Free Import Check
Check with CARFAX if your future used car has been imported.
The used car you like looks like a great deal, but you don’t trust the details provided by the seller? CARFAX offers you a free import check. All you need to do is enter the vehicle's VIN in the provided search box and leave the rest to us. An import check will let you know you if the vehicle you are about to purchase has ever been registered in another country and therefore is an imported car. It’s important to check this because if the vehicle has been imported, it can be difficult to trace its history back further than when it was first registered in your country.
How to do a car import check?
A free import check with CARFAX is very easy. Just follow these simple steps:
Enter the VIN of the car you would like to check in the search box above.
Once you click “Search” you will land on a different page, where you can find information like number of records and make and model of the vehicle you searched for. We call this “identity check” because it helps you verify the data provided by the seller. To be more precise, if the VIN of the car you are about to buy doesn’t match with the data we show, then something is wrong and buying a vehicle history report is advisable.
View the import history of the vehicle. You can see this by checking at the bottom of the page:
✔️ If there are any entries for Europe
✔️ If there are any entries for USA
If the VIN you entered only has records from your country, there is a very high probability your car has never been in another country. On the other hand, if we do have records from other European countries or the USA, you can be 100 % sure that the vehicle has been imported.
Why do a car import check
Fraud is still being committed with imported cars, therefore it's important to check the used car that you are interested in. Imported car fraud is something that has been going on for quite some time, but many people aren’t aware of how far fraudsters will go to make a profit. Thanks to the vehicle history, the used car trade is becoming more transparent, and consumers are much better protected. A common problem when importing cars is odometer fraud. This is when the odometer is rolled back to increase the value of the car. For example, if the original odometer reading was 200,000 KM, and it was rolled back to 100,000 KM, this gives the impression that the car is a lot newer than it is. The car can subsequently be sold at a much higher asking price. In addition, the chance of future defects in the car is much higher. This is one of the reasons to check the imported car carefully. In addition to the odometer fraud, it is possible that you are dealing with a used car that has experienced a few things in the past. It's possible it may have been involved in an accident, has a high number of previous owners, or has a remarkable history of damage. With a chassis number check, you can find out the complete history of a car, even before it was imported.
Vehicle history report - What’s not free?
For full peace of mind when buying a used car, make sure you get our vehicle history report for your future car. Our report checks for all of the following:
Number of previous owners
Scrapped/ Salvage title information
Reported stolen
Mileage inconsistencies
…and much more
This data will help you to make an informed purchase decision.