Millions of consumers rely on CARFAX Reports every day to help them decide whether or not to buy a used car. Each report contains information about whether the car in question has been in an accident, has any open recalls, previous owners, service history and much, much more.
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CARFAX Reports are available for vehicles manufactured since 1981, when the 17-character VIN was standardized. CARFAX has information about cars and light trucks, though some information for other vehicle types may be reported to CARFAX as well. CARFAX Reports are powered by the CARFAX database – believed to be the world’s largest vehicle history database – containing billions of records from more than 112,000 domestic and international sources.
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VIN stands for a car’s Vehicle Identification Number. A VIN consists of 17 characters and serves as a unique identifier for a specific vehicle. At CARFAX, you can use either a VIN or a license plate and state to get a CARFAX Report.
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A VIN can often be found on the driver-side door, near where the door latches as well as on the lower-left hand corner of the dashboard, in front of the steering wheel. If you own the car, you can find it on the title, registration card or insurance documents.
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