In this post, we are going to start off by discussing a rumor floating around about free vin checks or free Carfax reports on Reddit and other popular forums.
First of all, no one is going to offer you a free Carfax on Reddit, or anywhere else.
The cheapest carfax reports available are via large dealerships that have corporate accounts, BUT they are limited to pulling reports only for vehicles that the dealership is buying, trading, or selling.
Below, I will list out all the free options for checking a vin while telling you which are actually helpful and which aren’t worth your time.
Table of Contents
Free VIN Check Sources
Here are some websites that claim to offer free VIN checks:
- National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB): This is a legitimate source that provides a basic VIN check for free, but it only shows if a vehicle has been reported as stolen or salvaged. It does not provide a comprehensive vehicle history report.
- VehicleHistory.com: This website claims to offer a free VIN check with information on recalls, safety ratings, specifications, and more. However, user reviews on Reddit suggest that the free report is very limited and you need to pay for a comprehensive report.
- VinCheck.info: This website claims to offer a free vehicle history report by entering a VIN or license plate number. Users on Reddit have had mixed experiences, with some reporting that it works and others saying it’s unreliable.
- iSeeCars: This website offers a free VIN check with up to five searches per month. The report includes accident history, market value, price analysis, and more.
- NMVIC (National Motor Vehicle Title Information System): This is a government-run database that provides information on vehicle titles, including brands like “salvage” or “junk.” However, accessing the full NMVIC report typically requires a fee. Some users have suggested contacting local police departments or DMVs to run a free NMVIC check for stolen vehicle records.
- Carfax Car Care App: By adding a VIN to the “My Garage” section of the free Carfax Car Care app, users can access some service history records for that vehicle without paying for a full Carfax report. However, this may not include information on accidents or sales history.
- Online forums and communities: Some users have reported success in obtaining free vehicle history reports by posting VIN numbers on car forums or subreddits like r/cars or r/whatcarshouldIbuy, where other members with paid subscriptions or dealer access may be willing to run the report for a small fee (typically $5-$10).
- eBay and Craigslist listings: In the past, there were sellers on eBay and Craigslist offering Carfax reports for a few dollars, but these listings have become increasingly rare due to Carfax’s efforts to shut down unauthorized resellers.
Cheap Vin Check Options:
- VinSmart– VinSmart offers a single report for only $9.95, 3 reports for $19.95, and 6 reports for $30.00. Their reports are linked to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) for damage, registration, and title history and also to JD Power for vehicle pricing insights. Here is a sample report.
Relevant Articles To Read:
- Carfax Review
- Carfax Vs. AutoCheck
- 4 Major Problems With The Carfax Buyback Guarantee
- How To Read A Carfax
Getting a Free Carfax Report
Carfax is one of the most popular and trusted sources for vehicle history reports, but their reports typically cost money. However, there are a few ways to potentially get a free Carfax report:
- Used Car Listings: Some online used car listings, such as those on Cars.com and AutoTrader, may include a free Carfax report for certain vehicles.
- Dealer Websites: Many car dealerships offer free Carfax reports on their websites for the vehicles they have listed.
- Private Sellers: If you’re considering a vehicle from a private seller, you can ask them for the Carfax report. However, they may not have it or be reluctant to share it.
- Carfax Hacks: Some users on Reddit have claimed to find ways to get free Carfax reports by manipulating URLs or using specific VINs. However, these methods are not guaranteed to work and may be considered unethical or illegal.
It’s important to note that while these free sources can provide some useful information, they may not be as comprehensive or reliable as a paid Carfax report.
Additionally, some users on Reddit have reported issues with the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by these free services.
Free Vin Check Hack
After doing some research, I was able to find a website you may or may not have seen before: Iseecars.com
On this particular Used Card Website you will find a tool on the top tab titled “Vin Lookup“. Once there, you enter the vin to the car you wish to research out out will pop a report (I have provided a sample below).
In this report, all of the items you see listed will actually be clickable, and if there is a Free Carfax available, you can actually click it, and the full Carfax will open right up!
What’s The Catch?
This company isn’t actually pulling a free carfax report for you; they are simply searching for and providing copies of Carfax reports a dealer pulled and published on their website.
The potential problem: Because they are pulling an old report, the information or data might be out of date, which is important if you ever need to claim the Carfax Buyback Guarentee.
