Don't buy an imported car with a hidden past.
We check odometer, accidents, flood & write-off history, theft and recalls across 1200+ databases. S$12.90 — full report in 60 seconds.
900M+ Vehicles in database
S$12.90 Full report
Carlytics is a free VIN decoder and vehicle history platform that cross-references 900+ million vehicle records across 47+ countries. For Singapore buyers of used and parallel-import cars, each check reconciles the origin-market history — odometer, flood and accident branding, theft — against the car being sold. Full reports from S$12.90 — one-time payment, no subscription.
What we check for when preparing a report
Carlytics is the largest online database of used vehicle records. It contains more than a billion data points from all over the world.
Damage
We check if the car has been in any accidents or had serious repairs. Damage can lower the car's value and cause safety problems. Our report helps you avoid cars with hidden damage that sellers might not tell you about.
Mileage rollbacks
We look for signs that the mileage might have been changed. Some sellers lower the mileage to make the car look newer. We check mileage records from different databases to make sure the numbers are honest.
Specs & equipment
We list the car's original features and equipment. This helps you see if anything is missing or changed. You'll know exactly what the car should have when it left the factory.
Safety
Manufacturers typically issue safety recalls to fix harmful defects. Make sure your car doesn't have any before taking it on the road and also learn its general safety rating.
Natural disaster
Check if the vehicle has been damaged in floods, hurricanes, or other natural disasters.
Stolen car database
We check police and insurance records to see if the car has been reported stolen. Buying a stolen car can lead to big legal and financial problems. Our report gives you peace of mind.
Photos
If available, we include old photos or auction pictures of the car. <br />These photos can show past damage, repairs, or changes that you might not notice in person.
Market value
We compare prices from many sources to show the car's fair market value.<br />This helps you know if the price is good or too high, so you can make a smart deal.
Trusted in 47+ countries worldwide
Carlytics aggregates vehicle data from 47+ European countries, pulling from national registries like Finnish Traficom (5M vehicles), Dutch RDW, Czech ISTP, and Danish DMR. Combined with NHTSA, EU Safety Gate recalls, and 348,000+ real listings, the database covers 900M+ vehicles.
Access data from national registries,
insurance databases, law enforcement and more.
How It Works
Carlytics checks any VIN in under 10 seconds by cross-referencing 900M+ records from 47+ European countries. Enter a 17-character VIN, and the system searches NHTSA, EU Safety Gate, national registries, and 348,000+ real listings to build a complete vehicle history report for S$12.90.
Get comprehensive vehicle information in just a few simple steps. Our process is designed to be quick, easy, and informative.
Enter Vehicle Details
Enter your license plate or VIN number to start the check process.
Instant Processing
Our system quickly searches through billions of records to find your vehicle.
Comprehensive Report
Receive a detailed report with complete vehicle history and important alerts.
Make Informed Decisions
Use the insights to make confident decisions about your vehicle purchase or sale.
Why Run a VIN Check Before Buying a Used Car?
An estimated 30-50% of used cars sold cross-border in Europe have tampered mileage. Carlytics catches odometer rollbacks, undisclosed accident damage, stolen-vehicle flags, and open safety recalls by scanning 900M+ records across 47+ countries -- all from a single 17-character VIN, starting free.
Don't risk thousands on a used car with hidden problems. A free VIN check takes seconds and can save you from costly surprises.
Detect Odometer Fraud
An estimated 30-50% of used cars in Europe have tampered mileage. A VIN history check reveals odometer rollback and mileage discrepancies that sellers try to hide.
Uncover Hidden Accident Damage
Structural damage from past accidents may not be visible during a physical inspection. A vehicle history report shows collision records the seller may not disclose.
Verify Stolen Vehicle Status
Over 600,000 vehicles are stolen in the EU each year, many resold across borders. Our stolen car database check confirms the vehicle is legally clear before you buy.
Check Cross-Border Import History
Vehicles imported from abroad may have different specs, undisclosed damage, or missing service records. Trace the full registration and import history with a VIN check.
Ready to check your vehicle?
Enter the VIN number below to get a free instant report.
Sample Vehicle Report
Every Carlytics report covers 24 sections including decoded specs, mileage history, safety recalls, theft status, market value from 348,000+ listings, and cross-border import records. The full report costs S$12.90 and is available instantly as an interactive page and downloadable PDF.
Here's an example of the comprehensive vehicle report you'll receive. Our reports provide detailed information to help you make informed decisions about any vehicle.
Toyota Corolla (2019)
Silver • 1.8L • Petrol • Automatic
Vehicle Information
Technical Inspection Status
Vehicle Summary
What is actually different about buying a used car in Singapore
No other market prices cars the way Singapore does. The consequences run all the way down to which questions a VIN can and cannot answer for you.
In most countries a used car is worth what the metal is worth. In Singapore a large part of what you are paying for is the right to keep the car on the road at all, and that right runs out on a known date. A car with two years of entitlement left and a car with eight are different financial propositions even if they are the same model, same year and same condition — and the difference dwarfs almost everything a mechanical inspection would find.
That single structural fact reorders the whole buying process here. The first thing to establish is the registration date and what remains on the entitlement, because it sets the ceiling on the car's value and the floor under your risk. Only then is it worth asking the questions the rest of the world starts with: what is this car, actually, and what is likely to go wrong with it.
