What if I entered the wrong VIN before paying?
Fix it before you pay — nothing is charged yet. Search the corrected VIN again on the free VIN check and confirm the vehicle that comes back.
Check the review date and linked sources for context. Live availability, prices and record coverage can vary by VIN, source, jurisdiction and time.
Fix it before you pay — nothing has been charged yet. Search the corrected VIN again on the free VIN check and confirm the year, make and model that come back match the car in front of you before you choose a report. If you are on the order review page, it prints the full 17-character VIN the report will use and carries an “Edit or recheck this VIN” link back to the search.
- The review page exists so the VIN can be corrected while no money has moved.
- Check the decoded vehicle, not only the 17 characters — a valid VIN can still be the wrong car.
- Confirming the VIN before checkout is the buyer's step under the refund policy.
Check the identity, not just the characters
The review page decodes the VIN and prints what came back: the year, make and model, trim and body where available, the identity source, and the full VIN in plain characters. Read those against the vehicle and its title. A VIN can pass every format rule — exactly 17 characters, no letters I, O or Q — and still belong to a different car than the one you are looking at.
If a VIN-linked provider photo is available, it is shown; when none is returned the page says so rather than substituting a stock or generated image. Use the “Edit or recheck this VIN” link to go back, and re-enter the VIN from the windshield plate, the driver-door label or the title rather than from a listing.
If you already left for the payment page
Closing or cancelling at the payment page brings you back to that VIN's result with a notice that checkout was closed and your vehicle is still there. Nothing is charged, so you can simply search the corrected VIN and start again.
This matters because of what happens next: for a single report, the review page states that the report is locked to the VIN shown, and the report is created for that VIN as soon as payment is confirmed. The refund policy's “Before purchase” section puts VIN confirmation and coverage review on you before checkout, and treats a VIN mismatch as reviewable only where it was caused by our error.
Steps
- Read the VIN from the windshield plate, door label or title, not from the advert.
- Confirm all 17 characters and that no I, O or Q appears.
- Compare the decoded year, make and model with the vehicle in front of you.
- Use the edit link to recheck a corrected VIN before continuing.
- Only then continue to secure payment.
What this does not cover
- A pack bought without a VIN has nothing to correct at checkout — you choose a VIN for each credit afterwards. But a pack started from a VIN result carries that VIN, and its first report is created for it as soon as payment is confirmed, so check that VIN as carefully as you would for a single report.
- The identity decode confirms the vehicle as built; it does not establish title, damage, odometer or ownership history.
Sources reviewed
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Frequently asked questions
Does opening the review page charge me while I check?
No. A charge can occur only after you confirm the VIN and complete payment on the secure payment page. Reviewing and editing cost nothing.
The decode shows a different vehicle than the seller described. What now?
Stop and verify. Compare the physical VIN plate, the door label and the title documents before spending anything; an identity mismatch is a reason to inspect, not to buy a report faster.
Can I change the VIN after I have paid?
For a single report, no — it is locked to the VIN shown on the review page and the report is created for that VIN when payment is confirmed. Pack credits are assigned to VINs afterwards.
What if the VIN will not validate at all?
The page names the problem — too few or too many characters, or an invalid I, O or Q — and sends you back to enter a VIN before any order is prepared.