In the battle between Autocheck vs Carfax, one important aspect of evaluating these vehicle history report services is to compare their prices. In this article we are going to break down the costs to acquire one or several vehicle history reports using both AutoCheck and Carfax.

Autocheck vs Carfax – How much for a single vehicle history report?

Although there isn’t a major price difference when purchasing a single vehicle history report, there still is a difference. Carfax charges $34.99 for a single report while AutoCheck only charges $29.99. Does Carfax provide anything extra for that $5 that Autocheck doesn’t? In my opinion the answer is no but we will look into that another time.

Autocheck Vs Carfax – How much for multiple vehicle history reports?

When evaluating used vehicles, many consumers want to run multiple vehicle history reports before they actually decide on a car or truck to purchase. This is where the Autocheck and Carfax services differ.

AutoCheck allows you to run unlimited reports over a 30 day period for $44.99. Carfax allows you to acquire a total of 5 vehicle history reports for $44.99. It should also be noted that if you purchase 5 reports from Carfax, they MUST be used within 60 days or they are no longer available.

As you can see, both services have their advantages. While AutoCheck allows you to run unlimited reports, you only have a 30 day period to do so. Carfax gives you 60 days access to their system but you are only allowed to run up to 5 reports.

Final thoughts On Pricing…

When it comes to pricing alone, I would have to give a slight advantage to AutoCheck in the Autocheck vs Carfax debate. Their single report option is $5 cheaper than Carfax’s and they allow you to run unlimited vehicle history reports for $44.99 while Carfax only lets you run 5 reports for the same price.

*** When It Comes To AutoCheck Vs Carfax We Suggest AutoCheck – Click Here To Get An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report Now!

In terms of used vehicle history reports, the debate over Carproof Vs Carfax continues to take place among car shoppers. Acquiring history reports is an indispensable aspect of used car shopping for a number of reasons. First, these reports can alert you to any major issues with the car you are considering. Whether it be previous accidents, damage sustained, incidence of water damage, or odometer verification, this type of information is crucial when bargaining for your new car. Second, in many instances, the seller of the car may not even be aware of the issues present. Since most used cars have had multiple owners, the current owner may not have been privy to certain information at the time of their purchase. Indeed, the only sure way to get a detailed history on a prospective vehicle is to utilize a VIN number check service. But if you are considering Carproof Vs Carfax, how can you be sure which is better?

Carproof Vs Carfax: Reviews of Both Services

In terms of brand recognition, the Carfax Vs Carproof debate certainly has a clear favorite. Carfax has become a household name, and is known for offering detailed reports. Thousands of customers have benefited from Carfax’s services, and their prices are quit reasonable, as well. For $34.99, customers receive one full report on a used car of their choice. By providing the VIN number, the car’s complete history is revealed, helping shoppers make more informed decisions. Carfax’s second option costs $44.99, and consists of 5 used vehicle history reports. This package is the most common, as most shoppers consider more than one car at a time. Another facet of the Carproof Vs Carfax argument has to do with buyback protection. Carfax offers to buy back any car which presents problems not revealed in their reports. At present, Carproof does not offer this service.

On the flip side of the Carproof Vs Carfax debate is the Canadian agency which has made a name for itself as a trustworthy reporting company. The most glaring difference between the two companies is cost. Carproof charges $49.95 per report and, unlike Carfax, does not have a discount package for multiple reports. The greater cost is somewhat justified, though, as Carproof utilizes real-time data to compile reports. Most companies base their information on periodic sets of data. Furthermore, Carproof offers bilingual reports, and as a Canadian company, provides some information which may otherwise be unavailable in the United States. For Canadian shoppers, the decision of Carproof Vs Carfax is relatively straightforward, although US citizens can certainly benefit from Carproof reports, too.

