The light finds it. The file already has.
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What the paid report holds
The car in the photos is not the car on paper.
US auction cars often carry a title brand that never shows in the listing. Flood, fire, hail, salvage, a rolled odometer. The VIN is where that record starts.
Title brands
Salvage, junk, flood, fire, hail, rebuilt.
Odometer
Readings, and a flag when the miles roll back.
Auctions
Sale records that photos tend to leave out.
Theft
Whether the car was reported stolen.
Recalls
Open campaigns tied to that vehicle.
Owners
Title transfers and how many hands it passed.
The machine
Engine, gearbox, trim, factory equipment.
The file
A PDF you can keep.
Before the bid
A clean photograph is not a clean title.
Cars leaving American auctions are priced on damage the camera missed. Insurance, registration at home, and the resale all move with that history. Read it before you pay.
The desk
Pay only when you want the full history.
The decode above is free. Credits do not expire. No records, and the fee comes back.
Where it lives
Seventeen characters, four usual places.
- 01Driver’s side dashboard, read through the windshield.
- 02Door jamb sticker, driver’s side.
- 03Title, registration, and insurance card.
- 04The auction sheet, when the listing bothers to print it.
Plain answers
Before you type it in.
A 17-character identity stamped on the car. It is not the license plate, and it does not change when the car is sold.