When a person decides to purchase a car, they usually have the option of either buying a new car or a used car. Most often, buying a used car is the preferred option since the right used car can save lots of money. How do we know which used vehicle is actually a good and reliable one? How do we determine which is the right vehicle for us? This is one question that disturbs a lot of people when trying to make a decision.
The answer is very simple. Get a vehicle history report. A vehicle history report is a document that provides information about the history of a vehicle. Was the vehicle involved in an accident? Was the vehicle rebuilt? Are there serious defects and damages affecting the car? Is the odometer reading accurate? These are some of the questions that a vehicle history report answers.
You may be wondering: why should I get a vehicle history report? With a vehicle history report, you can gain access to the accident history, damage history, auction and sales history, ownership history, odometer readings, vehicle specifications, theft records, title brand information, open recalls, lien and loan records, and more. These are some of the details available to a vehicle owner or buyer through a vehicle history report.
Getting a vehicle history report is super easy since there are several companies offering vehicle history reports to consumers. Some are free sites, and some are paid. Most often, paid sites are preferred since they have quite a number of features and lots of details to offer. In this article, we will be exploring the top 7 sites that offer vehicle history reports with detailed reports.
Top 7 sites that offer vehicle history reports
Here are the top 7 sites that offer vehicle history reports that are detailed and comprehensive.
- Detailed Vehicle History
- Instant VIN Reports
- Vehicles Report
- Carfax
- CarVertical
- AutoCheck
- EpicVIN
These are the top-recommended sites that offer great value for consumers. Most of these sites offer free VIN checks and the opportunity to confirm vehicle specifications, market value, and other vehicle information for free. Creating a report, however, has a charge, which is generally not high.
1. Detailed Vehicle History (DVH)
The first on our list of the best vehicle history report websites is Detailed Vehicle History. This company is rated 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot and delivers excellent vehicle history reports with detailed historical records. When you think of concise, detailed, and comprehensive, you should think of Detailed Vehicle History. Some of the records you can find on a detailed report from Detailed Vehicle History include the following: theft records, auction history and images, sales history, ownership history, service and maintenance history, vehicle specifications, open recalls, lien and loan information, lease history, accident and damage history, and more.
Not only is Detailed Vehicle History a site that offers vehicle history reports with detailed reports for regular cars, but it also provides vehicle history reports for classic cars. Only a handful of sites can offer this service, and Detailed Vehicle History does it so well. If your vehicle was manufactured before 1980 with a VIN number that is composed of less than 17 digits, then with Detailed Vehicle History, you can access the records of your vehicle at a price that is 33% cheaper than Carfax.
What's more, the company provides a window sticker lookup tool. They provide window stickers, also known as Monroney stickers or build sheets, and here they also provide support for classic window stickers. What is more, with their offline VIN decoding app (Android & iOS) and high-quality OCR technology, you can get a VIN check anywhere with a VIN number or a US license plate number.
2. Instant VIN Reports
Instant VIN Reports is a very reliable site for used car vehicle history report generation. They have a Trustpilot rating of 4.6 out of 5 and are known for their high-quality records and accuracy. Instant VIN reports allow a consumer to run a VIN check and examine the vehicle’s condition before generating a vehicle history report with detailed information.
The information provided by Instant VIN Reports in their vehicle history reports includes the market value, vehicle specification, features, and options, auction records with distinct photos, sales history, market analysis, depreciation analysis, safety recalls, accident and damage history, theft records, ownership history, odometer readings, service and maintenance history, salvage or rebuilt titles, and more.
Instant VIN reports provide useful information that allows buyers to make informed decisions and purchase dependable vehicles. They also offer other products and services such as license plate lookup, window sticker generation, classic VIN decoding, classic vehicle history, classic window sticker generation, and more. They offer 24-hour customer service and live chats in case you need any assistance.
3. Premium VIN
With unlimited access to government databases, Premium VIN is one of the best vehicle history report websites, especially if you are in need of a vehicle accident history report. Premium VIN is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot and efficiently tracks claims with ease on your vehicle while providing the loan or lien status of your vehicle. Not just that, Premium VIN has continued to stand out in terms of reliability and dependability in the records covered in their reports. Do you want to uncover the backstory of your vehicle and get a comprehensive report? Then Premium VIN can assist you with that.
