Before you buy that used car, see what owners of the same model told the government about its engine and transmission.
Paste the VIN from the listing. In a few seconds you get how heavily owners of that exact year, make and model complained to NHTSA about the drivetrain, what they said in their own words, and the questions to ask the seller. Built entirely on public records. Your first report is free.
Got a price from the dealer? Upload the quote before you sign.
Snap a photo or upload the PDF of the buyer’s order. We explain every fee and add-on in plain English, check the dealer’s arithmetic line by line, and give you five questions to ask.
Try it on the car you are looking at
Check 1 VIN free—no credit card required.
The VIN is on the listing, on the driver’s door jamb, and at the bottom of the windshield on the driver’s side. Type it here and the report opens right here, no sign-in. This is the real tool on live NHTSA data, not a sample. After your free look, an email address gets you a 6-digit code; no password.
A model-year report covers every car of that year, make and model. With the VIN you also get the car’s own engine and its recall status.
The worst model years we track
Of 1,790 model years from 2010 to 2023 across 200 models, these have the heaviest engine and transmission complaint patterns at NHTSA, one year per model, at least 100 complaints on record. Each page is public, no sign-in needed.
What a history report does not tell you
A history report is about one car
Accidents, owners, title brands, odometer. Useful, and it says nothing about whether that model’s transmission tends to fail at 70,000 miles.
Owner complaints are about the model
When a model year has a weak engine or gearbox, its owners file complaints with NHTSA by the hundreds. That pattern is public, and it is what this tool reads.
Some model years are known problems
The 2013 Focus transmission, the 2014 Sentra CVT, the 2012 Cruze 1.4 turbo. The year before or after can be a different car. Browse the patterns by model, no sign-in needed.
You still need an inspection
A clean example of a bad model exists, and so does a neglected example of a good one. The report ends with what to ask the seller and what to have a mechanic look at.
How it works
1 · Decode
The VIN is decoded through NHTSA vPIC to identify the year, make and model, and rejected if it fails its check digit.
2 · Read the complaints
Every owner complaint filed with NHTSA for that model year is pulled and grouped by component.
3 · Measure the share
Engine, transmission and fuel complaints are measured as a share of the total, so popular models are not penalized for selling in volume.
4 · Get the questions
You get the signal, the years either side, what owners reported, and a short list of what to ask the seller before you hand over money.
What you get
One car
The signal, complaints by component, recall campaigns, and what owners actually wrote. Quotes about your car’s own engine size come first.
Two cars side by side
Deciding between a Camry and an Altima? Both VINs in, a plain-English call at the top.
The years either side
Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. The trend shows whether the year you are looking at is the bad one or the fixed one.
Before-you-buy list
What to ask the seller, what to drive for, what to tell your mechanic, and one-click links to check the VIN for open recalls, theft and salvage.
A sheet for your mechanic
One tap prints a one-page inspection sheet: the car and VIN, what owners of that model year reported, a checklist aimed at the part they complain about most, questions for the seller and room for notes. On a phone, save it as a PDF and text it to the mechanic.
Explain My Dealer Quote
Upload a photo or PDF of the dealer’s quote. You confirm the figures we read. Then you get each fee and add-on explained in plain English, the dealer’s arithmetic checked line by line, five questions to ask, and a reply to the dealer drafted for you. How it works
Compare Dealer Quotes
Two dealers, two quotes? See the out-the-door prices, fees, add-ons, trade-ins and financing side by side, with every difference worked out to the cent and anything that stops a like-for-like comparison spelled out first. Compare quotes
Be clear on what this is not
Not an inspection
It describes the model, not the condition of the car in front of you. Get an independent mechanic to look at the actual car.
Not a history report
No accidents, owners, title brands or odometer. It links out to AutoCheck, NICB and NHTSA for those.
Not a prediction
It reports patterns in complaint data. It does not forecast whether a particular car will fail.
Not a recommendation
It does not tell you to buy or not buy, and it does not put a price on anything.
Before you sign: dealer quote guides
Free calculators: out-the-door price calculator · car loan calculator (36 to 84 months)
- What is an out-the-door price?
- How to calculate the out-the-door price
- How to ask a dealer for an out-the-door price
- Car dealer fees explained, line by line
- The dealer doc fee explained
- Dealer add-ons: VIN etching, nitrogen, paint protection
- GAP and extended warranties at the dealer
- How to compare car quotes from different dealers
- 60 vs 72 vs 84-month loans: why a lower payment can cost more
- Negative equity on a trade-in
- How to read a buyer’s order
- What to check before signing a car contract
Price
Your first report is free. After that, one payment covers a whole car search.
- Unlimited VIN checks for 30 days, enough for a whole car search
- One car, two side by side, and the years either side
- One dealer-quote review: Explain My Dealer Quote for one quote, or Compare Dealer Quotes for two side by side. Confirm the figures, get each fee explained, the arithmetic checked, questions to ask and a reply to the dealer drafted for you
- Nothing recurring. It simply ends; buy another if you are still looking
- Buy again before it ends and the days are added on
- Refund within 7 days if you have not run a report
Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of the individual vehicle in front of you.