JeFF "I'm the orange you want to crush" T.'s Profile

We would like to address the points of concern that Jeff T has brought up in his review and hopefully provide some clarification on the value of instaVIN vehicle history service.

1. The USDoJ doesn't have any more info than what Carfax and AutoCheck can provide.

We believe we have a materially different database of junk/salvage/insurance total loss data not reflected in other providers' reports. In addition, NMVTIS data populates on our reports in real-time, often faster than other providers when they have the data.


2. It doesn't seem to note any vehicle repairs or servicing in their records.

instaVIN does not provide service records at this time.  Service records tend to be incomplete for all vehicles and therefore can be misleading.


3. In fact, it's been my experience that you're lucky to find at least one title record per vehicle in the NMVTIS.

instaVIN reports show all title events in participating NMVTIS states (87% of DMV data) for 5 or more years.  Depending on the number of times a vehicle has been titled, usually an indication of new ownership, reports will have varying numbers of title records with the vast majority have multiple events.


4. At most, the vehicles that I've researched returned only 2 title listings, while Carfax or AutoCheck returned 8-15 incidents.

Title listings are based on actual title and brand events reflected by DMV, there cannot be more or less unless by a non-NMVTIS participating state.  Carfax and AutoCheck provide redundant records of annual registration which are not included in instaVIN reports.


5. instaVIN can tell you whether it's a salvaged vehicle (been in an accident), but even that info is limited to yes or no.

A salvage record on an instaVIN report indicates much more than yes or no.  The following components are included:
1. The date of the salvage event, i.e. "7/07/11"
2. The reporting entity from which the salvage record originated.  This can be either a state DMV, i.e. "Florida", or it can be a junk/salvage yard, i.e. "Copart".  If it is a junk/salvage yard, company information is provided including a phone number, location and possibly an email address
3. If the record is from a junk/salvage yard, the report will indicate if the vehicle was sold through the junk/salvage yard.
4. If the record is from a junk/salvage yard, the report will indicate if the vehicle was intended for export.
5. The report indicates Damage Type.  A junk/salvage yard will indicate this as "Junk and Salvage".  If the salvage record is from the DMV, what specific brand was assigned to the vehicle, i.e. "Junk", "Rebuilt", "Reconstructed", "Salvage", "Salvage Retention", etc.

If you would like to see sample reports and learn more about instaVIN, please visit http://www.instaVIN.com.