Data sources & methodology

Where the data comes from

Our database aggregates auction-house records from several categories of source:

• Salvage auctions: Copart and IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions) — the two largest US salvage operators — plus a long tail of regional salvage yards.
• Wholesale dealer auctions: Manheim, ADESA / OPENLANE and other dealer-only platforms (where lot data is publicly disclosed).
• International auctions: Japanese, Korean, UAE and European auction houses with public lot disclosure.
• Insurance recovery: vehicles entering the salvage stream after total-loss declarations.

Each source is ingested via partner data feeds where available, or through our own structured collection layer where partner feeds aren’t offered. We do not bypass paywalls, login walls or rate limits.

How fresh the data is

Auction records typically appear in our database within 1–7 days of the original sale. Some sources publish in near-real-time; others are released in weekly or monthly batches by the auction house and our update cadence reflects that.

Each VIN detail page shows a "last updated" or "auction record from" timestamp at the bottom so you can judge freshness yourself. If a vehicle was sold more recently than your VIN page indicates, the record may not have been ingested yet — check back in a few days.

How we verify accuracy

Our records reflect the original auction’s intake inspection, not an independent verification. Auction houses physically inspect each vehicle, record damage codes, photograph the lot, capture mileage from the odometer (or mark it as True Mileage Unknown), and assign a primary and optionally secondary damage code. We pass that data through with normalisation but no editorialisation.

Where we detect obvious data-quality issues — impossible mileage figures, malformed VINs, missing required fields — we flag the record internally and either correct it from a secondary source or exclude it. We do not modify sale prices, photos, or the auction’s damage description.

Coverage and limitations

We are an auction-record database, not a full vehicle-history platform. Specifically:

For the items in the right-hand column, cross-reference an NMVTIS report, a Carfax or AutoCheck report, and a physical pre-purchase inspection. Each captures a different slice of the vehicle’s past; no single service is comprehensive.

Corrections and removals

If you spot incorrect data in a VIN record, or if you’re the registered owner of a vehicle and need to discuss removal, contact us through the contact form. We respond to legitimate correction requests within one business day. We do not remove auction records simply because they reduce a vehicle’s resale value — the data reflects what the auction house publicly disclosed.