Our Data Sources
Vektracer aggregates vehicle records from seven categories of source: government title and registration agencies, insurance and total-loss records, auction and salvage platforms, odometer records captured at titling and inspection, safety recall data from NHTSA and Transport Canada, theft databases and available lien records, and manufacturer specification and market value datasets.
Records are matched to a specific 17-character VIN and assembled into one report. Below is what each category contributes — and what it cannot tell you, which matters just as much.
Government title and registration records
- What it contributes
- Title status and brands (salvage, rebuilt, flood, lemon, junk), registration events, ownership transfers, and the state or province each record was filed in.
- Where it comes from
- US state DMV and titling agencies, Canadian provincial registries, and the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) network.
- What it cannot show
- A title brand only appears once an agency has recorded it. A vehicle branded in one state and re-titled in another can show a clean record until the new state files its own report.
Insurance and total-loss records
- What it contributes
- Reported accidents, damage severity, airbag deployment, structural damage findings, and total-loss declarations.
- Where it comes from
- Claims data contributed by insurance carriers and total-loss settlement records.
- What it cannot show
- Only accidents that generated an insurance claim appear. Damage repaired privately in cash, with no claim filed, is invisible to every vehicle history provider — including Carfax and AutoCheck.
Auction and salvage records
- What it contributes
- Auction listings, condition grades, damage assessments, sale prices, and photographs of the vehicle at the time of sale.
- Where it comes from
- Salvage and insurance auction platforms including Copart and IAA, plus wholesale dealer auction records.
- What it cannot show
- Auction photos capture the vehicle on one specific date. They show the damage that existed then, not the quality of any repair performed afterwards.
Odometer and mileage records
- What it contributes
- Mileage readings captured at title transfers, inspections, service visits and auction sales, arranged chronologically so inconsistencies surface.
- Where it comes from
- Titling agencies, emissions and safety inspection programs, service networks and auction records.
- What it cannot show
- Rollback detection depends on having at least two readings to compare. A vehicle with a single recorded reading cannot be verified against anything.
Safety recalls and complaints
- What it contributes
- Open and completed manufacturer safety recalls matched to the vehicle, owner-filed complaints, investigations, and crash test ratings.
- Where it comes from
- The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — both the vPIC decoder and the public recalls API — and Transport Canada for Canadian vehicles.
- What it cannot show
- Recalls are issued by manufacturer, model and VIN range. Completion status reflects what the manufacturer has reported back to the regulator.
Theft and lien records
- What it contributes
- Active theft reports, recovery status, and lien or loan records carried in the title data available for a VIN.
- Where it comes from
- Law-enforcement theft databases and lien records available through supported North American title-data networks.
- What it cannot show
- Canadian provincial PPSA, PPR and Quebec RDPRM registries are not included. Only the relevant provincial registry can prove that a Canadian vehicle is lien-free, so search it directly before buying.
Vehicle specifications and market value
- What it contributes
- Decoded VIN specifications, factory equipment and trim, dimensions, maintenance schedules, and retail, trade-in and auction value estimates.
- Where it comes from
- Manufacturer build data, the NHTSA vPIC decoder, and market pricing datasets.
- What it cannot show
- Value estimates are modelled from comparable sales. They are a guide for negotiation, not an appraisal.
The limits of any vehicle history report
A vehicle history report knows only what was reported to a database. An accident repaired privately in cash, at a shop that never filed an insurance claim, will not appear in any provider's report — not Vektracer's, not Carfax's, not AutoCheck's.
A report tells you what the paper trail says. It does not tell you the current mechanical condition of the car. Use one to screen out bad vehicles cheaply, then pay an independent mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection on the one you intend to buy.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Vektracer get its data?
Vektracer aggregates vehicle records from seven categories of source: government title and registration agencies, insurance and total-loss records, auction and salvage platforms, odometer records captured at titling and inspection, safety recall data from NHTSA and Transport Canada, theft databases and available lien records, and manufacturer specification and market value datasets. Records are matched to a specific 17-character VIN and assembled into a single report.
Does Vektracer use the same data as Carfax and AutoCheck?
The underlying networks are largely the same. Title records come from the same government agencies, recall data from the same regulators, and auction records from the same auction platforms. No provider — including Carfax and AutoCheck — has access to every record that exists, which is why reports from different providers can differ on an individual vehicle.
How current is the data?
Records are retrieved at the time you run a VIN, not from a stale cached copy, so a report reflects what the source databases hold at that moment. The lag between a real-world event and its appearance in a database is set by the reporting agency: title changes typically appear within days to weeks, recalls within days of issue, and insurance claims once the claim is settled and reported.
What will a vehicle history report never show?
Any event that was never reported to a database. Accidents repaired privately without an insurance claim, damage from an unreported incident, mechanical wear, and the quality of past repairs do not appear in any provider’s report. This is why a history report should be paired with an independent pre-purchase inspection rather than used in place of one.
Does Vektracer cover Canadian vehicles?
Yes. Canadian coverage includes available provincial title and registration records, accident and odometer history, and Transport Canada recall data, together with available US records for imported vehicles. Vektracer does not query Canadian provincial PPSA, PPR or Quebec RDPRM lien registries; buyers must search the relevant provincial registry directly.
What happens if there are no records for a VIN?
The payment is refunded automatically. Vektracer does not charge for a report with no history records behind it, and no support ticket is required to trigger the refund.