Carproof Vs Carfax: Other VIN Number Check Alternatives

Aside from the Carproof Vs Carfax argument, there are a number of other used vehicle reporting companies. One such agency is AutoCheck. AutoCheck strikes the perfect balance between comprehensive, in-depth information and one of the lowest prices on the market. For $29.99, customers receive a single history report which contains all the information present in a Carfax report. More impressively, AutoCheck offers unlimited reports over a period of one month for $44.99, a far more cost-effective option than Carfax’s 5 report package. If you are considering many different used vehicles, you may not need to consider the Carproof Vs Carfax debate, as AutoCheck is certainly the most ideal choice.

AutoCheck’s Buyback Protection is another service which easily trumps all the talking points of the Carproof Vs Carfax debate. Like Carfax, AutoCheck offers to buyback any cars which present problems undetected in their report. However, AutoCheck also covers up to $500 in aftermarket accessory costs, something no other agency does.

If you are in the midst of shopping for a new car and are trying to solve the mystery of Carproof Vs Carfax, perhaps your best option is to look elsewhere and consider AutoCheck. In terms of features, detailed information, and cost, AutoCheck is by far the best deal in used vehicle history reports.

***  Click Here To Get An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report Now!

When you get a vehicle history report, which is the best: Autocheck vs Carfax? Before you answer, consider my friend Kim. She was in love with a pre-owned white Toyota RAV4 she had just test driven. She asked for a Carfax report which the salesman produced fairly rapidly. The comprehensive report listed the VIN (vehicle identification number), the states the car had been in, and the different dealers that had handled it. It showed police reports and repair shops that had dealt with the RAV4 and it also listed previous owners.

This is where Carfax Vs Autocheck gets interesting: the only thing Kim’s Carfax report didn’t show was that the RAV4 was once sold at auction in Florida very soon after a series of large hurricanes there. Kim knows this because she also pulled her own separate Autocheck report. Autocheck, owned by Experian, is similar to Carfax. A unique Autocheck feature is that over 97% of the auto auctions in the U.S. are run through the Autocheck database. If a car is sold at auction, Autocheck will know.

Let’s look closer at these two auto history reporting services and see how Autocheck vs Carfax stacks up:

Carfax is the largest company in the industry. It was started in 1984 in Columbia, Missouri. The name plays off the word “facts” as well as the fact that the first reports were faxed in the days before email and the internet. By 1993 they were offering reports in all fifty states. Carfax claims they have access to more records than any other service.

Autocheck is the second largest service. While they don’t have the high name recognition Carfax has built up, they have been quietly growing for years. They are owned by Experian. Instead of spending money on marketing they put their focus on building solid relationships with state auto agencies, car dealers and auction houses.

Our Autocheck vs Carfax investigation shows Carfax has over 34,000 data sources including every U.S. state and Canadian provincial motor vehicle department. Other sources include auto auctions, fire and police agencies, auto body shops, and fleet auto managers. Autocheck has the same or similar sources with more auto auctions in their database. All Autocheck sources meet federal guidelines set forth in the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA-enacted in 1994) and other government policies.

Looking further into Autocheck vs Carfax we find that Autocheck is a division of Experian, the huge consumer data company that is one of the big three credit reporting agencies. This gives them a deep background in using multiple data points to aggregate a comprehensive report. In fact, in 2009, Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive claimed to the trade press, “With two times the number of reported accidents as the competition, we are clearly giving consumers a better means of understanding events in a vehicle’s history that could affect its value, reliability and safety.” This was based on a report from Pipal Research – an independent, custom research firm.

When considering Autocheck vs Carfax note that both will give you a free preliminary report. You plug in the VIN and it they tell you how many records are in the full (paid) vehicle history report. For full reports, Autocheck’s single report pricing is lower than Carfax. They also offer a higher priced option for unlimited reports. This can be very useful if you are looking at many cars and want a full report on all of them. Carfax does not offer unlimited reports, but you can choose a 5x report option.

Weighing Autocheck vs Carfax in term of the actual reports, both have similar features. They detail:

Title problems – was the car in a severe accident? Or flooded? Is the odometer accurate?

Ownership History – how many owners? Is their high mileage? Was it ever a rental car?

Accidents and Service – Was the car ever totaled? Is there frame damage? What is the service record in terms of oil changes, etc?

