Buying a secondhand vehicle represents a very important investment. As a result, it is crucial to correctly evaluate the different statistics that a particular vehicle has before committing your money to it. Important information such as the mileage of a vehicle, the number or severity of accidents it has been involved in, or the number of times it has changed hands, and many more details that can help you carry out an accurate assessment, can only be provided by a good vehicle history report. This article will look at the differences between two of the best vehicle history reporting tools available for this purpose.
Definitions
AutoCheck is a vehicle history reporting tool owned by Experian. Experian is among the United States’ most reputable credit bureau companies. As such, AutoCheck has access to exclusive rights and partnerships that Experian owns. AutoCheck has a good reputation in reporting the history of ‘Auction Cars’ – it can show you how many times a car has changed hands.
Carfax, an independently established company, is a vehicle history reporting tool that is mainly concerned with odometer fraud. It effectively reports any odometer ‘rollbacks’ or ‘disputes’ so that the consumer is aware of the actual state of a vehicle.
Comparison Chart
| AutoCheck | Carfax |
| Cheap | Expensive |
| Provided by Experian | Independently established |
| More accurate on number of auctions and car registrations | More accurate on mileage and maintenance records of vehicles. |
| Unlimited reports to customers by vehicle’s VIN number | Not available |
AutoCheck vs Carfax
What is the difference between AutoCheck and Carfax?
AutoCheck’s vehicle history report is based on the vehicle’s registration flips, the number of times it has been sold, accidents, and mileage information. This information is then computed to generate an overall ‘score’ which is then compared to the VIN numbers of similar vehicles. This means that if you are looking for a vehicle that has a ‘score’ of 94 and the general ‘score’ for similar vehicles is 74-83, then that vehicle’s history is good. It implies that the vehicle has not been exchanging hands frequently, or auctioned often. This information is not provided by Carfax.
With AutoCheck, a potential customer is able to make limitless enquiries of vehicles using their VIN numbers to get their reports. This way, a customer can compare lots of vehicles before arriving at a decision. Carfax does not offer this kind of service.
Carfax is known for its verification of mileage as well as the history of maintenance records of vehicles provided by larger companies and dealerships such as Honda, GMC, Jeep, Chevy, and others. These dealerships keep records every time customers service their vehicles with them. The service department records provided by Carfax are not provided by AutoCheck.
Both Carfax and AutoCheck provide accurate information about certain aspects of a vehicle if it was involved in an accident. Certain information such as the particular location or part of a car that was damaged, the severity of damage, and the date when the report was taken is often available from both service providers.