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Car History Check: Mileage, Accidents, Theft by VIN

Check any vehicle registered in Europe instantly. Decode the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), verify odometer history, safety recalls, theft status, and accident records, covering vehicles with WMI codes S–Z (the ISO 3780 range for Europe).

EUR 8.90 + VAT full report

14-day refund

60-second delivery

Free decode preview shown automatically when you enter the VIN.

Carlytics vehicle history report: checking a Europe used car VIN before purchase

Quick answer

To check a car's history, enter its 17-character VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) at Carlytics. The free decode instantly shows make, model, year, engine and safety recalls. The full report, EUR 8.90 + VAT, adds cross-border mileage history, theft records and accident data, delivered in about 60 seconds with a 14-day refund.

What a full car history check shows, and where it comes from

A car history check matches the car's VIN against records made after it left the factory. The VIN itself only tells you the maker, the model family, a year code and the plant. The history lives in records: odometer readings, registrations, inspections, theft reports and recall notices.

No single database holds all of these for every European country, so Carlytics searches them together and shows which source each record came from.

What the VIN tells you versus what only records tell youEncoded in the VIN: Manufacturer and country, Model family and body, Model-year code, Assembly plant, Serial number. Only in records: Odometer readings, Registration countries, Inspection results, Theft reports, Recall notices.Encoded in the VINOnly in records• Manufacturer and country• Model family and body• Model-year code• Assembly plant• Serial number• Odometer readings• Registration countries• Inspection results• Theft reports• Recall notices

Encoded in the VIN

  • Manufacturer and country
  • Model family and body
  • Model-year code
  • Assembly plant
  • Serial number

Only in records

  • Odometer readings
  • Registration countries
  • Inspection results
  • Theft reports
  • Recall notices
Left: facts encoded in the 17 characters, which any decoder can read. Right: facts that exist only if someone recorded them, which is what a history check searches for.
1200+ Data Sources
Including European government registries
47+ Countries
Pan-European vehicle coverage
Theft & Accident Check
Cross-border stolen vehicle databases

Why Check a Car's History Before You Buy?

A car history check is the single most important step before buying a used vehicle. Carlytics searches 1200+ databases across 47 countries to reveal what sellers won't tell you: accident damage, mileage rollback, theft records, and outstanding safety recalls.

Every year, millions of used cars are sold with hidden histories. An estimated 30% of cross-border used car purchases in Europe involve some form of fraud, from odometer tampering to undisclosed accident damage.

A comprehensive car history check at EUR 8.90 + VAT can save you thousands. The average financial loss from buying a car with hidden damage is EUR 2,000–5,000. For EUR 8.90 + VAT, Carlytics checks the car against every available database.

The free Carlytics check includes full vehicle specifications, safety recall status, and basic vehicle identification. The paid report adds mileage verification, stolen vehicle database check, accident records, and market value comparison.

Common Used-Car Scams in Europe

Odometer fraud (mileage clocking): The most common used car scam. The displayed mileage is electronically reduced to increase the selling price. Carlytics cross-references mileage from 52M+ Czech inspections, dated mileage records from across Europe, and other European registries.

Hidden accident damage: Vehicles involved in serious crashes are professionally repaired and sold without disclosure. Insurance write-off records, structural damage reports, and airbag deployment data help identify these vehicles.

Stolen vehicles: An estimated 1.2 million vehicles are stolen annually in Europe. Buying a stolen car means losing both the vehicle and your money. Carlytics checks multiple stolen vehicle databases.

What Data Sources We Check

When you run a VIN check for a vehicle registered in Europe, Carlytics queries multiple authoritative databases:

52M+ Czech inspection records with mileage history
Dated mileage records from across Europe
5M+ Finnish vehicle registrations
Danish, Norwegian, and Dutch registry data
Swiss type approval specifications
EU Safety Gate recall notifications
NHTSA recall and VIN decode data
European stolen vehicle databases

How a VIN Is Structured

Every VIN, whether the vehicle was built in Europe or imported, follows the ISO 3779 standard:

PositionsSectionWhat It Tells You
1-3WMIWorld Manufacturer Identifier: identifies the maker and the country of manufacture. Vehicles built in Europe use S–Z; a European brand built elsewhere carries that country's code (e.g., 5UX for a BMW built in the USA).
4-8VDSVehicle Descriptor Section: encodes model, body style, engine type, and restraint systems.
9Check digitCheck digit: mandated only on North-American-market VINs (49 CFR 565); ISO 3779 requires none.
10Model yearModel-year code, mandatory on North-American-market VINs (e.g., R = 2024, S = 2025) and optional under ISO 3779. It is the maker's model year, which can differ from the year the vehicle was built.
11Plant codeIdentifies the assembly plant where the vehicle was built.
12-17VISVehicle Indicator Section: unique serial number for the specific vehicle.