Autocheck has an edge in the number of accidents reported as well as the number of auto auctions in the database. We recommend using the report as a guide for your mechanic when doing a full vehicle check. For example, if you know a car was in an accident you can pay special attention to make sure there is no frame damage.

So what is the result of the Autocheck vs Carfax battle? For my friend Kim, the answer was to get both. When the Autocheck report showed that her Toyota RAV4 was sold at auction after heavy hurricanes, she had her mechanic pay special attention to check for possible flood damage–it came up clean. Without the “second opinion” of the Autocheck report, she might never have double-checked for this possibility. Cars are our second most expensive purchase in life (after a home). Getting all the information available can prevent major hassles later.

Of course, Kim’s situation was pretty extreme. In the end, both Autocheck or Carfax can give you useful insight on the history of a used vehicle. If you want to save a few bucks though, stick with AutoCheck. When it comes to the Autocheck vs Carfax price battle, Autocheck is more cost effective and doesn’t limit the number of VIN number checks you can run.

* Autocheck vs Carfax?  We suggest AutoCheck – Click Here To Get An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report Now!

In today’s post I’m going to provide a free AutoCheck report example to reveal exactly what information you get when you order an AutoCheck vehicle history report. This example AutoCheck report, along with the example Carfax free report I’ve also written about, should give you a clearer understanding of the AutoCheck vs Carfax battle and help you decide which service is best for your needs.

The vehicle that is outlined in this free AutoCheck report example is a 2000 Chevy Blazer that I was recently looking to purchase. The vehicle had a great price tag and decent miles but it was located about 6 hours away from my location. Since I didn’t want to waste time or money, I purchased an AutoCheck vehicle history report to evaluate the vehicle before going forward. The following screenshots will outline exactly what I discovered.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #1 – The Report Summary

The vehicle report summary provides an overall picture of what you are going to read about in the AutoCheck report. A couple things you want to pay attention to are the following four categories; accident check, title and problem check, odometer check and vehicle use event check.

The goal is to have green checkmarks for all of these. A “Green Check Mark” means your vehicle checks out, a “Blue I” means that there are some issues you need to look into and a “Red Exclamation Point” means there are major problems reported.

As you can see from our AutoCheck report example below, there are blue I’s for both the accident check and event check sections of the report. There is also a red exclamation point next to the title section meaning there has been a major title problem reported. You will also notice that the green check mark next to the odometer check means the mileage has checked out without problems.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #2 – The AutoCheck Score

The AutoCheck score is a summary of the entire vehicles history. It lets your compare your vehicle with similar vehicles to see how it rates. In our screenshot below, you see that the 2000 Blazer we are checking out has an AutoCheck score of 28 while similar vehicles score between 54 and 76. This isn’t a great sign and lets us know this vehicle has some problems.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #2 – The AutoCheck Score

In the accident check section of the report you can find out if, when and where an accident was reported on a vehicle. Our report below shows that an accident on this Blazer occurred on 4/6/2006 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #4 – Title and Problem Check

In this part of the report, the AutoCheck service will inspect your vehicle for 15 different problem areas that could affect the title. As you can see in the screenshot below, the reason this title was flagged with a red exclamation point was because frame damage has been reported. This is important to know since frame damage can weaken that structure of the vehicle.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #5 – Odometer Check

The Odometer check will show you both dates and mileages when the Odometer readings have been reported. Autocheck will analyze all odometer readings to determine if any odometer tampering has occurred. In our screenshot below, the 2000 Blazer’s odometer reading of 124,171 miles checks out.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #6 – Vehicle Use and Event Check

The vehicle use section of the report puts the vehicle through a 6 point check to see how the car or truck was used in the past. This uses include; fleet vehicles, rental cars, taxis, police cars, government vehicles or driver’s education cars.

The event check section of the report puts the vehicle through a 9 point check to see if any special events have been reported. These events include; an accident report, corrected title, duplicate title, safety inspection record, loan/lien records, fire damage, repossession records, theft record and storm area registration.

