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Clients and business partners often ask us: how are carVertical vehicle history reports created? Where does the data come from?

These questions are understandable – car history reports can turn up some truly unexpected information. Not too long ago, car buyers had to rely on the honesty of sellers and their mechanic’s expertise to get a decent used car.

Well, as much as we’d like to have magical powers, the truth is simpler and more interesting. In this article, we’ll look at how 

Check any VIN to learn a vehicle's history!

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The VIN: the key to unlocking your vehicle’s history

Almost every car manufactured after 1981 has a unique 17-character VIN, which acts as the vehicle’s fingerprint. The VIN is used by various institutions – like the police, insurance companies, and service centers – to record major events in a car’s life. Accidents, thefts, mileage checks, ownership changes, and much more are logged with this number.

Because we live in a digital age, most of this data is stored in open and private databases. The VIN is our key to getting that data.

How carVertical reports are created: a behind-the-scenes look

While the report is simple and easy to understand, the technical process behind it is complex, dynamic, and always evolving. Here’s a look at how we turn raw data into clear, actionable insights for you.

 app or website, we automatically search through over 900 data sources across 40+ countries. This includes:

2. Cleaning the data and sorting it into usable pieces

The data we receive from various sources is typically raw and requires several steps of processing. Let’s use an example to illustrate this procedure:

Imagine we receive a Swedish document for a black Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 with 5,000 Scandinavian miles (50,000 km) on the odometer, dated June 12, 2021. Before we can use this information, we need to:

Fix any errors/inconsistencies. Data is often manually entered into systems, leading to typos or other mistakes.

Sort the information into relevant categories, such as:

We can now group this data with info from other found records, and use it to generate the report.

3. Assigning the sorted out pieces of data to relevant report sections

To have a closer look at how data becomes a part of the carVertical report, let’s take the same black Mercedes.

We know from the above document that it had 50,000 km on the odometer at the time this information was recorded.

The reason “we” (meaning, the carVertical system) knows this is because we’ve analyzed the document and isolated these 3 pieces of information – “Odometer value: 5,000,” “Odometer unit: Scandinavian miles,” and “Record date: 12 June, 2021.”

Now let’s imagine we’ve found 2 more data records on this Mercedes, offering the following information:

Technical inspection date: 7 September, 2023

This information tells quite a story – we just have to put it together.

To do that, we group information types into our report sections. For example, we have 3 odometer readings and the dates when they were taken. These will appear in the Mileage section of the report. Meanwhile, the technical inspection information will be in the Legal status check and Timeline sections, etc.

4. Using statistical models to generate insights and perform fixes

So we now have the data and it has been processed for use in a carVertical report. But there’s still more work to be done “under the hood” – mainly using statistical models and other technological solutions to fix issues and enrich the report.

There are too many uses for these technologies to name, but as an example, we use statistical models to provide additional insights to users (e.g., we can compare the mileage of our example Mercedes with other cars of the same model, age, etc.).

This process works both ways: we use statistical models to enrich the current report, and we use data from the current report to enrich our statistical models.

At this point, all the information we’ve gathered, cleaned, sorted, and enriched is used to generate a carVertical report. Let’s return to our Mercedes for a final example. Here’s what its Mileage section might look like:

While this black Mercedes may seem appealing, the above graph should make any potential buyer think twice!

From the report, users would also learn about the car’s journey – arriving in Sweden, being sold to another owner in Sweden, and finally ending up in Finland. Using statistical models we can also provide the price range for this model of car, as well as an average mileage graph (although the latter would not change much, considering the 

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Damages, mileage readings, and everything else: Which data comes from what sources?

Without discussing specific databases / sources of specific information in our reports, we can look at some general rules for where certain types of data may come from.

Before we do that, however, it’s important to understand a couple of things:

The same type of information can come from different types of sources. E.g., mileage records (even the same record) can come from a maintenance visit, a police record, or elsewhere.

There’s a lot of variety from country to country. The same types of institutions may have different record-keeping roles in systems depending on the country.

So where might you find those damage records, odometer readings, and other details?

carVertical is ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certified

As a company dealing with a lot of data, we take security very seriously. To prove our commitment, carVertical has earned ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification – the global standard for information security.

To receive ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification, a company has to implement tools and procedures, protecting all verbal, written, and electronic information received, sent, created, managed, and used from all possible threats: external, internal, intentional, or accidental.

This certification means we’ve put in place strict measures to protect all verbal, written, and electronic information from any threats – be they external, internal, accidental, or intentional.

What does this mean for you? Your personal data, report data, and financial details are all protected by top-tier security systems. Want more details? Check out 

our Information Security Policy and Information Security Management System (ISMS

The carVertical report is simple and easy to read, but there’s a lot that goes into that simplicity. Our Data Department is a good reflection of this: carVertical currently has almost 200 employees, and as much as 15% of them work on data.

That’s a significant number of people who are good at math!