Car History Check: FAQ

Common questions about checking vehicle history in Europe

What does a car history check show?
A Carlytics check reveals: full vehicle specifications (engine, transmission, body), safety recall status, stolen vehicle database results, mileage history from multiple countries, accident and insurance claim records, and market value estimates.
How much does a car history check cost?
The basic car history check is completely free: it includes vehicle specs, safety recalls, and identification. The full report costs EUR 8.90 + VAT and adds mileage verification, stolen vehicle check and market value data. Compare carVertical's current offer and the records available for your VIN; report contents can differ.
Is a free car history check enough?
The free check is useful for verifying basic vehicle identity and checking safety recalls. However, for a purchase decision, the paid report (EUR 8.90 + VAT) is recommended: it adds the critical mileage, stolen, and accident checks that reveal hidden problems.
Which countries are covered?
Carlytics covers 47+ countries with data from national vehicle registries, inspection databases, insurance records, and safety recall systems. The deepest coverage is for Finland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
What is the difference between a car history check and a vehicle history report?
They describe the same thing at different depths. A car history check is the act of looking a vehicle up by its VIN; the vehicle history report is the full document you receive. The free check confirms identity and recalls. The paid vehicle history report (EUR 8.90 + VAT) is the complete background check: mileage history across multiple national registries, stolen-database results, accident and write-off records, import/export history and a fair market-value range.
Can I do a used car history check before I view the car in person?
Yes, and you should. You only need the VIN, which sellers usually publish in the listing or will share on request. Running the check before you travel to view the car lets you screen out clocked odometers, undisclosed accident damage and import surprises before you waste a trip. It's the cheapest step in the entire buying process at EUR 8.90 + VAT for the full report.
What red flags should a car history check uncover?
The big four: a mileage reading that's lower than an earlier recorded one (odometer rollback), a gap or jump in the registration history that hints at an import or a write-off, an open theft record, and unrepaired safety recalls. Less obvious but just as important are repeated changes of keeper in a short window, a category-written-off/insurance-loss marker, and a market value that's wildly out of line with the asking price. The report surfaces each of these so you can walk into the viewing already knowing where to push.
Can I run a car history check with just the number plate?
For Dutch and Danish cars, yes: the plate opens a report on our number plate check. Everywhere else the VIN is the reliable identifier, because plates get reassigned and change when a car is exported. If you only have a plate, ask the seller for the VIN (it's on the windscreen, the door jamb and the registration document). The deeper cross-border mileage and theft checks all key off the 17-character VIN.
How do I check a car's history?
In three steps, online and in under a minute. 1) Find the 17-character VIN: it is on the windscreen, the driver's door jamb and the registration document, and most sellers publish it in the listing. 2) Enter it in the search box at the top of this page and start the free check: it instantly returns the make, model, year, engine and open safety recalls, enough to confirm the listing matches the car. 3) When you're seriously considering the purchase, unlock the full vehicle history report (EUR 8.90 + VAT) for the mileage history and verification, accident and damage records, the stolen-vehicle check, import history and a market-value range.
Which official car history services are free?
It depends on where the car is registered. France has HistoVec, Poland has Historia Pojazdu, the Netherlands has the RDW vehicle check, and in Belgium the seller must hand over a Car-Pass mileage record. All are linked below. They cover a car's life in that country only, so an imported car needs its records from before the import as well.
How far back does a car's history go?
As far back as records exist: the first registration, every dated inspection and mileage reading, and each country the car was registered in. The report puts them on one timeline, so a gap after a border crossing stands out.
Can a history check prove a car was never in an accident?
The report shows the accident and damage records held for the VIN.
What does it mean if the mileage history goes down?
A reading that is lower than an earlier dated reading usually means the odometer was rolled back or the instrument cluster was replaced. Ask the seller for the service book and inspection certificates for those dates. A genuine replacement comes with paperwork.

Check Any VIN Now: Free

Enter any 17-character VIN to instantly decode the vehicle specifications and see safety recalls, free. The full report adds theft records, odometer history and accident records for just EUR 8.90 + VAT.

How to check a car's history

  1. Find the VIN. The 17-character vehicle identification number is on the windscreen, the driver's door jamb and the registration document. Most sellers publish it in the listing or share it on request.