For our 2000 Blazer we find out that it was a fleet vehicle, has one reported accident, had a lien record and was repossessed at some point.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #7 – Full Vehicle History

The full vehicle history is where you can see all the events that have occurred in the lifespan of the vehicle in question. The events are listed in chronological order and any discrepancies or problems will show up in bold text. With each event you will find out when the event occurred, where it occurred, what the odometer reading was, who the data source is and if there are any extra details about the event.

For the 2000 Blazer, there are several things that stand out to me by reviewing the complete history. First, I notice that this vehicle has had almost 10 different owners in about a 10 year time span. I’m also able to find out that it has been through several auto auctions, been repossessed a few times and has been branded with frame damage in late 2010.

Free AutoCheck Report Example Part #8 – Vehicle Problem Glossary

This is a very cool feature that AutoCheck provides to help you understand exactly what everything means on your vehicle history report. They take each reported problem and explain them in plain English so you know exactly what they mean and how it could affect a vehicles performance.

What I learned from this AutoCheck vehicle history report…

While the price was below book on this 2000 Blazer, I decided not to waste my time or gas driving down to take a closer look. Thanks to AutoCheck’s unlimited vehicle reports, I was able to analyze this and several other vehicles right from the comfort of my own home.

In closing, I hope this free AutoCheck report example helps clarify exactly what type of information you receive when you order an AutoCheck vehicle history report. You can also check out my Carfax free report example if you want to see how AutoCheck and Carfax are both different and alike.

*** Click Here To Get An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report Now!

Many people want to view a Carfax free report example so they can learn what’s included on a Carfax vehicle history report. When comparing the differences between AutoCheck vs Carfax, I think it’s important to illustrate exactly what each report entails by showing screenshots from REAL vehicle history reports. In this Carfax free report example we will be focusing specifically on what a Carfax vehicle history report looks like. (Click here to view a free AutoCheck report example)

Essentially a Carfax vehicle history report is made up of the following sections: Vehicle overview, price calculator, ownership history, title history, additional history and detailed history. In the screenshots below I will break down each section and show you exactly what you are getting with a Carfax vehicle history report.

Carfax Free Report Example Part #1 – Vehicle Overview

The vehicle overview section will provide you with standard details about the make and model of the vehicle. It also includes an overview of pertinent information you will find throughout the report.

As you can see from the screenshot below, the Carfax vehicle history report reveals that this 1995 Mazda 626 has some title issues, 2 previous owners and a last reported odometer reading of 156,000. The red and yellow caution signals signify something that should be looked into more closely before purchasing.

Carfax Free Report Example Part #2 – Price Calculator

The price calculator is a handy tool that evaluates the report and tells you if your vehicle is worth more or less than the standard retail book value. As you can see below, the Mazda we are checking out is valued $470 LESS than book value.

Free Carfax Report Example Part #3 – Ownership Title & Additional History

The ownership history will give you great insight into how many owners a vehicle has had, where the owners were located and if the vehicle was for personal or business use. The title history will tell you if there are any reported title problems. In our example report below, the red alert sign tells us that there are title problems with this vehicle.

The additional history section of a Carfax vehicle history report dives further into the overall history of the vehicle. In this section you can find out if the airbag has been deployed, if there is frame damage, if there has been a reported accident or if there has been a manufacturer recall on the vehicle. As you can see, our Mazda has been in a severe accident, had the airbag deployed and took part in a manufacturer recall.

Carfax Free Report Example Part #4 – Detailed History

The detailed history section of a Carfax vehicle history report is where each important event in a vehicle’s lifespan is broken down for you to read about. Each event is represented with a specific date, mileage, source and comments. Carfax also breaks down which owner had the car when the events in question occurred.

Besides the information outlined in the screenshots above, a Carfax vehicle history report also provides you with a warranty check and safety report on the specific vehicle make and model.

In closing, this Carfax free report example overview should clear up any questions you might have about exactly what you receive when using the Carfax service. I can also view my complete Autocheck overview here so you can compare the two reports side by side.

*** We Suggest Using AutoCheck For Your Vehicle History Needs – Click Here To Get An AutoCheck Vehicle History Report Now!