CarFax Vs. AutoCheck: The Best Vehicle History Report of 2022
Online vehicle history reports are becoming increasingly popular with buyers looking to make an informed decision about a purchase.
There are many companies that offer these reports. However, they are not all created equally. In this article, we’ll take a look at two of the most popular and best vehicle history reports available in 2022 and review the features each offers.
Whether you’re buying your first car or just want to make sure you’re getting a good deal on your current vehicle, a vehicle history report is an essential tool. So without further ado, let’s get started!
This is the Best Vehicle History Report for 2022
1. CarFax Vehicle History Report
CarFax has the most comprehensive vehicle history reports of the two. However, you will need to decide for yourself based on what we have provided. If you were to use a single word to describe a Carfax car history report, it would probably be “thorough” or perhaps “comprehensive.”
Carfax uses details on vehicles from its vast network of 100,000 data sources for each report. This includes motor vehicle agencies as well as auction houses, law enforcement and insurance companies.
Here’s what a Carfax report includes:
- Check if the salvage title is on the vehicle
- Accidents or other damages in the past
- Documents of service
- Recalls
- Problems with the Odometer
- Former owners
- Vehicles used previously (personally, commercially, etc.).
- And more…
You can see that it is a very thorough reporting indeed, and the main advantage that Carfax reports have over Autocheck reports is that they usually include more detailed information, especially about a vehicle’s maintenance history. One other key advantage, however, is what they call the “Buyback Guarantee.” This is something that AutoCheck does not offer.
Carfax's Buyback Guarantee program promises to buy your vehicle from you if it has title problems. Although there are other conditions attached, this is an excellent example of the quality and accuracy Carfax reports. They’re willing to stake their own money on the report you get being comprehensive and accurate.
Carfax VIN Lookup Pricing
If you use Carfax, you’ll pay the following fees for the reports themselves:
- A single report costs $39.99
- Three reports for $59.99
- 99.99 USD for 6 Reports
Carfax Weaknesses
Carfax reports have certain limitations, regardless of how high-end or expensive they may appear in price or content.
Carfax might not have all the information. Regardless of how thorough they are, there is certain information that even Carfax can’t gain access to. For example, if the vehicle's seller has been in one or more minor accidents, but they have managed to fix the problem themselves without having to report the incident to their insurance company, information about these incidents is not available on the record. Carfax will only accept information on file.
The result of this is that if you were to buy a used car in a major city where some official group, be they insurance provider or law enforcement, is much more likely to pick up on and record any kind of incident, the same can’t be said for small towns and rural areas. Carfax can't get any information if it isn't part of the public records.
The cost difference can be huge. Carfax reports cost more than AutoCheck, as we've seen. The most striking thing is the number of reports that $99.99 can buy. It’s not just a few reports in difference, but hundreds!
2. AutoCheck Vehicle History Report
AutoCheck can be compared to Carfax reports in many ways, although it is cheaper on the outside. It uses many of the same sources to get the information that goes into the reports, but there is one key area missing from AutoCheck, and that’s maintenance and service history.
A Carfax report does not include information about severe accidents or salvage titles. An AutoCheck report can also provide this type of information. AutoCheck's unique scoring system is another unique aspect. AutoCheck assigns each vehicle a score based on the information from its vehicle history report. AutoCheck scores are not just numbers. Each vehicle is assigned an AutoCheck score along with a range of recommended options.
For instance, if you’re looking to buy a Chevy Corvette, then you could get AutoCheck reports on a handful of Corvette models you were looking at. Maybe all scores in the upper 80s and that makes you feel great. The highest score is 89, and 85 is the lowest. It sounds good. AutoCheck will also give you the range of recommended scores for each model. So, in the case of whatever kind of Corvette you’re looking at, they may recommend that you only favor cars with a score of 90 or more. Your 80-something score suddenly has new meaning.
Pricing is another key advantage of AutoCheck reports. Already, we've shown how much more AutoCheck report you can obtain for the cost of Carfax. You can compare multiple vehicles quickly and easily.
AutoCheck Pricing
AutoCheck can be significantly less expensive than Carfax when you buy multiple reports. If you’re a very picky buyer and it turns out that you have your eye on 300 different cars, then AutoCheck – is the car history report supplier for you.
- A single report costs $24.99
- $259.99 for 25 Reports
- $999.99 300 Reports
AutoCheck's Weaknesses
Maintenance is the first thing that needs to be mentioned. Despite the great price point, there is a significant omission from the AutoCheck report, and that is the vehicle’s maintenance and repair history. In reality, the AutoCheck report is more of a “broad strokes” kind of report that doesn’t give you anything like the same detail on mechanics that the Carfax report can give you.
While the score system is extremely useful, buyers could benefit greatly from additional details in a Carfax Report.
What exactly is a Vehicle History Report (VHR)?
To help alleviate the problem of mechanical uncertainty, buyers turn to car history reports to hopefully get the full picture of a car’s background and not perhaps the more glittering version that the seller has shared with them up until that point.
There are many sources that can provide car history reports, however AutoCheck and Carfax are the most well-known. They are the most trusted sources for prospective buyers looking to get a complete history on a vehicle. These reports usually include information such as:
- Salvage title – whether or not the car has been in a serious accident, a fire, flood or something else that rendered it “totaled” by the insurance company.
- Accident history – major and minor incidents that were reported to the insurance company and the repairs done to them will be listed.
- Odometer tampering – whether the car’s odometer has been rolled back in some effort to justify a higher asking price. Digital odometers make this more prevalent.
- Numerous previous owners
- Maintenance records – all servicing and routine maintenance that was completed. These records are more likely to contain all necessary information.
- Recall information – whether or not this model has ever been involved in a recall.
Some of this information is obviously very valuable, but others you don’t actually have to pay. You can access the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website. Search Find out the VIN number of your vehicle and whether it has been affected by a recall. NHTSA provides this free service.
The majority of the information, however, is accessible only by paying companies like Carfax and AutoCheck, and these two are still the “big boys” of the car history report marketplace.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that AutoCheck and Carfax reports are not sufficient. Although they play a vital role in the purchase process, they do not replace an inspection of the vehicle and a test ride. It is only by seeing the car up-close and personal that you can get the right picture.
In addition, it’s worth pointing out that you may not have to pay for a Carfax or AutoCheck report at all. It is a good idea to get a report from the dealer if you're buying a vehicle. The same can’t be said if you’re buying from a private seller, but dealerships are usually quick to offer these reports as evidence of the vehicle’s quality. So, read the reports carefully, but don’t treat them as the gospel!
Leave a Reply
¡Más Contenido!