Additionally, although the rest of the report does offer a good amount of relevant information (Including links to more free information), some of the more important factors are not reliable.
The most shining example is going to be Market Value. For the truck you see above, this report says the market value is 23,800.
Although that number is on the high side of average retail value, an Autocheck Used Car Price Analysis would have told you that the Dealers are paying no more than 20k for this truck at the Auction.
Verdict:
It’s worth using but shouldn’t be your last stop.
Free “Vehicle History” Check
The topic of getting a free vehicle history check on Reddit and YouTube wasn’t so much about free Carfax reports or Autocheck reports, it was about a website that created a free tool for vehicle history checks (Linked above). Obviously, I had to try this out because I am either going to send you there or let you know you would be wasting your time.
Free Carfax Hack
Hack A Free Carfax Report
So I was doing some research on Carfax reports to create some content for our young automotive startup and this search term “Carfax Hack” kept showing up. I decided to dig a little deeper clicking on every link and trick I was able to find on Googles page one.
What did I find?
Is There A Free Carfax Hack?
No, there is no Free Carfax Hack. Most of the posts are old, one being 9 years old, and much of the “Hacks” are based on weak points that have long sense been cleaned up by Carfax.
Free Carfax Alternatives
Your best bet for a Carfax Alternative is still to get these reports from dealers or their listings online if they use sites like Cars.com.
If you are shopping privately, you are out of luck, but considering you are probably saving a lot, especially for most people who cheat the sales taxes, the 49.99 isn’t that bad of a deal.
Does Carfax Cost Money
Absolutely! The carfax cost breakdown is as follows:
Based on the search results, here is the pricing structure for Carfax vehicle history reports:
Single Carfax Report:
- $44.99 for one report
Multiple Reports:
- $64.99 for 3 reports
- $99.99 for 5 reports
The search results indicate that Carfax is one of the more expensive options compared to competitors like AutoCheck from Experian:
AutoCheck Pricing:
- $24.99 for a single report
- $49.99 for 5 reports valid for 21 days
Some key points about Carfax pricing:
- Carfax offers a “history-based value” that provides a VIN-specific price for every used car based on its history details like accidents, service records, etc. This value is included in the report cost.
- The reports contain detailed information going back to 1981 when standardized 17-digit VINs were introduced. Carfax claims to have billions of records from over 100,000 sources.
- While more expensive than some competitors, Carfax is often cited as providing the most comprehensive vehicle history details, especially on maintenance records.
- Prices can sometimes be lower if Carfax is running promotions or bundled package deals.
So in summary, a single Carfax report is $44.99, with discounted pricing available for purchasing multiple reports upfront, but it tends to be one of the pricier options compared to competitors’ vehicle history reports.
Is It Safe To Give Someone Your Vehicle Vin Number
Many Car Buyers are worried that it isn’t safe to give someone your Vehicles Vin number and that you could compromise your personal information by doing so.
But the truth is that your personal information isn’t attached to your VIN number like it is to your license plate, so if someone asks to check your vehicle’s history report, you can be confident that the vehicles history is all they will see.
What Does A Carfax Show You?
A Carfax will show you a vehicle’s history as it has been reported across these categories:
- If a Title Is Branded or Salvage
- If a Vehicle was a Fleet Vehicle
- If a Vehicle was a Rental
- Last Recorded Odometer Reading
- Number of Owners
- Number of Accidents
- The severity of any Damage (Not Always)
- If a vehicle is reported Stolen
- If a vehicle has a Lien
And many more specifics that can be found here at the Carfax website.
Conclusion on Free Vehicle History Reports
Not much in the Automotive industry is actually free, so always be prepared for running into a lead capture or contact information form, at the least, when someone promises you anything for nothing (Yes, even us).
As of now, there is nowhere you can actually go and receive a full Carfax or Autocheck report for free, although it is possible to gather most of that information from other sources if you know where to look.
Sources For This Article
- https://support.carfax.com/article/can-i-get-free-carfax-vehicle-history-reports/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/whatcarshouldIbuy/comments/zw945s/best_website_to_get_a_free_vin_check/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/whatcarshouldIbuy/comments/134j9f4/any_free_vin_check_website_available/
- https://epicvin.com/
- https://www.cars.com/articles/how-do-i-get-a-free-carfax-report-420848/