Data Acquisition focuses on gathering raw data

Data Engineering is responsible for building and maintaining our data infrastructure and pipelines

Machine Learning Engineering develops and deploys machine learning models

Data Analytics analyzes data to extract insights and inform business decisions

Each of these teams plays a crucial role in making the carVertical report – we literally would not exist without them!

Why aren’t carVertical reports free?

Is it possible to find all the data myself?

carVertical data sources: How history reports are created

Since the start of carVertical, we've been working towards a friendlier used vehicle market for everyone. Now we're taking a big step forward to make sure the benefits of automotive data reach even more people.

Presenting our bold and bright new look, a number of exciting product updates, and a vision for the future. We spent most of last year learning about our users and converting those insights into a rebrand campaign that launches on May 17.

 – our duo of helpers, eager to assist with any car troubles.

Completely renewed vehicle history report.

 to help you choose, care for, and sell vehicles.

Reveal them all! Just enter a VIN code and click the button:

Used cars have dark secrets 

Bright & Bold – check out our new logo, color scheme, and more

We like our old look and don't want to completely change who we are, but meeting new people means switching up. The goal of this visual upgrade is to present a friendlier side of carVertical without losing our bright and bold character.

The new design begins with our logo. We wanted it to still be recognizable, but more modern. To achieve this, we've given the "V" some style, and we've only left one color – a deeper, brighter shade of blue instead of the milder blue and yellow.

This brighter blue becomes the primary color in our new color scheme, joining a more vibrant yellow, and a number of other vivid colors to cheer up our users.

Finally, there's the most exciting element of our new look: a dynamic duo of helpers we call Vertical & Vertical. They live inside the letter "V" of our logo, jumping out to assist users with various tasks. From now on, you'll see them in our images, videos, and other visual materials.

The changes in appearance also make their way into our exciting product upgrades, most importantly:

We have a new vehicle history report – now easier to understand than ever!

Much more than just a visual update, our new vehicle history report was developed from the ground up. Don't worry – all the information you're used to seeing in a carVertical report is still there, but presented in a new and improved way.

 The information is much more organized, so you can find it and understand it more easily.

To make the report more useful for regular users with little knowledge about vehicles, we're now providing tips and warnings. This will help explain why certain information matters and how it should be interpreted.

 Our reports can be rich in information, but some of their content may require advanced knowledge to understand. In addition to tips that help simplify the information, we also wanted to provide deeper explanations for those who want a more comprehensive look.

The goal was to present the information in a more intuitive way. As a result, the report has more informative graphics, and has become more visual overall.

The information itself on the report is the same as it was in the previous version. However, part of the thought process when developing the new report was to prepare the groundwork for new types of information and new features coming in the future.

Our new report also makes an appearance on the new carVertical app for Android and iOS. We’ve completely rebuilt it from the ground up, so you can get a sense of the new carVertical on your handheld device.

We've recently launched our new blog, which will soon have content covering the full automotive journey from buying to owning and maintaining, to selling your vehicle.

carVertical wants to be your gearhead friend, guiding you through every step of vehicle ownership. Our new and improved guides will cover a wide range of topics and include helpful visuals to make things simpler. This includes both static infographics and video content.

One of our main goals is to help car buyers, owners, and sellers through the entire automotive journey. Building a better used vehicle market isn't just about buying the right car – it's also about taking care of your vehicle to make sure its next owner is happy. Finally, it's also about providing the full story as a seller.

Our vehicle history report is used by vehicle buyers and sellers across the world, but we want to take it a step further and include current owners in the equation. After all, knowing a vehicle's history can help you ensure it's properly fixed and safe to drive. Curiosity can be very healthy!

Additionally, we want to provide you with guides to help maintain your vehicle – sure, some tasks will require the assistance of professional mechanics, but a few tips and tricks can go a long way towards vehicle health.

In 2022, we ran a large-scale survey of our customers’ needs and motivations. We asked why people use vehicle history reports, what they like about our service, how they see the used vehicle market in their country, and how they buy second-hand cars.

In addition to offering insights on user differences across countries, the results also implied that vehicle history reports are still seen as a service for gearheads and other power-users. While we love our gearhead community, carVertical's mission is to make the used vehicle market safe and appealing for regular drivers that may not be interested in technical aspects of cars.

We want to emphasize the fact that checking a vehicle's history is important not only for those looking to buy a vehicle. It can also be useful for owners trying to keep their vehicles in shape, as well as sellers.

Our team is constantly innovating, building tools, and introducing features to bring the world of vehicle data to your doorstep. With every vehicle history check, we gather and process information from 900+ global data sources.

Yet there's a lot more automotive data can do to make the used vehicle market safer and more efficient. carVertical has exciting announcements in the works, which will lead the way in using data to make car ownership more convenient, raise the transparency in used vehicle market, and more.

A used vehicle's story neither begins, nor ends with us. Let's make sure it's worth hearing and passing on!

Business

carVertical data sources: How history reports are created

Meet the new carVertical: check out our renewed report and style