What a vehicle history report is
Every car built for North America has a 17-character VIN. Each time something official happens to the car, such as a registration, a title change, an insurance claim, an inspection or a sale at auction, a record can be filed against that VIN. A history report gathers those records in one document, in date order.
It does not inspect the car. It tells you what was reported about it, by whom and when.
What both reports usually show
- Title brands such as salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk or lemon
- Reported accidents and damage, sometimes with airbag deployment
- Odometer readings with dates, and warnings about a possible rollback
- Number of owners and the states or provinces where the car was registered
- Use as a personal, rental, fleet, taxi or lease car, when reported
Where Carfax is strong
Carfax gathers records from motor vehicle agencies, insurers, police reports, auctions and a wide network of repair shops in the United States and Canada. Its reports are known for their service history: oil changes, repairs and inspections, with dates and mileage, when the shop reported them.
That makes a Carfax report useful for judging how a car was looked after, not only whether it was damaged. The Carfax report page lists its sections.
Where AutoCheck is strong
AutoCheck is the history report of Experian, the credit bureau. It draws on Experian’s vehicle database and is known for its auction records, which matter for cars that passed through wholesale and salvage auctions.
Every AutoCheck report carries the AutoCheck Score: a number from the car’s history, shown next to the usual range for cars of the same year and class. It lets you compare two similar cars at a glance. The AutoCheck report page lists its sections.
Why buyers read both
Neither report is complete. Records reach each provider through different channels, so an accident can appear in one and not in the other. For a car that costs real money, many buyers read both and trust the sum of the two.
How to read a report
A few habits make a report far more useful:
- Check that the VIN on the report matches the VIN on the car and its title
- Look for gaps in the mileage or a reading lower than an earlier one
- Read the title history state by state: a brand can disappear after a move
- Treat "no records found" as missing information, not as proof of a clean car
- For salvage cars, compare the report with the auction’s damage notes and photos
Reports and auction cars
Every Copart and IAAI lot shows its VIN, which is all a history report needs. For a damaged car the report adds what the lot page cannot: earlier accidents, title brands in other states and how the mileage grew. Read with the auction data, it gives a fuller picture of the car before the sale.