VIN Check Options for Canada

So, you have passed your G1 test in Canada and are ready to start learning the skill. Getting a car is your first step. But you don’t want to use a brand new car for the learning period. What would you do? You will get a used car, of course.
And don’t worry about checking the car’s ownership and financial status. Just like back in Australia, Canada also has systems in place to help you carry out a car history check.
Here is how you can go about verifying the history and condition of your next car.

Get a VIN Check

If you are on the lookout for your perfect car, you wouldn’t want to spend money on verifying each car you come across. Free options are perfect at this stage of shopping but don’t expect much from these reports. They are only built to tell you the build year, model, engine detail, and assembly information.
Using this report you can verify if the information provided by the seller is accurate or not. You cannot tell from this information if this car is in good condition, has experienced accidents, or is one of the recalled models from the manufacturing company.
Note that this report gives you enough information to allow you to form an opinion about it and proceed to the next step of purchasing.

Get a Vehicle History Report

This report is generated using the 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) by one of the relevant databases. Depending on the detail you want for your car, you can choose from CARFAX Canada, AutoCheck, and VinAudit Canada to get a car history report.
A complete and comprehensive Vehicle history report will not only tell you the build, model, and assembly of the car but will also furnish other decisive pieces of information. You will know if the car was in an accident in past, its servicing history, its insurance claims, the number of its owners before the current owner, and if it was ever a part of the recall campaign by the manufacturer.
You can see that this car history check allows you to estimate the wear and tear the car may have undergone in past allowing you to agree to a more transparent price. But not every vehicle history check is made equal. Here are three tools you can use to check vehicle history. Again, note that you need to choose one based on the completeness of the information.

CARFAX Canada

This is the most popular tool to check car history and includes information about its financial history – if it has an outstanding debt on it, accidents or damage claims, import history, and theft records.
The service charges $54.94 if you get a report inclusive of a lien check and $39.95 exclusive of it.

AutoCheck

This service includes paid and free options. The free option will give you details about the car’s build year, assembly location, and likes. On the other hand, a paid option that costs $24.99 will also include accident history, maintenance record, and other information from usage history.

VinAudit Canada

Other than free VIN check services, this tool offers history records including vehicle status, recall records, and buybacks from the manufacturer.

Take Away

This post talks about two different options to check the history of a car. It’s recommended that you get a complete vehicle history record of your desired car before buying it because it will give more information about the condition of the vehicle.