quantity, but their provided report could be more accurate and up-to-date, especially in Europe. Moreover, it’s more than twice cheaper and looks more user-friendly.

From our point of view, carVertical meets all the major consumer needs and is perhaps the most progressive VIN decoder at the moment.

Pros

• Uses only up-to-date data
• Has special techniques to check data quality
• Blockchain-based tamper-proof reports
• A constantly growing list of both USA and global data sources
• Less pricey than top competitors

Cons

• Relatively new VIN decoder
• Not all car damages may be included in the report
• No instant alternative options for buying more than 3 reports

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Carfax – the oldest and the biggest

By many opinions, Carfax is the world‘s leading vehicle history supplier. Indeed, Carfax relies on one of the most comprehensive databases that include over 22 billion records. If you wish to receive such car history data as odometer readings, salvage/junk title, previous fleet vehicle registration, and other significant information, Carfax should be the one to look at. Not only it provides extensive data based on many sources, but it also receives data that is typically hidden – from provincial car agencies, police and fire agencies, collision repair services, car auctions and other.

What else? Carfax draws the records about vehicles that have been manufactured after 1981, so the reporting digs deep and covers not only cars from the U.S., but from Canada and Europe as well. Naturally, you have to pay for this. Carfax is one of the most expensive VIN decoders on the market, charging from $39.99 for a single report. But the information provided is well marked and structured.

However, when checking out a used vehicle, car buyers should not depend on Carfax alone. Carfax only lists data reported to them, so consumers should not consider this report as a full accident history. Neither Carfax nor any other source is able to detect unreported accidents or show how well the vehicle was kept. Consumers can only rely on facts that were recorded and make their own conclusions.

In our opinion, Carfax is a well-developed tool that can help you receive all important information using many different sources. Thus, if the car you are looking at had a reported accident or visited a car repair center, Carfax is most likely the one not to miss it.

Pros

• Offers a wide range of detailed car reports
• Has one of the largest cross-border vehicle history databases
• Allows to access early bid rates for a limited time
• Helps to improve the used car market

Cons

• Not all car damages or accidents may be included in the report
• Service history may not be full
• Does not show how well the vehicle was kept

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VinAudit Review

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Questions & Answers

What Is VIN?

Sometimes it’s also called VIN number, VIN code or a vehicle body number. But it’s always the same VIN (short for Vehicle Identification Number), a unique code assigned to every vehicle that can be found either on its body or in the documents. From 1981, all on-road vehicles must have 17-character-long VIN, which lets to identify an exact car, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, bus, truck, trailer, etc.

What Is a Car History Report?

Vehicle’s history report is structured information provided by VIN decoders to their users. Usually, they tell all the data the VIN checking platform was able to find out from its sources.

Where Do VIN Lookups Take Information From?

It depends on the VIN checking platform. However, they often use both national, private or international institutions registries, car dealers, car auctions, insurance, leasing databases, various paid APIs, etc.