Authorised distributor stock versus a parallel import
Singapore has a genuine two-track new-car market, and it produces two kinds of used car. An authorised distributor car was brought in through the manufacturer's appointed importer and specified for this market. A parallel import was brought in independently, and it is very often a car built for Japan or the United Kingdom — right-hand drive markets whose cars need no conversion here.
Neither is inherently better, but they are not the same car. A Japanese-market or British-market build can differ from the local distributor's specification in equipment, in instrument markings, in the software calibration, and occasionally in the engine variant itself. The manual in the glovebox may describe a car that is not quite the car you are sitting in, and a workshop ordering parts against the local specification can order the wrong ones.
The VIN settles which one you have, instantly and for free. A Japanese-built car starts with J, a British-built car with S, a German-built car with W, a Korean-built car with K. If a listing claims authorised-distributor provenance and the VIN says the car was built for another market, that is a discrepancy worth an explanation before any money moves.
Why the odometer question looks different here
Singapore's deregistration regime means cars are typically taken off the road at a known age rather than driven until they fail, and annual mileages on a small island are low by international standards. The result is that a Singapore-market car often has a plausible, modest odometer reading and a short, well-documented local life.
The risk concentrates, again, on the imports. A parallel-imported car arrived with a first life somewhere else, and the kilometres from that life sit in paperwork held offshore. The gap between the last reading recorded in the origin market and the first reading recorded here is where wound-back mileage survives, exactly as it does in every import-heavy market. Ask for the export or de-registration certificate; the number on it is the one worth comparing against the dash.
The second, quieter risk is the exported car. Singapore deregisters a great many cars that are then shipped elsewhere with years of mechanical life left. If you are buying such a car outside Singapore, the same gap opens up in the other direction, and the same document closes it.
What a log card is, and what it is not
The official log card is the authoritative statement of the registration facts: when the car was registered, its engine and chassis identifiers, its declared power output and capacity, the entitlement position. It is exactly the right document to demand, and no history report of any kind substitutes for it.
What it does not contain is the car's condition, its accident record, its recall exposure, or the failure patterns of its model. It is an administrative record of a registration, not a history of a vehicle. That is the gap a VIN-based check fills, and it is the only gap we claim to fill. Get the log card from the seller, then use the VIN for the rest.
What our check can and cannot show for a Singapore car
We would rather you buy with accurate expectations than be disappointed after paying S$12.90. Here is the honest split for a car being sold in Singapore.
What the check can tell you
- A full factory decode from the VIN — make, model, year, engine, transmission, body style and plant of origin — including which market the car was actually built for.
- Open safety recall campaigns recorded for that make, model and year, which apply to the build regardless of who imported it.
- Known issues and owner-complaint patterns reported for the model, so you know what tends to fail and roughly when.
- A stolen-vehicle check against the public databases we can reach.
- Public listing history and market-value context where the VIN has appeared in advertised stock we can see, which is most useful on a parallel import with an overseas first life.
What it cannot tell you
- Registration dates, entitlement status or anything else from the official log card. We hold no Singapore registration record — ask the seller for the log card, and treat a refusal as an answer.
- Singapore accident, insurance or workshop records. Those sit with insurers and workshops and are not something we can reach.
- Outstanding finance or ownership transfer status. That is an official matter and not part of what we decode.
- Local inspection history. We hold no per-car Singapore inspection or odometer series and will not model one to fill the gap.
- Damage repaired without an insurance claim, which appears in no register anywhere and is found only by physical inspection.
The honest summary: the log card tells you what the car is registered as, and our report tells you what the car actually is. They answer different questions and you want both.
Buying a used car in Singapore, in the right order
Five steps in the sequence that answers the expensive questions first.
- 1
Ask for the log card before anything else
Registration date, remaining entitlement, engine and chassis identifiers, declared output. This sets the value ceiling and it is the document that decides whether the rest of the process is worth your time. A seller who will not show it has told you something.
- 2
Read the VIN and check the market it was built for
Off the windscreen plate or door jamb, and check it against the chassis number on the log card. The first character tells you the country of build in one second — and whether the authorised-distributor claim in the advertisement holds up.
- 3
Run the free decode
It costs nothing and confirms whether the car matches its listing: make, model year, engine and body style. On a parallel import it also tells you which market's specification you are actually buying, which decides what the workshop should order later.
- 4
For a parallel import, ask for the export paperwork
The export or de-registration certificate from the origin market, and for a Japanese car the auction sheet. The kilometres recorded there are the only independent check on the odometer you are likely to get. No paperwork means the reading is unverified.
- 5
Buy the report, then get an independent inspection
The full report adds the factory build, recall campaigns, known failure patterns, the theft check and market context for S$12.90. Then have an independent workshop inspect it — an inspection finds accident repair that no register in any country recorded.
Where to go next
If you want the complete local sequence, the guide to checking a used car's history in Singapore is the fullest page here. For the difference between the official record and a history report, read the log card comparison. And if the car is a parallel import, start with the parallel import check, which covers what changes when a car was built for another market.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check a VIN before buying a used or imported car in Singapore?
Can Carlytics check parallel-import cars?
Can it detect flood-damaged and accident-repaired cars?
What does a VIN check tell you?
Is it safe to share my VIN number?
How much does a vehicle history report cost?
Which countries does Carlytics cover?
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