Term - State Title Brand

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - A "branded title" is an official designation assigned by a state agency to associate a particular history with a vehicle. The branding system was put in place to warn potential owners about damage or other alterations to a vehicle that they might otherwise have been unaware of. The brands checked in this section are Fire, Hail, Flood, Junk/Scrapped, Lemon, Salvage, Rebuilt/Rebuildable, Odometer Brands (not actual miles, broken odometer, exceeding mechanical limits, mileage discrepancy, or suspect miles). Please note Grey Market and Insurance Loss or Theft brands are not checked in this box and can be found on other corresponding boxes.

Term - Auction Issue

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section summarizes any issues if reported such as damage condition from seller's disclosure or during the inspection process including required structural damage disclosure, title brands, odometer issues, etc. as outlined by the 2023 National Auto Auction Association Policy.

Term - Accident/Damage Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section summarizes vehicle history events that may indicate an accident or damage and associated details such as point of impact, severity or airbag deployed if provided. These damage events will include collision damage information, police-reported accidents, salvage auction, recycler records, crash test vehicles, collision damage claims etc. including our exclusive auction announcements from two major auctions that may include damage events. There is also a clearly delineated section that includes non-collision damage events such as fire, hail or flood. Damage-indicated title brands will be in the state title brands section.

Term - Insurance Loss/Title Transfer

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This box checked to see if there is an insurance total loss or if a title has been transferred to an insurance company name as that event usually signifies that it is a total loss when showing after an accident.

Term - Additional History

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section lists any other significant events that may not be a damage event or brand, but does give additional insights of the vehicle's history. These include abandoned, grey market, lien check, repossessed, theft etc.

Term - Odometer Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section verifies if there are rollbacks, rollover or tampering has been reported to AutoCheck from state Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or auction sources. AutoCheck also examined the sequence of reported odometer readings to determine if there are any potential discrepancies.

Term - Open Recall Check

Section Location - Vehicle History at a Glance

Definition - This section lists any open safety or emission recalls on the vehicle that may need to be fulfilled.

Term - Salvage

Section Location - State Title Brand

Definition - A salvage vehicle is a vehicle that has been wrecked or damaged beyond repair; declared a total loss by the insurer; or declared a total loss by reason of theft. When an insurance company as a result of a total loss settlement acquires a vehicle, the insurance company must apply for a Salvage Certificate. If the owner retains possession of a salvage vehicle, the owner must obtain a Salvage Certificate before receiving a total loss statement from the insurance company.

Term - Odometer Problem

Section Location - State Title Brand

Definition - The vehicle has odometer-related brands such as not actual miles, broken odometer, exceeding mechanical limits, mileage discrepancy, or suspect miles that are assigned by the state agency to alert buyers of potential odometer tampering in the past or current or other history/issue with the odometer readings.

Term - Major Damage Incident

Section Location - Auction Issue

Definition - When a (i) State agency or third party reported an event that did or may have resulted in vehicle frame or mechanical damage, such as a collision or incident such as vandalism or theft, or (ii) a third party reported that an inspection indicates that a vehicle appears to have sustained frame or other damage. Not all damage events are reported to AutoCheck and the damage severity of reported events will vary. In all events AutoCheck recommends that prospective vehicle purchasers conduct a detailed vehicle inspection prior to purchase of a pre-owned vehicle.

Term - Insurance Total Loss

Section Location - Insurance Loss / Transfer

Definition - Insurance companies label a vehicle a "total loss" when the cost to repair the vehicle to its pre-damaged state exceeds the cost of the vehicle's worth, or actual cash value. Insurance companies must follow certain state law (defined percentage of damage before it can be deemed a total loss) and they also can set their own standards for totaled vehicles.

Term - Insurance Title Transfer

Section Location - Insurance Loss / Transfer

Definition - The vehicle's title has an insurance company as the listed owner. This usually signifies that it is probably an insurance total loss when showing after an accident or collision. Insurance companies label a vehicle a 'total loss' when the cost to repair the vehicle to its pre-damaged state exceeds the cost of the vehicle's worth, or actual cash value. Insurance companies must follow certain state law (defined percentage of damage before it can be deemed a total loss) and they also can set their own standards for totaled vehicles.

Term - Loan/Lien

Section Location - Additional History

Definition - A loan/lien is the legal right to take and hold or sell the vehicle of a debtor as security or payment for a debt. Normally, a vehicle will have a lien due to a loan or unpaid repair bill against the vehicle. Check with the seller to ensure that the lien has been satisfied.

Term - Fleet Use

Section Location - Owner Type

Definition - The vehicle has been reported as used as a fleet vehicle, by a state source or a wholesale Auto Auction has reported the vehicle as a fleet vehicle. Fleet vehicles are often in good condition. Fleet companies have vehicle care guidelines. A vehicle used by a company for an executive is an example of a fleet vehicle.

Term - Lease Use

Section Location - Owner Type

Definition - Vehicle was registered as lease vehicle.

Term - Accident

Section Location - Accident / Damage

Definition - A state or municipality has reported an accident or collision for this vehicle that may or may not have sustained damage. Not all damage events are reported to AutoCheck and the damage severity of reported events will vary. In all events AutoCheck recommends that prospective vehicle purchasers conduct a detailed vehicle inspection prior to purchase of a pre-owned vehicle.

Term - Exceeds Mechanical Limits (EML)

Section Location - Odometer Check

Definition - A vehicle with a 5-digit odometer cannot accurately track mileage after 99,999 miles because the odometer rolls over. Thus every 100,000 miles are not tracked accurately (i.e. 126,000 miles will only show as 26,000 miles). This title is the result of a seller certifying under the Truth-in-Mileage Act, that the odometer reading EXCEEDS MECHANICAL LIMITS of the odometer.

Term - Excluded / Exempt

Section Location - Odometer Check

Definition - Vehicle is generally exempt from normal/mandatory odometer law for the following reasons:
  1. Vehicle model year is 10 years or older
  2. Gross weight of vehicle over 16000 lbs
  3. Vehicle is not self-propelled
  4. Titled to the manufacturer

Term - Open Recall

Section Location - Open Recall Check

Definition - A recall is considered 'open' for a vehicle when it has not received the required service to correct the identified recall. The vehicle will need to be taken to a repair center that has been authorized by the manufacturer to correct any open recall conditions.