Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — VIN decoding, NHTSA recall lookup, complaint database, and safety ratings are 100% free with no account required. We source this data from public NHTSA APIs and present it cleanly. The AI-powered Smart Buyer Report (with risk scoring, maintenance forecasts, and Canadian-specific insights) is a separate $14.99 CAD purchase per vehicle — no subscription required.

Three reasons. (1) Free tier — unlimited VIN decoding, recall checks, owner complaints, and safety ratings with no signup. (2) Honest Canadian pricing — Smart Buyer Reports are $14.99 CAD per vehicle, one-time payment, no subscriptions or hidden fees. (3) AI-powered insights — every paid report includes a plain-English buyer analysis with model-specific known issues, maintenance forecast, and a pre-purchase inspection checklist tailored to Canadian conditions like winter salt exposure and cold-weather starts.

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique 17-character code assigned to every motor vehicle. You can find it on the dashboard near the windshield, on the driver-side door jamb, on registration documents, and on insurance papers. It contains coded information about the vehicle's manufacturer, model, year, and serial number.

Just enter the 17-character VIN on the homepage. Our system decodes the VIN using NHTSA's database and shows you free safety data. The VIN itself works the same in Canada and the US — both countries use the ISO 3779 standard.

Check that you entered all 17 characters correctly. VINs use only certain letters (no I, O, or Q to avoid confusion with 1 and 0). If the decode still fails, the VIN may be from a vehicle outside North America or before 1981 when VINs became standardized.

For the free tier, we pull from public government sources: the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for recalls, complaints, safety ratings, and investigations, Transport Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database for Canadian-specific defects, and the ISO 3779 VIN standard for structural decoding. The paid Smart Buyer Report adds AI-generated model insights, maintenance guidance, and Canadian market value estimates based on aggregated listing data.

Yes. The North American auto market is deeply integrated — the vast majority of vehicles sold in Canada are also sold in the US, and most safety recalls cross the border. NHTSA maintains the most comprehensive public recall database in North America. For vehicles where Canada-specific variants exist (different fuel grades, climate adaptations), we surface Transport Canada's own recall data directly on each vehicle's VIN check page, so you can see the Canadian recall number and affected units alongside the NHTSA records.

No. CarHistoryReport.ca is designed as a fast screening and buyer-decision tool for Canadian used-car shoppers. The free VIN Check focuses on recalls, complaints, safety ratings, and core VIN details. The Smart Buyer Report adds a practical interpretation layer with risk scoring, common issue summaries, maintenance guidance, and inspection prompts. Depending on the vehicle and your province, you may still want separate accident, lien, title, theft, or ownership-history checks from other sources during final due diligence.

No. We do not provide per-vehicle accident, collision, or damage records. The free VIN Check shows recalls, owner complaints, and safety ratings; the Smart Buyer Report adds model-level risk analysis and inspection guidance. If you need documented accident history for a specific vehicle, that typically comes from a separate provincial or commercial record source as part of final due diligence.

Not through CarHistoryReport.ca. Lien and ownership records in Canada are held at the provincial level (for example, through provincial personal-property registries) and are not part of our free VIN Check or Smart Buyer Report. Before you send money, it is worth running a province-specific lien search separately so you know the vehicle can be sold free and clear.

Yes for the VIN structure and safety data. Both Canada and the US use the ISO 3779 17-character VIN standard, and the North American market is highly integrated, so recall and safety data generally applies across the border. We also surface Transport Canada recall data on each vehicle page for Canadian coverage. For a US import, warranty status and provincial registration requirements may differ, so confirm those separately with the manufacturer and your provincial registry.

A Smart Buyer Report is $14.99 CAD per vehicle — a one-time payment with no subscription. You get 90-day access to the report from your purchase confirmation email. We also offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee — if the report doesn't meet your needs, contact us within 30 days and we'll work to resolve, typically including a full refund.

The AI Risk Score is a useful guide, but it's based only on the data we can see. It analyzes recalls, complaints, safety ratings, and (in paid reports) model-level reliability patterns and common issues by mileage. We always recommend a professional pre-purchase inspection before buying any used vehicle, regardless of what the report shows. The Smart Buyer Report includes a tailored inspection checklist for your specific make, model, and year to give to your mechanic.

Yes — we offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If your Smart Buyer Report doesn't meet your needs, email support@carhistoryreport.ca within 30 days of purchase with your order details. Our team will work with you to resolve the issue, typically including a full refund if the report failed to deliver useful insights. Refunds are processed via Stripe and typically take 5-10 business days to appear on your statement. The guarantee covers genuine quality concerns, not change-of-mind purchases.

Yes — that is exactly the moment it is built for. Run the free VIN Check to screen the vehicle before you commit time or a deposit, then use the Smart Buyer Report to decide what to inspect and what to ask the seller. Because private sales usually come with no dealer disclosure, doing this research yourself before you meet is worthwhile.

A clean result is a good sign, but it is a starting point, not a guarantee. It tells you there are no obvious recall or complaint red flags in the public data. The next steps are a Smart Buyer Report for model-specific issues and an inspection checklist, followed by an in-person pre-purchase inspection by a qualified mechanic and any province-specific lien or title verification before you pay.

No. We don't sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing. See our Privacy Policy for full details. We follow Canada's PIPEDA privacy laws.

No. We do not share which vehicles users research with any dealership, manufacturer, or third party. We are designing a privacy-first dealer program where dealers pay us to enrich their own inventory listings (e.g., embedded Smart Buyer Reports on their listing pages), not for surveillance of consumer research. The original concept of alerting dealers when consumers check specific VINs was abandoned because it would violate user trust and Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA). See our For Dealers page for the current direction.