  2. Run the free check. Enter the VIN at the top of this page. You get the make, model, year, engine and open safety recalls in seconds, enough to confirm the listing matches the car.

  3. Read the full history report. For EUR 8.90 + VAT the report adds the mileage history, accident and damage records, the theft check, import history and a market-value range, so you know what to ask before the viewing.

What Carlytics reports show: October 2026

These figures come from the 4,932 paid Carlytics reports run in October 2026 (one per VIN, refunded and test reports left out) and from two Carlytics studies of used-car data. Every figure gives its count and its period.

Four German brands make up 41% of the cars checked

Volkswagen (570), Mercedes-Benz (563), BMW (468) and Audi (421) account for 2,022 of the 4,932 reports. Just over half of all the cars checked (2,540) were built in Germany.

84% were built in a different country from the buyer's

4,126 of the 4,932 cars were built outside the country the report was bought from, by buyers in 104 countries. The first three characters of the VIN name the factory's country, not where the car has been registered, so the registration and mileage trail is what tells you where the car has lived.

7 in 10 reports list a recall campaign for the model

3,431 of the 4,932 reports listed at least one recall campaign for the car's model. Ask the seller for proof the work was done: an outstanding recall is repaired free of charge by the manufacturer's dealer.

Real-world fuel use runs a median 20% above the official figure

In 2,990 reports the model matched the EU's on-board fuel consumption monitoring data, published by the European Environment Agency. The median gap between real-world and official consumption was +20.3%. The report shows both figures for the car's model.

Abroad, 1 car in 26 is offered below its last official mileage

Cars offered for sale in a different country from their last inspection had a seller-stated mileage at least 5,000 km (and 5%) below that inspection reading in 3.90% of cases (301 of 7,715), against 0.53% (465 of 87,525) in the country of the last inspection, April to September 2026. For cars last read at 200,000 km or more the rate abroad was 11.84% (225 of 1,901).

Study: Seller-stated mileage vs inspection records

A 10-year-old car: 117,798 km in Germany, 210,990 km in Lithuania

Median seller-stated mileage of 10-year-old cars offered for sale in August 2026, with Sweden at 122,930 km, Poland at 165,000 km and Romania at 192,000 km. A reading that is normal in Lithuania is high for a car that spent its life in Germany, so judge the odometer against the country the car came from.

Study: Median mileage by age in 7 European markets

What a car history check actually reveals

A good history check isn't one number: it's a stack of independent records pulled from registries, inspections and recall systems across Europe. Here's what each one tells you and why it matters before you hand over any money.

Mileage & odometer history

Every recorded reading, in date order, from inspection and registry records across multiple countries. If a later reading is lower than an earlier one, the clock has been wound back.

Accident & write-off records

Insurance total-loss markers, structural-damage flags and salvage history. A professionally repaired crash car looks fine in the photos. The paper trail is where it shows.

Theft & stolen status

The VIN cross-referenced against publicly available European theft records, so you don't unknowingly buy a car that police can seize.

Import / export & registration history

Where the car has been registered and whether it crossed a border. Imports can hide write-offs that happened under a different country's records.

Open safety recalls

Manufacturer and EU Safety Gate recalls that were never carried out, a free fix the seller may not even know is outstanding.

Market value & specifications

Full decoded specs plus a fair price range, so you can tell instantly whether the asking price is reasonable or a red flag.

Free car history check vs the full report

The free check

Enter a VIN and you instantly get the make, model, year, engine, body type and any open safety recalls, at no cost, no account. That's enough to confirm a listing matches the actual car and spot a recall the seller never mentioned.

The full report (EUR 8.90 + VAT)

Adds the checks that actually catch fraud: mileage verification across national registries, the stolen-vehicle lookup, accident and write-off records, import history and a market-value range. One-off payment, no subscription.

Run a specific check

The full report rolls all of these into one. You can also dig into any single check:

Buying a car registered or imported from the Netherlands? Use the Netherlands VIN check.

Car history records in Europe: what each one can show
RecordTypically comes fromWhat it can show you
Odometer readingsInspections, services and dealersWhether the mileage ever went down between two dated readings
Registration trailNational vehicle registersWhich countries the car was registered in, and roughly when
Technical inspectionsRoadworthiness tests, where publishedTest dates and the mileage recorded at each test
Theft statusStolen-vehicle registersWhether this VIN is reported stolen
Recall noticesManufacturers and EU authoritiesRecalls announced for the model and its years
Build dataThe VIN and factory recordsYear, plant, and engine details where the records include them

Official services and further reading

Where the car is registered decides which official service can help. These are free public sources you can check yourself.

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