VinEye
Check a used car by VIN before you buy it
Send a VIN or a photo to our Telegram bot. In seconds you see what the car really is, and the records found for it: auctions, accidents, mileage and recalls.
✈ Open @vineyebot in Telegram✦ Coming later: a mobile app and search right on this website.
- Body: SUV, 5 doors
- Engine: 1.5 L turbo, 190 hp
- Built: Canada, Alliston
🛣 Mileage: 3 records
✅ No open recalls found
What VinEye does
VIN check
Model, engine, year, power and where the car was built. Records from auctions, accident and mileage records, manufacturer recalls, and public stolen-vehicle lists where they exist.
Door-sticker photo
Photograph the sticker on the door, the VIN under the windshield and the papers. VinEye compares the VIN on each one and shows where they differ.
Car papers translated
Title, registration, bill of sale and customs papers from many countries, translated into English or Russian.
Watch a car
Follow a car and get a message when new records appear for its VIN.
How it works
Who VinEye helps
Many used cars cross borders. A buyer far from the car often has only a VIN, a few photos and papers in a language they can't read. VinEye helps them ask the right questions before money changes hands.
Buyers and families
- See if the car was sold at a damage auction or written off by an insurer.
- Spot mileage that goes down between records.
- Check that the VIN on the car, on the sticker and in the papers is the same.
- Read foreign papers before signing.
Honest sellers and importers
- Share the car card with a buyer to show what is known about the car.
- Fewer disputes after the sale, because both sides saw the same records.
Police and public officials
- When a VIN matches a public stolen-vehicle list, VinEye tells the user to check the car with the police before buying. It never says the car is stolen: a match is a reason to ask the police, not proof.
- A VIN that fails its check digit, or VINs that differ between the body, the sticker and the papers, are flagged, so people take the car to the police or a registry office instead of paying.
- VinEye has no access to closed police or government databases and does not act on their behalf.
For law enforcement and government
VinEye is a private information service. We show records from open sources and say where each kind of record comes from. We keep as little personal data as possible: no names, phone numbers or Telegram usernames, and photos and papers are deleted right after reading.
We answer lawful requests and welcome official open-data programs. Please write from an official address and say which authority you represent.
✉ Write to [email protected] How we handle official requests
Partner with VinEye
VinEye is free for its users today. We are looking for partners who share the goal of safer, more honest used-car trade.
Data owners
Registries, auctions, insurers and inspection centres that can share vehicle records under a licence.
Importers, exporters and dealers
Businesses that want to give buyers clear, checked information about each car.
Public bodies
Agencies that publish open vehicle data, or want stolen-car and recall lists to reach buyers sooner.