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Free Tool

What Did The Factory Actually Build?

Paste a VIN and see the factory build sheet, recall history, crash test ratings and owner complaints. Straight from NHTSA, no signup, nothing saved.

Comparing a few cars? Save each lookup with the Save to compare button and they stack up in a table at the bottom of the page. Click any saved car to pull its full report back up.

0 / 17 17 characters. The letters I, O and Q are never used in a VIN.
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Where do I find the VIN?
  • Lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side, read from outside the car.
  • Driver's door jamb sticker, on the pillar the door latches into.
  • Insurance card, title or registration.
  • In the listing. Most dealer listings publish it. If a private seller will not give you the VIN before you drive out to see the car, that is worth noticing.

Factory Build Data
Show every field NHTSA returned
FieldValue

Recall History

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Checking NHTSA recall campaigns

Crash Test Ratings

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Looking for NHTSA crash test results
Ratings come from the federal New Car Assessment Program. Stars are only comparable within the same model year, and the test regime changed in 2011, so a 5-star 2009 and a 5-star 2019 were not held to the same standard. Many trims and most older or low-volume vehicles were never tested at all.

Owner Complaints

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Owners file complaints with NHTSA about problems they believe are safety defects. It is the single best free signal for what tends to break on a given year and model.

Complaints are unverified reports from owners, matched by year, make and model rather than by VIN. A high count often just means the model sold in huge numbers. Read the pattern, not the total.

What a VIN decode does tell you

  • Exactly how the factory built this car: engine, transmission, trim, drivetrain, airbags, assembly plant.
  • Whether the seller's listing matches the build. A "V6 4x4" that decodes as a four-cylinder 4x2 is a conversation worth having.
  • Which safety equipment was actually fitted, not just what was available on the model.
  • What has been recalled on this year and model, and what owners keep reporting.

What it cannot tell you

  • Nothing about this specific car's life. No mileage, no accident history, no title brand, no owner count, no service records, no theft or lien status.
  • Whether an open recall was ever fixed. Only a dealer, or NHTSA's own VIN recall lookup, can confirm that.
  • Whether the car is actually sound. That takes a pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic who works for you, not for the seller.

Data source: the NHTSA vPIC product information catalogue plus the NHTSA recalls, safety ratings and complaints APIs, queried live from your browser. Free and public. Verified September 2026.

Saved Cars

VehicleEngineDrivetrainRecallsCrash test
Click a car to pull its full report back up. Saved in this browser tab only, and gone when you close it. Nothing is uploaded.

A VIN tells you what it is. We tell you whether to buy it.

We verify the build against the listing, pull the history report, line up a real pre-purchase inspection, and negotiate the out-the-door price for you.

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