Know which cars on the run list have a drivetrain complaint pattern — before you bid.
Enter a VIN and see how heavily owners of that year, make and model complained about the engine and transmission. Built entirely on public NHTSA owner-complaint records. Scan a whole sale sheet at once, or check one car in the lane.
Try it right now — no signup
This is the real tool running on live NHTSA data. Pick a car and see exactly what a subscriber sees.
How it works
1 · Decode
The VIN is decoded through NHTSA vPIC to identify the year, make and model — and rejected if it fails its check digit.
2 · Analyze
Every owner complaint filed with NHTSA for that model year is pulled and grouped by component.
3 · Compare
Drivetrain complaints are measured as a share of the total, so popular models aren't penalized for selling in volume.
4 · Decide
You get a signal, the neighbouring model years, and an adjustable risk allowance based on the auction light.
What you get
Single VIN
One car, four seconds. Signal, component breakdown, recall campaigns and what owners actually reported.
Run list
Paste a whole sale sheet — up to 200 VINs — and get them back sorted worst-first before you walk the lane.
Compare two
Two VINs side by side when you're choosing between similar cars.
Model-year trend
See the years either side. Manufacturers fix things mid-generation, and that's often where the money is.
Be clear on what this is not
Not an inspection
It describes the model, not the condition of the individual car in front of you. A clean example of a bad model is entirely possible.
Not a history report
No accidents, owners, title brands or odometer. It links out to AutoCheck, NICB and NHTSA for those.
Not a prediction
It reports patterns in complaint data. It does not forecast whether a particular car will fail.
Not bidding advice
The risk allowance is an experimental, user-adjustable estimate — not an instruction on what to bid.
Price
- Unlimited VIN lookups — no per-car charge
- Run list up to 200 VINs at a time
- Compare, model-year trend and the risk allowance calculator
- Locked at this price for the first 25 dealers; $39/month after
- Cancel any time
Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of the individual vehicle in front of you.