Vehicle History Reports

A vehicle history report is the medical chart of a used car: every state where it's been titled, every reported accident, every odometer reading captured during routine service, every recall, and every flag posted by an insurance company that totaled the car at some point. Pulling one before you commit to a used purchase is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

The three main sources

Carfax

Carfax is the best-known commercial provider. Reports cost about $40 single, $60 for three reports, $100 for unlimited reports for 60 days. Carfax has the deepest dealer network and the strongest brand recognition; many independent and franchised dealers include a free Carfax with each used vehicle for sale. The data sources include state DMVs, police accident reports, service records from a partner network of 100,000+ shops, and Carfax-only sources like rental-fleet history.

AutoCheck

AutoCheck is owned by Experian and sells reports at a slightly lower price (about $30 single, $50 for 25 reports). AutoCheck's strength is auction-house data: virtually every used car that passes through a dealer auction generates an AutoCheck record. Combined coverage between Carfax and AutoCheck is consistently better than either alone, but most buyers use one or the other.

NMVTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information System)

NMVTIS is a federal database operated by the U.S. Department of Justice that aggregates state DMV title data. It's not a commercial product; it's the regulatory backstop. NMVTIS-approved reports are sold by various third-party providers for $2-$10 and reveal title brands (salvage, flood, junk), prior odometer readings reported to a state DMV, and most theft records. NMVTIS doesn't include service records, accident reports, or rental history — for those you still need Carfax or AutoCheck.

The smart play is to pull both an NMVTIS report (for title and brand verification) and a Carfax or AutoCheck (for service and accident history). Total cost: under $50, with substantially better coverage than either alone.

Title brands to walk away from

If any of these appears on a report, treat it as a deal-breaker unless you're specifically shopping branded titles at a steep discount:

• Flood — water-damaged vehicles. Permanent reliability and electrical problems are nearly guaranteed.
• Salvage — declared a total loss by an insurer. Can be acceptable at the right price, but requires inspection by a qualified collision specialist.
• Rebuilt — formerly salvage, now repaired and re-titled. Often saleable but always at significant discount and with insurance complications.
• Junk — declared mechanically irreparable. Can never legally return to public roads.
• Buyback / lemon law — manufacturer repurchased due to repeated defects. Usually still drivable, but check the specific defect history.
• Odometer rollback — current mileage less than a previously reported reading. Federal crime; walk away regardless of price.

Reading between the lines

A clean Carfax doesn't guarantee a clean car. The reports rely on data being reported in the first place — accidents fixed at independent body shops or paid out-of-pocket may never appear. Common gaps:

• Minor accidents repaired without an insurance claim.
• Service performed at independent shops not in the report's network.
• Out-of-state title brands that took weeks to flow into the federal database.
• Accidents in jurisdictions that don't routinely share police-report data.

This is why we still recommend a pre-purchase inspection (see used car buyer's guide) regardless of how clean the history looks. The $150 mechanic visit catches the things the database missed.

Free alternatives

The federal NHTSA recall database is free and reveals open safety recalls — useful even when you're not buying. The VIN decoder on this site is also free and confirms the basic vehicle facts (make, model year, plant, engine) match what the seller claims. Neither replaces a paid history report, but both are useful first checks.