Total Loss VIN Check
Enter VIN Number to Check Vehicle’s Title History.
Approved NMVTIS Data Provider
Used cars are easier to afford. But the market’s opaque pricing brings a major concern: How do we tell the quality when the cars for sale all look in good condition? To draw a bottom line: at least non of us want a car that ever went to the junkyard. Then read on for our effective methods to check that history, all you need is a VIN number on hand.
1. What Is A Total Loss?
When we say a car is “totaled” or it has a “total loss”, it means the car is so severely damaged that it’s beyond repair or the mending cost exceeds the car’s original worth.
That’s why most of the time, the prior owner would sell a totaled car to a junkyard instead of fixing it. Still, there’re around 1/15 cars on the road that were rebuilt from the junkyard, according to the ABC News. But think about it: An extremely demanding repairing need verses a relatively low reselling price – The risk behind buying a totaled car is self-evident.
2. Check Vehicle’s Title History on NMVTIS
The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is the official agency recording vehicle events. Those events are labelled with all kinds of branded titles, and a totaled car can be titled as “junk“, “total loss” and even “salvage“, depending on your state regulation. Also you need to pay attention to the “rebuilt” title for those used cars back on the market.
However, NMVTIS supplies its data only via some approved providers. I’ll introduce three of them that are well-known for organized reports and detailed listing of title records.
BeenVerified
BeenVerified provides a mature vehicle search service that allows you to check not just the hidden total loss history of a car, but also other details about the vehicle like its mileage changes, accidents, recalls, ownerships, specs, and photos, etc. The report, when available, is ready in seconds after you enter the VIN number. And it offers a monitoring feature so that you’ll be informed whenever the data is updated.
1. Open BeenVerified Vehicle Search.
2. Enter the VIN number and click SEARCH.
3. Let BeenVerified search for the matching car in authoritative databases like NMVTIS, NHTSA, NICB and so on. In just seconds you’ll get a full report with all the information organized. See in the summary part for salvage records and other title records, click View details to find the total loss history or rebuilt title.
4. You may also navigate yourself to Damage History and Ownership History directly to check the title records closely.
Bumper
Bumper has a long history in vehicle search and is approved not just by NMVTIS, but also industry leaders and official sources like J.D. Power, NHTSA and 50+ big names in auto insurance. The vehicle history it may provide for you is comprehensive and profound, including the detailed total loss records with branding process.
1. Visit Bumper Vehicle Search.
2. Enter the VIN number and click SEARCH.
3. Wait as Bumper locates the vehicle and its related data. You may unlock the full report with 15 aspects of information around the car you’re checking, among which you might see the salvage and total loss history with details like date, location, type and insurance records.
EpicVIN
EpicVIN is a vehicle search industry dark horse. Apart from NMVTIS, it has got official access to 70+ databases for vehicle history information. For checking the total loss history, it supplies not just the normal information, but also the contact info and related insurance records. Besides, the report design is rather user-friendly, organizing various data in charts and diagrams.
1. Go to EpicVIN Vehicle Search.
2. Enter the VIN number and click Check VIN >.
3. EpicVIN opens the full report for you in just seconds. Browse to Junk / Salvage / Insurance records to see details about the total loss records on the car you’re searching. For each record you may see the contact info attached to help you reach the data sources.
3. Check Insurance Records on NICB
It’s the insurance company to declare the total loss or claim the salvage title for a car in an accident. So if we look up a car’s insurance claim history, we may also find the information to tell if the car was ever damaged to wreck. And the most trustworthy place to find auto insurance records is the National Insurance and Crime Bureau (NICB). Though it’s a nonprofit organization, it has earned its reputation across the country.
1. Go to the VINCheck Lookup page of NICB.
2. Enter the VIN number and click SEARCH VIN.
3. The result jumps out in a second. If the vehicle has ever experienced insurance claims for total loss, you would see a simple listing of the date and cause.
License Plate Lookup
Total Loss Check
Enter License Plate & State to Get Vehicle Title History.
That’s all for effectively detecting if a car has ever experienced a total loss. I hope you’ve found your dream car already with my help. Feel free to leave a comment below.