Carfax is a leading provider of vehicle history reports and boasts a robust database of 25 billion vehicle records. However, the price for Carfax reports is quite expensive (1 for $39.99 and 3 for $59.99). If you want to get multiple reports to compare desirable vehicles, there are several Carfax alternatives, which offer comprehensive reports at a more affordable price.

• BeenVerified – Best VIN reports provider
• Bumper – Unlimited searches with membership
• EpicVIN – Affordable premium VIN reports

Top 5 Carfax Alternatives (Better & Cheaper)

Here are the top 5 Carfax alternatives on my list. They work similarly to Carfax but are a lot cheaper and have their own benefits. For a better evaluation, I’ve digged deep into each service and compared them with Carfax in terms of reliability, data coverage, price, ease of use, and customer reviews.

1. BeenVerified

BeenVerified is a powerful all-in-one place to search for any kind of people, vehicle, property, and contact info. By scouring millions of data points from authentic sources, its VIN lookup allows people to dig deep into a given vehicle without much hassle.

The full vehicle report consists of the vehicle specification, accidents, salvage and theft records, recalls and warranties, safety ratings, ownership cost, sales listings, market value, and several points of interest.

What I love most about BeenVerified is that it requires no extra cost to use other search tools. For example, with the name search, you could verify a seller you’re dealing with, check someone’s background details or even find the person you’ve lost contact with.

Compared to Carfax:
 Cheaper price (Monthly membership for $28.79 with a maximum of 100 car history reports)
 NMVTIS*-approved data provider
 Access to versatile search tools (background search, reverse phone number lookup, email search, etc) beyond just vehicle search
 A variety of member perks, such as free SiriusXM streaming, 30 days of unlimited free washes, and so on.

2. Bumper

Bumper is an online marketplace for used cars with the aim of making car buying easier. It provides informative and up-to-date vehicle reports for sellers and buyers by searching with a VIN, license plate, or make and model.

The Bumper report is extremely intuitive, displaying a plethora of information in 15 different categories. It presents all the major events of a given vehicle, including accidents, salvages, recalls, and thefts, as well as sales history and market value, which will help you know better about the vehicle’s worth and negotiate a good deal.

The Bumper subscription includes unlimited searches during the membership. So if you need to research multiple cars, this should be the most cost-effective solution.

Compared to Carfax:
 Affordable pricing (Monthly membership for $22.99 with 50 reports included)
 Official NMVTIS-approved provider of vehicle history reports
 More vehicle information provided

3. EpicVIN

EpicVIN is also a leading vehicle data provider approved by NMVTIS, the largest vehicle information system in the U.S. It delivers extensive and precise information such as vehicle titles, specifications, sales, accidents, thefts, and so forth.

Once you input a VIN or license plate, it will go through the 40 million vehicle documents and organize a neat report. The scanning process is pretty fast. You should see voluminous information divided into several sections, covering odometer readings, past owners, damages, accidents, recalls, and title status.

Compared to Carfax:
 NMVTIS-approved data provider
 Cheaper single report price 
 More informative vehicle reports
 Better UX design and easier navigation experience

4. AutoCheck

Powered by Experian, AutoCheck is a trustworthy VIN lookup service that offers full-scale vehicle history reports and helps you make the right purchasing decisions and avoid potential risks of road safety.

Upon entering a VIN or US license plate, it’ll generate a report showing the vehicle’s title brand, accident records, damage events and odometer readings. However, maintenance and service records or sales-related info are not available.

Beyond just regular types of data, AutoCheck features a unique free score system. Taking various factors into consideration, such as the vehicle’s manufacture age, mileage, accidents and so on, it assesses the predicted reliability of a vehicle on a rating scale of 1 – 100. Even if you’re not familiar with the vehicle specs, it will be straightforward to compare vehicles of similar age and class quickly.

Compared to Carfax:
 Lower-priced reports ($24.99 for one VS $39.99 at Carfax)
 Free score system for quick evaluation of cars
 Exclusive auction data from the largest two US auctions

5. VINCheck

NICB’s VINCheck is a free resource available to the public. Supported by NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau), it enables anyone to check a vehicle by VIN and determine if it’s reported as stolen or reported salvaged.

On the NICB VINCheck page, type in a VIN number and it will reveal the vehicle’s theft and total loss records if it has been reported by the participating NICB member insurance companies. The tool is free but shows only basic information. And you could run up to 5 searches in 24 hours with the same IP address.

Compared to Carfax:
 Totally free resources
 Limited information, only theft records and total loss records available

Wrapping up

Getting a detailed history report of your dream car is a wise move before purchase. Select one of the services above if Carfax doesn’t yield what you need or if you’re looking for a cheaper VIN check. If you need to get multiple reports, BeenVerified and Bumper is the best bet. They charge a monthly subscription, even cheaper than a single Carfax report, so you can perform a car search at any time within the period. 

Note that a clean vehicle history report doesn’t indicate a car is good enough. It won’t reflect some unreported damages or minor incidents. For extra assurance, you may hire a mechanic to inspect the car properly before closing the deals.

Have more ideas or questions about vehicle history reports? Feel free to leave a comment below.

* NMVTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information System) is a public system authorized by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It provides valuable vehicle condition and history information to consumers via a list of approved providers. 

The methods in this article provide you with easy access to public record information, but without a guarantee for accuracy and may include links to websites not listed as a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). Information acquired from these bodies is illegal to be used for employment, housing, credit, and other purposes alike, according to laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If you’re not sure whether your use of our methods is appropriate, click here for details.

By Brinksley Hong

Brinksley is a dedicated content writer for Super Easy who's on a mission to discover efficient ways to tackle everyday tasks and enhance daily routines.

With over 5 years of experience in content creation, she has explored a variety of domains including computer issues, tech news, social media, digital marketing, life hacks, and more. The diverse expertise empowers her to craft well-informed and high-quality content that genuinely benefits the audience.

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