A Carfax or AutoCheck report is the first thing we check before we bid on a car in the USA or Canada. It shows what happened to the car over the years: accidents, mileage, the number of owners and how it was used. Below we explain how to read it and what you won't find in it.
How Carfax and AutoCheck differ
Both reports collect data about a car by its VIN: from motor vehicle departments, insurers, workshops, dealers and auction houses. Carfax usually has more service records, while AutoCheck knows the history of cars sold at auction better and gives the car a score compared with similar vehicles. That's why we check both when something raises doubts.
What we look at in the report
- Title status - the most important information. “Clean” means a title with no brands. “Salvage” says the insurer declared the car a total loss, and “Rebuilt” that after such a loss it was repaired and allowed back on the road. We are especially careful with “Flood” (flooded car) and “Fire” brands.
- Accidents and damage - the date, the point of impact and whether the airbags deployed. We compare this with the auction photos.
- Mileage - successive odometer readings from inspections and service visits. A reading lower than an earlier one is a warning sign.
- Number of owners and type of use - a car from a rental company or a company fleet has usually been used hard.
- States where the car was registered - cars from northern states and from Canada were driven on salted roads in winter, so we check the underbody for corrosion more closely.
- Service and recalls - regular service records are a good sign, and open recalls are worth catching up on once the car arrives.
A clean report doesn't guarantee that the car never had any damage. Repairs paid for without an insurer often don't reach any database. That's why we always read the report together with the photos and the damage description from the auction.
What the report won't show
The report describes the history, not the current technical condition. It won't tell you whether the engine runs smoothly, whether the gearbox jerks or whether a repair after old damage was done well. That information comes from the photos, the auction description and - on request - an on-site inspection by an independent assessor.
How we do it
We check the report for every car before we start bidding. If something doesn't add up, we tell you plainly - even when it means giving up on the car. You can also choose a car yourself in our car auctions from the USA catalogue and give us the LOT number or VIN, and we'll check its history.
We describe all the steps from choosing a car to delivery in the Import process from the USA and Canada.