Premium VIN provides detailed reports and premium information from trustworthy government databases like the NMVTIS, DMV, and others. Their reports contain auction records with photos, technical specification information, auction lemon or manufacturer information, buyback record information, abandoned title record information, loan or lien record(s) information, repossessed record information, theft records, accident history, damage records, insurance history, odometer verification, hail damage check, fire damage check, and more.
4. Carfax
Carfax is a quite popular vehicle history report provider that provides vehicle history reports. They are known for being one of the first in the business and are still in it now. Carfax has access to a wide range of databases and covers cars from the US and Canada. They just cover regular cars and not classic vehicles. Carfax has the name and popularity but is rated 1.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
Carfax reports are also on the expensive side and are less detailed and comprehensive than the top three on our list, but they do provide information on accident histories, ownership histories, service histories, mileage records, etc.
5. CarVertical
CarVertical is one of the top 7 sites that offer vehicle history reports to consumers and provides vital and fundamental information with 99% accuracy. CarVertical is rated 3.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot, and they provide service histories, damage histories, mileage readings, and others.
Additionally, a car is given a score between 1 and 10 using the Carvertical scoring system. The basis for this ranking is the vehicle's three primary characteristics: damage details, mileage records, and model defects. This rating method may be quite beneficial for individuals who have a wide selection of vehicles to pick from. You can simply compare the automotive evaluations to reach a fair judgment and select the most reliable vehicle.
6. AutoCheck
AutoCheck, rated 3.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot, has been fair competition for Carfax in terms of popularity for some time now and is one of the sites that offers vehicle history reports quite cheaper than Carfax. One thing that makes AutoCheck stand out is that with AutoCheck, buyers can actually carry out vehicle comparisons and compare the histories of several vehicles side-by-side. With this offer, you are sure to get the best vehicle and order a full vehicle history report.
Additionally, they provide a service called ‘Score’ that rates vehicles on a scale of 1 to 100 depending on their history and current condition, making it simpler for customers to see a vehicle's overall quality and condition at a glance. They provide various membership options, and you can select the best one for yourself.
7. EpicVIN
EpicVIN is another reliable provider of used car vehicle history reports. EpicVIN offers VIN check services for used cars and light trucks manufactured after 1989. This suggests that EpicVIN does not do VIN checks or VIN decoding for classic vehicles and antique cars. Some of the details that may be found in a vehicle history report from EpicVIN include odometer readings, title information, junk, salvage, or rebuilt title information, flood damage histories, and more.
How to Run a Vehicle History Report?
A vehicle history report is generated based on information provided by different sources, such as governmental offices, manufacturer information, insurance companies, and auctions, among others. This information has proven to be reliable when consumers visit dealerships to purchase used vehicles. With a vehicle history report, you can gain access to a vehicle’s ownership information, odometer readings, accident records, damage records, theft records, service and maintenance records, vehicle specifications, and more.
The easiest way to run a vehicle history report is to visit one of the sites that offer vehicle history reports. This article has shown the best vehicle history report websites in the market: Detailed Vehicle History, Instant VIN Reports, Premium VIN, CARFAX, CarVertical, AutoCheck, and EpicVIN. With any of these websites and a few steps, you can get a vehicle history report with detailed reports and records on any vehicle in order to decide which is the best fit for you. Let’s now see how to do this.
How to Get a Used Car Vehicle History Report?
The steps for obtaining a detailed used car vehicle history report are as follows:
- Get your VIN number.
- Visit the website of your choice.
- Navigate to the VIN check page.
- Provide your VIN.
- Gain access to the requested vehicle history report.
These are the few steps to follow when you want to run a vehicle history report. If you have a classic vehicle on your hands or are interested in getting one, and would like to generate a used car vehicle history report, the best vehicle history report websites to visit would be Detailed Vehicle History, Premium VIN, and Instant VIN Reports.